January 25, 2004 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Wachovia Center
| The Advertisement |
| Sunday Night Heat Match (RAW) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria w/Steven Richards |
def. | Molly Holly | via Pinfall (4:56) |
| Notes: Victoria gets a huge victory over the Women's Champion in this non-title contest. Could a title shot be in Victoria's future? I hope so. | |||
| Match #1 - WWE World Tag Team Championship - Table Match (RAW) | |||
| Batista & Ric Flair Champions |
def. | "The Dudley Boyz" (D-Von & Bubba Ray Dudley) Challengers |
(4:22) |
| Notes: The combatants brawled outside the ring for a bit before the match was officially underway. Batista put D-Von through the table to win. Jonathan Coachman started out doing commentary with JR and King, but ran down to distract the Dudleyz. It did the trick. | |||
| Match #2 - WWE Cruiserweight Championship (SMDN) | |||
| Rey Mysterio Champion |
def. | Jamie Noble Challenger w/Nidia |
via Pinfall (3:13) |
| Notes: Nidia grabbed Noble's leg, distracting him and giving Mysterio the win. Wait, but she's blind, right? Or is she...? | |||
| Match #3 (SMDN) | |||
| Eddie Guerrero | def. | Chavo Guerrero w/Chavo Guerrero, Sr. |
via Pinfall (8:04) |
| Notes: I was disappointed with this match. I expected a better technical contest here, and there wasn't much to get excited about. The crowd was really behind Eddie, chanting his name numerous times before, during, and after. Eddie tied up Chavo, Sr. and beat the hell out of Chavo, Jr. after it was over. | |||
| Match #4 - WWE World Heavyweight Championship (SMDN) | |||
| Brock Lesnar Champion |
def. | Hardcore Holly Challenger |
via Pinfall (6:31) |
| Notes: As Lesnar was leaping to the apron to the launching of his pyro, Hardcore attacked. A short brawl occured outside the ring before the bell rang. Hardcore gave it a hell of a try, but he walked right into the F5. A nice match on his part, but I don't think anyone really thought he could defeat WWE's new golden boy. | |||
| Match #5 - World Heavyweight Championship - Last Man Standing Match (RAW) | |||
| Triple H Champion |
DRAW | Shawn Michaels Challenger |
via Dbl Countout (22:46) |
| Notes: Jeez. Quite a battle, here. Shawn took a risk and ended up backflipping through the announce table. But, as much as it pains me to say it, he is a resilient bastard and didn't give up, even with 2 pints of his own blood pouring down his face. Triple H wasn't left out of the bloodbath, getting cut open from a steel chair. After a prolonged bout, Triple H connected with the Pedigree, but Michaels recovered and spent his last breath planting a superkick in Hunter's jaw. Both men collapsed and were counted down. There are countless dumbass fans who do not like this decision, but a draw NEEDs to happen every so often. It creates the sense of legitimacy, and adds drama and relevance for the future. It does not take away from the fact that this was a hell of a match. Hats off to both men. | |||
| Match #6 - Royal Rumble Match | |||
| Chris Benoit | def. | (See Below) | (1:01:34) |
