WWE Royal Rumble 2009 Review

Match 1: ECW Championship - Jack Swagger (c) vs. Matt Hardy
The hype behind Jack Swagger when he debuted was nuts. He was pretty damn awful on the mic but the WWE insisted on pushing this guy to the moon. Just a few months into his debut with ECW, he beat Matt Hardy for the ECW Championship and he finds himself defending the belt against Hardy in the opening match at the Royal Rumble PPV. How could any of this go wrong? Even for the opener, I just couldn't really feel the energy for this one. It almost felt like the winner was so drawn out from the start that the push behind the match was just lost in the process. Hardy definitely carried Swagger throughout the match but there was nothing that really stood out. Swagger was able to hit his finisher pretty early on in the match to secure the win. Take it for what it was worth. If anything, this was really the only spot on the card it could have.
Winner: Jack Swagger
Rating: **3/4

Match 2: Women's Championship - Beth Phoenix (c) vs. Melina
Am I the only one who can't understand how these two get so overlooked when talking about the best female wrestlers in the WWE? Is it because they don't hype up the division like no tomorrow like they do in 2016? Yes, there was definitely a ton of trash wrestling with the Divas around this time but every now and then, there was a pretty damn good match like this one. Innovative moves and you could really see the passion and effort in their work. While Beth Phoenix controlled the better part of the match, Melina was able to roll up Phoenix to score the win and her third championship reign. Phoenix is in disbelief as Santino Marella does his best to comfort her. Give these ladies more time in the ring and I guarantee you that they could have a really special match.
Winner: Melina
Rating: **1/2

Match 3: World Heavyweight Championship - John Cena (c) vs. JBL
Is there a count for how many times we have seen John Cena vs. JBL? Feels like this match has been rehashed so many times. To close out 2008, Shawn Michaels announced that the recession had hit him hard and accepted an offer from JBL that he couldn't refuse to help him score the World Heavyweight Championship. For all the flack the story got, I thought it worked as both JBL and Michaels played their roles perfectly. It was a nice way for Michaels to begin his feud against The Undertaker after feuding with Chris Jericho for so long. This match was definitely one of their better performances. They have wrestled against each other so many times and they wanted to do something a little bit different this time around. The focus on Michaels was great and it didn't detract too much from the action in the ring. The referee bump ignited the fire to the match as Michaels dramatically hit a Sweet Chin Music to both men before laying JBL's unconscious body over Cena's unconscious body. However, after a kick out, Cena was able to hit an Attitude Adjustment to seal the win. While this may definitely sound like a lot on paper, they really did make it work out for the better and the crowd reacted nicely to the drama.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: ***1/4

Match 4: WWE Championship - No Disqualification - Jeff Hardy (c) vs. Edge
Jeff Hardy's roller coaster year of 2008 culminated with him winning the WWE Championship as his first title defense on PPV is against Edge. Like the previous match, I can't help but wonder how many times these two have faced off against each other on PPV. Whenever Jeff Hardy or Edge are involved in a match, you can bet your house it is going to deliver. Crowd was hot for both guys as the top dogs on Smackdown battle it out for the richest prize in the game. Before the match, Vickie Guerrero comes out and changes the match to a no disqualification match. Really good stuff here from two veterans who just know how to appease the crowd and escalate the excitement throughout the match. Cool spot came when Hardy jumped off the top of a ladder and splashed through Chavo Guerrero on the announcers table. Hardy looked to seal the deal as a Swanton Bomb was sure to help him retain his title until Guerrero came out and pulled the referee. Matt Hardy came for the save until he rammed Jeff in the head with a steel chair. Edge covered and wins another championship. Really good and like the previous match, hectic. But just like the previous match, it worked and sets up lots of good questions heading into WrestleMania. Matt's turn at the end came off as very predictable but it still came off really good. Jim Ross on the call was just as great. Good stuff all around.
Winner: Edge
Rating: ****

Match 5: 2009 Royal Rumble
The hype around this match was basically around one person, Randy Orton. Basically, this made for one of the most predictable Royal Rumble matches of all time. Rey Mysterio opened up the match against John Morrison to set the pace but the pace of the match just stayed in one spot throughout until the very end. Also, the entrants weren't as shocking or surprising this time around aside from maybe Rob Van Dam who made for a fun surprise. I question why they chose to have Jim Duggan as #29 in the match. While I am dismissive of having the entire match revolve around strictly Orton, I liked how much attention was also pointed to both Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase Jr. who were great in their roles of protecting their leader. The match came down to Orton & his team, Triple H, The Undertaker and The Big Show. Big Show was eliminated first before eliminating The Undertaker from the outside. This finally led to a showdown between Triple H against Orton & his guys. Despite Triple H's best efforts, Orton last eliminated Triple H to score his spot at WrestleMania. I liked the ending and if they plan was to have Orton win, this was a great way to do it. Especially since these two would later face off at WrestleMania in the main event. The shot of the deviant Orton pointing at the WrestleMania logo to close the show was a cool sight.
Winner: Randy Orton
Rating: ***1/4

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
While the World Heavyweight Championship and WWE Championship matches delivered, I felt like everything else was just kind of there. The Royal Rumble match itself was predictable from the start and it felt like we were just waiting for a big entrant to come in and win the match before Randy Orton finally won. However, the seeds have definitely began to sprout for WrestleMania and the story progression was on the dot.
Rating: 6.5/10