Royal Rumble (2005)


Royal Rumble was the eighteenth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment. It took place on January 30, 2005, at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California and featured talent from both the Raw and SmackDown! brands. As has been customary since 1993, the Royal Rumble match winner received a match at that year's WrestleMania, for his choice at either the WWE Championship or the World Heavyweight Championship.
Five professional wrestling matches were featured on the event's supercard, a scheduling of more than one main event. The main event was the annual 30-man Royal Rumble match, which featured wrestlers from both brands. Batista, the twenty-eighth entrant, won the match by last eliminating John Cena, the twenty-fifth entrant. The primary match on the Raw brand was Triple H versus Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight Championship, which Triple H won by pinfall after performing a Pedigree. The primary match on the SmackDown! brand was a Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship between reigning champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield, Kurt Angle, and The Big Show, which JBL won by pinning Angle after performing a Clothesline from Hell. For the first time since The Wrestling Classic, no tag team match was featured on the card.

Production

Background

The Royal Rumble is an annual gimmick pay-per-view, produced every January by World Wrestling Entertainment since 1988. It is one of the promotion's original four pay-per-views, along with WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, dubbed the "Big Four". It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle royal in which the participants enter at timed intervals instead of all beginning in the ring at the same time. The match generally features 30 wrestlers. Traditionally, the winner of the match earns a world championship match at that year's WrestleMania. For 2005, the winner could choose to challenge for either Raw's World Heavyweight Championship or SmackDown's WWE Championship at WrestleMania 21. 2005 was the eighteenth event in the Royal Rumble chronology and featured wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brands.

Storylines

The card consisted of five matches. The matches resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters to build tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands, with storylines produced on their weekly television shows, Raw and SmackDown.
as the World Heavyweight Champion
The main feud heading into the Royal Rumble on the Raw brand was between Triple H and Randy Orton over the World Heavyweight Championship. Their feud started on the August 16 episode of Raw, when Orton was kicked out of Evolution by Triple H. At Unforgiven, Triple H defeated Orton to win the World Heavyweight Championship after interference from Evolution members Batista and Ric Flair. At Survivor Series, Team Orton defeated Team Triple H in a traditional Survivor Series elimination match to earn control of Raw after Orton last eliminated Triple H. At New Year's Revolution, Triple H won an Elimination Chamber match to win the vacant World Heavyweight Championship by last eliminating Orton after interference from Batista and Flair. On the January 10 episode of Raw, Orton defeated Batista to become the number one contender for the title at the Royal Rumble. On the January 17 episode of Raw, after a verbal confrontation between the two in the arena, Triple H ambushed Orton backstage. They fought until Orton tried to use a steel chair, and Triple H fled. On the January 24 episode of Raw, Orton faced off against Flair. During the match, as the referee was knocked down, Triple H came in and attacked Orton along with Flair. Orton, however, fought off both men and won the match.
The main feud on the SmackDown! brand was between John "Bradshaw" Layfield, The Big Show, and Kurt Angle, with the three feuding over the WWE Championship. On the December 16 episode of SmackDown!, Angle challenged JBL to a match for the WWE Championship. The Cabinet interfered and attacked Angle, causing the match to end via disqualification. They continued to attack Angle after the match until Big Show came out, beat down everyone, and signaled to JBL that he wanted the title. On the December 30 episode of SmackDown!, a triple threat match for the title between the three was booked for the Royal Rumble. Following this, JBL set up Angle to anger Big Show, but Angle angered JBL in response. After realizing this, on the January 20 episode of SmackDown!, JBL aligned himself with Big Show and confronted Angle; however, JBL turned on Big Show and beat him down with Angle. On the January 27 episode of SmackDown!, SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long booked a Last Man Standing match between JBL and Angle for later that night. The two eventually turned on each other, and the match ended in a no contest. It was later revealed that the match was Big Show's idea.
Another feud heading into the event from SmackDown! was between The Undertaker and Heidenreich. Their feud first started at No Mercy when Heidenreich helped John "Bradshaw" Layfield defeat The Undertaker in a Last Ride match by attacking The Undertaker and putting him in the hearse. At Survivor Series, The Undertaker defeated Heidenreich after executing a Tombstone Piledriver. At Armageddon, Heidenreich once again cost The Undertaker the WWE Championship against JBL after interfering in a fatal four-way match that involved Booker T and Eddie Guerrero, allowing JBL to pin Booker T to retain. SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long let The Undertaker name the stipulation for his match against Heidenreich at the Royal Rumble. As Heidenreich mentioned his fear of caskets, The Undertaker chose to face him in a casket match for the Royal Rumble.
A preliminary Raw brand feud was between Shawn Michaels and Edge. Their feud started at Taboo Tuesday when Michaels was voted over Edge and Chris Benoit to face Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship while Edge and Benoit were put into a World Tag Team Championship match against La Résistance. Edge abandoned Benoit during the match and returned later that night to cost Michaels his title match against Triple H. At New Year's Revolution, Edge competed in an Elimination Chamber match for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship with Michaels as the special guest referee. During the match, Edge accidentally speared Michaels, resulting in Michaels performing Sweet Chin Music on Edge, who would be eliminated by Chris Jericho. On the January 10 episode of Raw, a confrontation between Edge and Michaels ended in the two men brawling around the arena. A match between the two was then booked for the Royal Rumble.