| Notes: Tajiri was trying to get the Tarantula on Mark Henry when Rhyno went for the gore on Benoit. Benoit dodged it, but Rhyno hit Henry, and Tajiri fell out. I give the elimination to Rhyno, since he was the impetus behind elimination. When the timer reached zero for #13, the lights went out and the old school Undertaker music played for a few moments. I nearly shat my pants, and so did Kane. Kane screamed, "I buried you alive!" just before Booker tossed him out. Number 13 turned out to be Spike Dudley, and 13 was not lucky for him. Kane was pissed and chokeslammed him on the ramp. Spike did not return. For #21, Test's music hit, but backstage cameras showed him laid out on the floor. Austin was there and told someone out of the camera's view to get out there. Who was it? Mick Foley! Foley sacrificed himself to take out Orton. The two brawled outside the ring and up the ramp. When Nunzio entered, Foley hit him with Mr. Socko! Nunzio then sat outside the ring until Cena forced him to enter. Goldberg was dominant until Brock Lesnar came into the ring and hit him with an F5. But the MVP of this Rumble? The Big Show. Not to take anything away from Benoit's performance, but Show took the Walls of Jericho, the Anklelock, and the Crossface, not to mention being ganged up on by everyone in the ring on several occasions. He took numerous finishing maneuvers which would have put anyone else out. But for the second time Show was only a bridesmaid and not the bride, coming in second at the Rumble. This was a great Rumble match. A great way to start off the year! | |||
| # | Time In | Name | Exit | Time Out | Eliminated By | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0:00 | Chris Benoit | WINNER | |||
| 2 | 0:00 | Randy Orton | 18/19 | 33:45 | Mick Foley | 33:45 |
| 3 | 1:30 | Mark Henry w/Theodore Long | 3 | 7:03 | Chris Benoit | 5:33 |
| 4 | 3:02 | Tajiri | 2 | 6:54 | Rhyno | 3:52 |
| 5 | 4:34 | Bradshaw | 1 | 5:25 | Chris Benoit | 0:51 |
| 6 | 6:13 | Rhyno | 8 | 20:25 | Chris Benoit | 14:12 |
| 7 | 7:53 | Matt Hardy | 9 | 22:24 | Rene Dupree | 14:31 |
| 8 | 9:30 | Scott Steiner | 5 | 16:41 | Booker T | 7:11 |
| 9 | 11:13 | Matt Morgan | 11 | 23:44 | Chris Benoit | 12:31 |
| 10 | 12:55 | The Hurricane | 4 | 13:31 | Matt Morgan | 0:36 |
| 11 | 14:49 | Booker T | 13 | 24:16 | Randy Orton | 9:27 |
| 12 | 16:32 | Kane | 6 | 18:26 | Booker T | 1:54 |
| 13 | 18:07 | Spike Dudley | 7 | 18:53 | Kane | 0:46 |
| 14 | 20:01 | Rikishi | 12 | 24:11 | Randy Orton | 4:10 |
| 15 | 21:44 | Rene Dupree | 10 | 22:33 | Rikishi | 0:49 |
| 16 | 23:13 | A-Train | 14 | 25:04 | Chris Benoit | 1:51 |
| 17 | 24:51 | Shelton Benjamin | 15 | 25:39 | Randy Orton | 0:48 |
| 18 | 26:26 | Ernest "The Cat" Miller w/Lamont | 16 | 27:43 | Randy Orton | 1:17 |
| 19 | 28:20 | Kurt Angle | 28 | 57:36 | The Big Show | 29:16 |
| 20 | 29:52 | Rico w/Miss Jackie | 17 | 31:09 | Randy Orton | 1:17 |
| 21 | 31:34 | Mick Foley | 18/19 | 33:45 | Himself | 2:11 |
| 22 | 34:41 | Christian | 20 | 42:35 | Chris Jericho | 7:54 |
| 23 | 36:28 | Nunzio | 23 | 49:09 | Bill Goldberg | 12:41 |
| 24 | 38:23 | The Big Show | 29 | 1:01:34 | Chris Benoit | 23:11 |
| 25 | 39:54 | Chris Jericho | 27 | 55:08 | The Big Show | 15:14 |
| 26 | 41:31 | Charlie Haas | 21 | 48:34 | Bill Goldberg | 7:03 |
| 27 | 43:05 | Billy Gunn | 22 | 48:57 | Bill Goldberg | 5:52 |
| 28 | 44:36 | John Cena | 25 | 52:59 | The Big Show | 8:23 |
| 29 | 46:12 | Rob Van Dam | 26 | 53:16 | The Big Show | 7:04 |
| 30 | 47:49 | Bill Goldberg | 24 | 50:14 | Kurt Angle | 2:25 |