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(More customer reviews)For those who don't know, this is another Wal-Mart exclusive double pack from WWE with the concept behind this being to re-release a a PPV from 2010 combined with the 2009 edition of the same event. In this case, it's the Royal Rumble PPV.
2009:
ECW Champion Jack Swagger vs. Matt Hardy - For Jack Swagger's PPV debut, he delivered a a solid wrestling match here with Matt Hardy and continued to showcase his inring potential with his storytelling on Hardy's arm throughout the match. Solid opening match.
Womens Champion Beth Phoenix vs. Melina - It just seemed like they weren't clicking here as you openly saw some botched moves, off timing, along with the crowd at one point more focused on cheering Santino at ringside than the match itself. One memorable moment though was when Beth stretched Melina's leg to the point where she had Melina kicking herself in the head with her own foot. In the end, this was their weakest match together as they were just off here but what's ironic is that their worst day is still a more watchable & better performance than you would get from some of the other divas on their best day.
World Champion John Cena vs. J.B.L. - If anyone remembers their matches from WrestleMania 21 along with Judgment Day & One Night Stand from 2008, you know not to expect much from these two unless it's a hardcore type match like Judgment Day '05 & Great American Bash 2008. But I'll give it credit as these two put on their best "wrestling" match here as it wasn't one sided here & both men trading offense. The wild card with Shawn Michaels at ringside helped this match more than hurt it as this was again, their best "wrestling" match that we should have gotten during their previous 3 attempts at a normal match.
No Disqualification Match: WWE Champion Jeff Hardy vs. Edge - Chavo Guerrero was in Edge's corner for this match & Vickie Guerrero made it a No DQ match. I can never remember Jeff Hardy (who looked very similar to the Joker from "The Dark Knight") & Edge having a bad match and this was no exception as they just worked well together with the No DQ rule making various highlights like Hardy's dangerous leap off the ladder onto Chavo before the ending that was a shock to everyone involved with the match. Great match between these two but again, when did they have a bad one?
Royal Rumble Battle Royal: This Rumble heavily made up for last years as we got a bunch of welcomed surprises here in terms of either performances or special appearances and at one point, we had the most wrestlers in the ring at the same time during the match that I ever remember seeing. Various highlights include the opening minutes with the young talents getting the spotlight for a while, Cryme Tyme's coin flip, how Mysterio re-entered the ring after being tossed out, the "Rhodes Family Reunion", Rob Van Dam's appearance & "no ring rust" performance including one awesome looking double team move he did with Mysterio at one point, Santino's Rumble performance, "Hi I'm Dolph Ziggler", seeing the 400 pound Big Show "skin the cat" at one point, and the dominance of Randy Orton's Legacy. Great Rumble match overall that delivered.
In the end, this was a very enjoyable Rumble overall with the only bad match being Melina & Beth having an off night.
2010:
ECW Champion Christian vs. Ezekel Jackson - This was a real solid opening match as we all know what Christian is capable of but Ezekel Jackson stepped it up here in getting himself over as a power man that all about what his entrance music implies...Domination. Ezekel overpowered Christian various times throughout the match causing Christian to play defense, use his speed, & take high risk to get an advantage. It was a solid opening match & good showcasing for Jackson even in defeat as they would go on to have better matches (like their Extreme Rules match on the final ECW broadcast) but one funny moment was Matt Striker bringing up a note in the history of the ECW Championship to no immediate response from the others leading to Michael Cole saying, "I'm trying to forget that moment."
As a side note, this would end up being the last ECW match on PPV as WWE ended the brand right before the next PPV.
United States Champion The Miz vs. M.V.P. - Although this was building for the previous month, this was a last minute bonus match. M.V.P. dominated early before Miz was able to recover with these two going back & forth against each other before Miz was able to pull out a win in another solid match...but the biggest highlight of this match was the aftermath between these two that ensured that we didn't see the last of this issue between these two men.
WWE Champion Sheamus vs. Randy Orton - Before the match, Orton told Ted Dibiase that he didn't want Legacy getting involved in his match based off the conversations he had with Rhodes & Dibiase separately earlier in the night. This was a rare "heel vs. heel" match for the championship that saw the crowd starting to favor Randy Orton over Sheamus. Both men focused on a body part such as Sheamus' ankle & Orton's arm to the point where his arm was rammed into the steel steps. Cody's appearance (remember, he told Dibiase for them to not get involved...he didn't tell Cody) cost Orton the match resulting in Orton taking it out on Legacy before Orton would be left laying himself.
Womens Champion Michelle McCool vs. Mickie James - All I can say here is that after all the "Piggy James" comments & actions from both McCool & Layla, they got exactly what they deserved. Just think of this match as the female version of Ultimate Warrior vs. Honky Tonk Man. If your looking for an actual match...check out their encounter from the month before at T.L.C.
World Champion Undertaker vs. Rey Mysterio - Just by looking at these two, you got the type of match expected here in that it was "David vs. Goliath" and just like usual when Mysterio plays the "David" role, he puts up one hell of a fight. Taker showcased his superior power early by just tossing Mysterio over the top in the opening moments & blocking Mysterio's high flyin' moves. Mysterio did the old Bret Hart strategy by working on Taker's legs, made Taker's nose bleed from various kicks to the face, and even hit two 619's before he got caught with the Last Ride. This was the best non-Rumble match of the night & was a good encounter.
Royal Rumble Battle Royal - As usual, WWE put together a great "by the numbers" video package featuring facts & highlights from the previous Rumble matches. Various moments such as C.M. Punk preaching during the match, the interaction between Punk & Great Khali & Beth Phoenix, Miz & M.V.P. picking up where they left off earlier, Legacy working together, Shawn fighting to get his match against Undertaker at WrestleMania...at ANYONE'S expense, Mark Henry's slam on Big Show, and the "Rated R" return. This was one of the best Rumbles in recent history as it had plenty of stories, action, and entertaining moments in the match that just came together perfectly.
DVD extras include the confrontation between Bret Hart & Mr. McMahon the next night on RAW. In the end, this event resembled the earlier Royal Rumbles where the under-card matches were solid but nothing memorable as a majority of these matches (except the World Title) weren't the best encounters in their series of matches while the Rumble itself was the highlight of the night.
In the end, I enjoyed the 2009 from top to bottom while the 2010 edition came off a little flat outside of the Rumble match itself but your getting two events for the price of one here so I recommend.
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