Event

Before the event went live on pay-per-view, Maven defeated Rhyno in a match taped for Sunday Night Heat.
The first match was between Edge and Shawn Michaels. Edge mocked Michaels by performing some of Michaels' signature taunts. Edge gained the advantage after an Edge-O-Matic on the floor. Edge performed a spear on the floor on Michaels; in the ring, Edge executed another spear on Michaels for a near-fall. After countering Edge, Michaels executed a diving elbow drop on Edge. Edge countered Sweet Chin Music into an electric chair drop for a near-fall. Edge applied the Edgecator on Michaels, but Michaels broke the hold. Michaels attempted a roll-up, but Edge pinned Michaels with a roll-up using the ropes to win the match.
The second match was a Casket match between The Undertaker and Heidenreich. The match started back and forth until Heidenreich sent Undertaker into the casket. Undertaker applied the triangle choke until Gene Snitsky interfered and attacked Undertaker. Snitsky and Heidenreich attacked The Undertaker and called for the casket to be opened but Kane was revealed to be inside the casket. He attacked Snitsky and Heidenreich and fought Snitsky throughout the arena. Heidenreich sent Undertaker into the steel steps and pushed the casket into him. Heidenreich put Undertaker in the casket after applying the cobra clutch but Undertaker stopped the lid from closing. Heidenreich put Undertaker in the casket again but Undertaker countered. Undertaker executed a chokeslam and a Tombstone Piledriver and put Heidenreich in the casket to win the match.
The third match was a Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship between John "Bradshaw" Layfield, The Big Show, and Kurt Angle. Angle stayed on the outside of the ring as Big Show and JBL fought. After Angle broke up a pinfall attempt, Big Show attacked both men. Angle hit Big Show with a television monitor, causing him to fall through a broadcast announce table. Later, Big Show executed a chokeslam on JBL but JBL placed his foot on the ropes to void the pinfall. Big Show tackled JBL through the barricade and performed a flapjack to Angle onto a chair. Luther Reigns, Mark Jindrak and Doug and Danny Basham attacked Big Show as Orlando Jordan helped JBL back into the ring. JBL executed a Clothesline from Hell on Angle to retain the title.
The fourth match was between Triple H and Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight Championship. Before the match, Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff banned Evolution from ringside. Orton had the advantage until Triple H countered an RKO by throwing Orton out of the ring. Triple H kept the advantage and targeted Orton's left knee until Orton knocked him into a broadcast table. Orton kept the advantage until he missed a DDT. Triple H knocked both Orton and the referee down with a clothesline and tried to hit Orton with a sledgehammer but Orton pulled him into the ringpost. Triple H performed another clothesline and a Pedigree to retain the title.
to win the 2005 Royal Rumble match
The main event was the Royal Rumble match. Before the match, Kurt Angle stole Nunzio's entrance number and replaced him in the match. The participants divided into their brands and fought against each other, working together to eliminate Muhammad Hassan, the thirteen entrant. Scotty 2 Hotty, the fifteenth entrant, was attacked by Hassan during his entrance and never entered the match. Angle, the twentieth entrant, dominated upon entering until Shawn Michaels eliminated him. Angle came back to eliminate Michaels and attacked him. The final four participants remaining were Batista, John Cena, Edge, and Rey Mysterio. Edge fought with Mysterio, executing a spear to eliminate Mysterio. Cena and Batista then eliminated Edge as he was attacking them. Cena tried to perform an FU on Batista but Batista countered. Batista then attempted a Batista Bomb, but was countered with a headscissors takedown by Cena, sending both over the top rope and touching the floor at the same time. The referees for the Raw brand believed Batista to be the winner while the SmackDown! referees believed Cena to be winner. WWE Chairman Vince McMahon came to the ring, in the process legitimately tearing both his quadriceps muscles when his knees were caught on the apron, with the planned finish and attempt to restart the match botched, and ordered the match to be restarted with the final two participants. Batista eliminated Cena following a spinebuster to win the match.

