Royal Rumble Recap

The road to WrestleMania became clearer tonight as a main event spot was secured by the first man in the history of the Royal Rumble to enter the match last and win. But don’t think that this was some kind of fluke. The man that will be headlining WrestleMania 23 is 14-0 at WrestleMania. As far as who he will be fighting at WrestleMania 23, his three options remain the same as before the show because all three champions retained their belts.

The Hardy Boyz vs MNM - This one ended when Matt hit Nitro with the Side Effect which was followed by Jeff hitting Nitro with the Swanton Bomb to get the win for the Hardy Boyz. This match didn’t settle any of the differences between these two teams. Winners: The Hardy Boyz

ECW World Championship: Champion Lashley vs Test - Early in the match, Lashley had his shoulder rammed into the ring post. Despite fighting with only one arm, Test couldn’t put Lashley away. Test then purposely got counted out. After the match, Lashley dragged Lashley back into the ring to give him some more punishment. Winner: Lashley by count out

World Heavyweight Championship: Champion Batista vs Mr. Kennedy - Early in the match, Batista had his knee rammed into the ring steps. Kennedy worked on the leg of Batista for the entire match. Later in the match, Batista went for the Batista Bomb but his leg couldn’t support him and somehow the ref got knocked down. While the ref was down, Kennedy hit a low blow and pinned Batista for a 10-count. After the ref awoke, Batista hit a Batista Bomb to get the win. Winner: Batista

Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Championship: Champion John Cena vs Umaga - John entered this match with an injured spleen which was caused by Umaga on Monday night. John Cena controlled most of the end of the match but couldn’t keep the Samoan Bulldozer off his feet for 10 seconds. At one point, Cena smashed a TV monitor into the head of Umaga while it was wedged against the ring post. A few moments later, it looked like Cena would win when Umaga ran across the ring announce tables and missed a splash. Again, he got up at nine. Armando then removed a corner of the top rope and wanted Umaga to use it as a weapon on Cena. However, Cena gained control of the ring rope and used it as to choke out Umaga while he had him in the STFU to get the win. Winner: John Cena

The Royal Rumble - The list is in the order of entrance. Anyone eliminated during that wrestler’s time interval will be listed in italics.
1 – Ric Flair
2 – Finlay
3 – Kenny Dykstra
4 – Matt Hardy
5 – Edge - Ric Flair, Kenny Dykstra
6 – Tommy Dreamer
7 – Sabu
8 – Gregory Helms
9 – Shelton Benjamin
10 – Kane - Tommy Dreamer, Sabu
11 – CM Punk
12 – King Booker - Gregory Helms
13 – Super Crazy
14 – Jeff Hardy
15 – Sandman - Sandman
16 – Randy Orton - Super Crazy, Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy
17 – Chris Benoit
18 – Rob Van Dam - King Booker, Kane (by the eliminated King Booker)
19 – Viscera
20 – Johnny Nitro
21 – Kevin Thorn
22 – Hardcore Holly
23 – Shawn Michaels - Finlay, Viscera, Shelton Benjamin
24 – Chris Masters - Johnny Nitro
25 – Chavo Guerrero - Kevin Thorn
26 – MVP - Chris Masters
27 – Carlito
28 – The Great Khali - Hardcore Holly
29 – The Miz - The Miz, Rob Van Dam, CM Punk, Carlito, Chavo Guerrero
30 – Undertaker - Great Khali, MVP
Final Four: Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton, Edge
- Shawn Michaels eliminated Randy Orton and Edge
Final 2: Undertaker & Shawn Michaels
Winner: The Undertaker

What does this event mean for future?
The much rumored Undertaker vs Batista match looks like it should be happening at WrestleMania 23. However, a controversial decision in Batista’s title defense will probably lead to a rematch for Mr. Kennedy at next month’s No Way Out. In other SmackDown news, Kane and King Booker appear to have started a feud with each other.

On the RAW side of things, Umaga appears to be out of the main event scene. As far as who Cena might be facing at WrestleMania 23, if I were a betting man, I think that there will be a Fatal Four Way Match between Cena, Michaels, Edge, and Orton for the title. The MNM vs Hardy feud appears to be continuing and will probably still be taking place on both shows.

Overall Thoughts
This was one of the best Rumble matches in recent history. There was not a clear cut favorite going in and the ending was incredible. The four front-runners going into the match were the last four men left. The battle at the end between the Undertaker and Shawn was truly a great battle and not one of the fluke-type endings that the Rumble usually ends with. The MNM vs Hardy match was another great chapter in this amazing feud. The Umaga vs Cena match was a violent and methodical affair that played to both wrestlers strengths. Ken Kennedy showed some great charisma in his match and won over a huge section of the crowd. As far as the ECW title match goes, the less said the better.

Match Results

• The Hardy Boyz beat MNM
  
• ECW Title: Champion Lashley beat Test by count out
  
• World Heavyweight Championship: Champ Batista beat Kennedy
  
• Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Title: Champ John Cena beat Umaga
  
• The Undertaker won the Royal Rumble

_{Photo: © 2006 World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved. The Undertaker can be seen every Friday night on the CW Network show Friday Night SmackDown}