WWE Royal Rumble 2007 Review

Match 1: MNM vs. The Hardys
These two teams met at ECW's infamous December to Dismember PPV and once more at Armageddon in a TLC match that saw Joey Mercury shatter his face. They kick off the night as the San Antonio crowd gives The Hardys a huge pop. Fun exchanges between the two teams as expected with Melina screaming for her team in the background. Jeff Hardy was able to tag himself into the match and close things out with a Swanton Bomb to seal another big win for himself and his brother. Good match for what it was but nothing out of the ordinary that we haven't seen between the two teams in their past matches. Still a nice way to open up the show and lead into the main events.
Winners: The Hardys
Rating: **3/4

Match 2: ECW Championship - Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Test
Was Test really the best option to face Bobby Lashley for the ECW Championship for this show? It's no secret, I was and still am a Bobby Lashley fan and am proud to say that I was one of the few that supported him through his ECW tenure. Unfortunately, his match here against Test just didn't click. Test didn't necessarily have the funnest style of wrestling to watch and the crowd just could not get into it. What made matters worse was the ending that saw Lashley clothesline Test out of the ring before the referee counted him out. Seriously, why couldn't Lashley just couldn't get the win? Was the ECW Championship just not important enough for Test to win that he decided to walk away? Lashley runs up the ramp to toss Test around the ring. Am I watching TNA?
Winner: Bobby Lashley
Rating: *3/4

Match 3: World Heavyweight Championship - Batista (c) vs. Mr. Kennedy
After Mr. Kennedy beat out everyone in a beat the clock sprint on SmackDown, he was finally awarded his shot at gold against Batista here tonight. If there was any doubt if Kennedy was a main event star or not, I think this match right here should have the answers. The crowd reacted well to him and he was so slimy in working Batista's leg. There's a reason why the company had high hopes for this guy and a reason why he won Money in the Bank at WrestleMania. Credit to Batista, always unselfish and did a great job of selling Kennedy's offense. Batista was able to look like his normal self but also let Kennedy display his own dominance, too. They even added a bump with the referee to give Kennedy an out for his loss after Batista nailed a Batista Bomb. Great match here with Kennedy desperately giving everything he had to win the match and unlike the previous match, it just showed how important it was for him to win the title. But one Batista Bomb changed all his plans.
Winner: Batista
Rating: ***1/2

Match 4: WWE Championship - Last Man Standing - John Cena (c) vs. Umaga
If there is one match that stood out in the career of Umaga, it's this one right here against John Cena. Umaga was one of the most agile big men you will ever see step in the ring and also one of the most underrated performers. Thankfully, this match has always gotten critical acclaim and is a shining spot in his career that ended too soon. The intensity that this match held right from the start was just something else. Umaga was so good in coming off as a beast and everything Cena pulled out of the hat just didn't seem like enough. This match was brutal, Cena looked so desperate in trying to tame the beast but Umaga just kept coming back. Cena tossed the steep steps at Umaga, slammed a television monitor into him and even had him crash through the announcers table. The match definitely turned a notch higher when the blood started to pour profusely out of the skull of Cena. I would be lying if I said I didn't miss seeing blood. Crowd was eating up every second of it. Finally, the match came to an end when Cena choked out Umaga with an STF using a ring rope. The image of blood pouring down the face of Cena while he chokes out the beast was certainly a sight to see. What a match, they definitely brought the goods here and this definitely goes down as one of the best matches in the career of both.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: ****3/4

Match 5: 2007 Royal Rumble
After the incredible Last Man Standing match to help boost our appetite, it's finally time for the main event. Loved how they started this match with the two veterans in Ric Flair and Finlay. A different start to this match than what we have become so accustomed to seeing. This Royal Rumble match was pretty straight to the point, focus on the big stars and make any of those guys look like they have legitimate chances at winning. Some may like this and some may not, but I really felt like it made this Rumble match more unpredictable because there really was no way a guy like CM Punk or an MVP had enough steam behind them to actually win it all. It was either Edge, Randy Orton, Shawn Michaels or The Undertaker as these guys ended up being the last four. This Rumble match also had lots of cool spots that saw Kane Chokeslam the hell out of Sabu through a table and even seeing The Great Khali impose his will before meeting The Undertaker was cool. Nothing was as epic as seeing The Undertaker go against Shawn Michaels in the final part of the match. JBL's commentary added more to the mix. They gave the two a good amount of time to close the show as the drama kept the fans on their toes. Finally, Undertaker tosses Michaels out and punches himself a ticket to WrestleMania 23. What a finish. The first half was good but the second half of this match really kicked things up to a different level.
Winner: The Undertaker
Rating: ****1/2

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating
I liked the formatting of the show, kicking it off with the special tag match before leading into the championship matches before finally closing with an epic Royal Rumble match. Despite a slow start to the show with the first two matches, the following three matches closed the show on a very high note. It was more than enough to make me forget about the bland open to the night. That Last Man Standing match was insane while The Undertaker last eliminating Shawn Michaels was as cool as it gets.
Rating: 8/10