Royal Rumble 2007 Thoughts
Royal Rumble 2007 was the 20th annual Royal Rumble PPV event produced by the WWE. The event took place January 28, 2007 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Attendence was sold out at 13,500 with a buyrate 525,000. The show was a tri branded PPV during the Brand Split as it marked the first time ECW would be representing the show.
5 matches were set for the show including the Royal Rumble. However this rumble would include superstars representing ECW making this first Royal Rumble to have 3 brands feature participants. The winner had a choice to face 3 world champions of their choice at WrestleMania which for first time included an option for the ECW Championship. 3 title matches and a tag team match was also set.
The Good - John Cena vs. Umaga in a last man standing match was a great WWE Championship match and among one of Umaga's best matches of his career. I sometimes wish I could have appreciated Umaga more at this time. It wasn't one of the best Last Man Standing matches ever but it was great. The opening matchup of the Hardys vs. MNM was also good. Maybe not as great as the one they had a month earlier at that awful PPV but it delivered. They had great chemistry. The Royal Rumble was very good but of course the last 2 standing in the ring for a shot at WrestleMania is most remembered for. I mean Undertaker and Shawn Michaels stole the show with just the little amount of time they had to do their roles. It's obvious this gave the WWE the idea to pair them up in the future some day.
The Meh - The World Heavyweight Championship match between Batista & Mr. Kennedy was somewhat an okay match. Neither stars were tremendous in-ring experts but they tried and the crowd got into the match. Batista had it pretty rough post-injury in putting up quality matches and feuds but this year of 2007 marked a good year for the Animal.
The Bad - The ECW Championship match was crap and the ending of Test not caring of a countout was very bad booking with Test through the feud was build as wanting to win the belt more than anything. Another Negative was the Royal Rumble featuring Great Khali eliminating the ring. That damaged the rumble by a lot.
Overrall - 2007 is not a favorite year among WWE stars, staff, and fans for a number of reasons. Injuries, drug policy, and the dark summer tragic lost but the start was very good and this rumble ppv started one of the best road to WrestleMania buildups ever. A good show at that.
Score - 7 out of 10: Good
0 = Terrible : 1 = Bad/Lackluster : 2 = Decent : 3 = Good : 4 = Awesome : 5 = One of the Best of all Time :
1. The Hardys vs. MNM - 3.5/5
2. Test vs. Bobby Lashley: ECW World Championship - 1/5
3. Batista vs. Mr. Kennedy: World Heavyweight Championship - 2.5/5
4. Umage vs. John Cena: WWE Championship (Last Man Standing) - 4/5
5. 30-Man Royal Rumble Match - 3.5/5
Best Match - Umaga vs. John Cena
Worst Match - Test vs. Bobby Lashley
Most Memorable Moment - Undertaker Victory with the screenshot of him ready for WrestleMania with the logo.
Top 5 Performers
1. John Cena - Great Performance
2. Umaga - Great Performance
3. Undertaker - Great Performance
4. Shawn Michaels - Great Performance
5. Edge - Great Performance and long activity.
Royal Rumble 2007 was the 20th annual Royal Rumble PPV event produced by the WWE. The event took place January 28, 2007 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Attendence was sold out at 13,500 with a buyrate 525,000. The show was a tri branded PPV during the Brand Split as it marked the first time ECW would be representing the show.
5 matches were set for the show including the Royal Rumble. However this rumble would include superstars representing ECW making this first Royal Rumble to have 3 brands feature participants. The winner had a choice to face 3 world champions of their choice at WrestleMania which for first time included an option for the ECW Championship. 3 title matches and a tag team match was also set.
The Good - John Cena vs. Umaga in a last man standing match was a great WWE Championship match and among one of Umaga's best matches of his career. I sometimes wish I could have appreciated Umaga more at this time. It wasn't one of the best Last Man Standing matches ever but it was great. The opening matchup of the Hardys vs. MNM was also good. Maybe not as great as the one they had a month earlier at that awful PPV but it delivered. They had great chemistry. The Royal Rumble was very good but of course the last 2 standing in the ring for a shot at WrestleMania is most remembered for. I mean Undertaker and Shawn Michaels stole the show with just the little amount of time they had to do their roles. It's obvious this gave the WWE the idea to pair them up in the future some day.
The Meh - The World Heavyweight Championship match between Batista & Mr. Kennedy was somewhat an okay match. Neither stars were tremendous in-ring experts but they tried and the crowd got into the match. Batista had it pretty rough post-injury in putting up quality matches and feuds but this year of 2007 marked a good year for the Animal.
The Bad - The ECW Championship match was crap and the ending of Test not caring of a countout was very bad booking with Test through the feud was build as wanting to win the belt more than anything. Another Negative was the Royal Rumble featuring Great Khali eliminating the ring. That damaged the rumble by a lot.
Overrall - 2007 is not a favorite year among WWE stars, staff, and fans for a number of reasons. Injuries, drug policy, and the dark summer tragic lost but the start was very good and this rumble ppv started one of the best road to WrestleMania buildups ever. A good show at that.
Score - 7 out of 10: Good
0 = Terrible : 1 = Bad/Lackluster : 2 = Decent : 3 = Good : 4 = Awesome : 5 = One of the Best of all Time :
1. The Hardys vs. MNM - 3.5/5
2. Test vs. Bobby Lashley: ECW World Championship - 1/5
3. Batista vs. Mr. Kennedy: World Heavyweight Championship - 2.5/5
4. Umage vs. John Cena: WWE Championship (Last Man Standing) - 4/5
5. 30-Man Royal Rumble Match - 3.5/5
Best Match - Umaga vs. John Cena
Worst Match - Test vs. Bobby Lashley
Most Memorable Moment - Undertaker Victory with the screenshot of him ready for WrestleMania with the logo.
Top 5 Performers
1. John Cena - Great Performance
2. Umaga - Great Performance
3. Undertaker - Great Performance
4. Shawn Michaels - Great Performance
5. Edge - Great Performance and long activity.