Aftermath

The following weeks on Raw surrounded Batista's choice of which champion to face at WrestleMania 21. Triple H devised a scheme to have Batista almost run over by a limousine resembling John "Bradshaw" Layfield 's, so Batista would challenge JBL instead of himself. Batista became aware of the scheme and chose to face Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania, thus leaving the Evolution stable in the process. He won the title, and their feud continued until he was drafted to SmackDown! on June 30. Batista remained champion until the January 13, 2006, episode of SmackDown! when he vacated the title due to injury.
John Cena went on to win a tournament to become the number one contender to the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 21. The tournament concluded in a match between him and Kurt Angle at No Way Out, which Cena won after performing an FU. Following this, he began an angle with JBL. Cena defeated JBL to win the title at WrestleMania, and their feud ended after Cena retained the title in an "I Quit" match at Judgment Day. Cena would then go to hold on to the title until New Year's Revolution 2006 when Edge cashed in the Money in the Bank contract he won at Wrestlemania 21 and defeat Cena after an Elimination Chamber match.
Following the Royal Rumble, Randy Orton and Kurt Angle began feuding with The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels, respectively. The Big Show faced JBL in the first ever barbed wire steel cage match for the title at No Way Out, which JBL won to retain the title. Orton briefly feuded with Christian before moving on to feud with The Undertaker, which spanned nine months. After losing his title match at No Way Out, The Big Show faced Akebono in a sumo match at WrestleMania, and he briefly feuded with Carlito afterwards.

Results

Royal Rumble entrances and eliminations

DrawEntrantBrandOrderEliminated byTimeEliminations
Eddie GuerreroSmackDown!11Edge28:113
Chris BenoitRaw25Batista & Ric Flair47:262
Daniel PuderSmackDown!Hardcore Holly04:090
Hardcore HollySmackDown!Chris Benoit & Eddie Guerrero01:591
The HurricaneRawEddie Guerrero01:040
Kenzo SuzukiSmackDown!Rey Mysterio03:310
EdgeRaw28Batista & John Cena40:195
Rey MysterioSmackDown!27Edge38:252
Shelton BenjaminRaw10Edge14:351
10Booker TSmackDown!Eddie Guerrero & Rey Mysterio10:423
11Chris JerichoRaw21Batista28:222
12Luther ReignsSmackDown!Booker T07:131
13Muhammad HassanRawBooker T, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Edge, Luther Reigns & Shelton Benjamin00:540
14Orlando JordanSmackDown!Booker T03:360
15Scotty 2 HottySmackDown!Attacked by Muhammad Hassan before entering the ring0:000
16Charlie HaasSmackDown!13Shawn Michaels06:200
17René DupréeSmackDown!16Chris Jericho11:320
18Simon DeanRaw12Shawn Michaels00:200
19Shawn MichaelsRaw15Kurt Angle04:563
20Kurt AngleSmackDown!14Shawn Michaels00:371
21Jonathan CoachmanRaw23Ric Flair13:480
22Mark JindrakSmackDown!19Kane08:150
23VisceraRaw17John Cena03:000
24Paul LondonSmackDown!18Gene Snitsky03:150
25John CenaSmackDown!29Batista15:283
26Gene SnitskyRaw20Batista03:381
27KaneRaw22John Cena03:541
28BatistaRaw''10:546
29ChristianRaw24Batista02:090
30Ric FlairRaw26Edge01:582

Scotty was attacked by Hassan before he made it to the ring, and therefore was unable to compete and never officially entered the match.
Kurt Angle had been eliminated by Shawn Michaels and then returned to the ring, and eliminated Michaels in retaliation.