As the Road To WrestleMania begins, the 24th annual WWE Royal Rumble came to you, live on pay-per-view, from the TD Garden in Boston, MA. With a shot at either the WWE Title or the World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania XXVII, an unheard of 40 Superstars would compete in the 40-Man Royal Rumble Match with the winner earning the honor to headline WrestleMania as 2009 Royal Rumble winner John Cena, 2006 Royal Rumble winner Rey Mysterio, “The Mexican Elitist” Alberto Del Rio, “The Second City Saint” CM Punk & The New Nexus, The Corre, “The Big Red Monster” Kane, “The World’s Largest Athlete” Big Show, and many, many more would be looking to get their opportunity to shine on “The Grandest Stage of Them All”! While the 40-Man Royal Rumble Match would determine who will get a guaranteed shot at either the WWE or World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania XXVII, there would be no guarantee who will walk into WrestleMania as the WWE Champion as the Royal Rumble would see the self-proclaimed “most must-see champion in WWE history” The Miz would defend the WWE Title against the man he took the title from late last year in “The Viper” Randy Orton! The World Heavyweight Title would also be up for grabs when “The Rated-R Superstar” Edge defends the World Heavyweight Title against “The Platinum Superstar” Dolph Ziggler and, by order of Dolph’s girlfriend and acting General Manager Vickie Guerrero, Edge’s signature Spear is banned from the match and, if Edge utilizes the Spear, not only will he be disqualified, he will lose the World Heavyweight Title! Also, a 2-on-1 Handicap Match would determine the Divas Champion as reigning champion Natalya would defend the gold against former “co-Divas Champions” Layla & Michelle McCool!
Match Results
- World Heavyweight Championship: Spear Banned: Edge (c) (with Kelly Kelly) def. Dolph Ziggler (with Vickie Guerrero) by pin following the Killswitch to retain.
- WWE Championship: The Miz (c) (with CM Punk, The New Nexus, & Alex Riley) def. Randy Orton by pin following the GTS by CM Punk to retain.
- Divas Championship: Fatal 4-Way Match: Eve Torres def. Natalya (c), Layla, & Michelle McCool by Eve Torres pinning Layla following the Evesault to win the Divas Title.
- 40-Man Royal Rumble Match: WINNER- Alberto Del Rio (#38)
Royal Rumble Match Entrants
- CM Punk
- Daniel Bryan
- Justin Gabriel
- Zack Ryder
- William Regal
- Ted DiBiase
- John Morrison
- Yoshi Tatsu
- Husky Harris
- Chavo Guerrero
- Mark Henry
- JTG
- Michael McGillicutty
- Chris Masters
- David Otunga
- Tyler Reks
- Vladimir Kozlov
- R-Truth
- The Great Khali
- Mason Ryan
- Booker T.
- John Cena
- Hornswoggle
- Tyson Kidd
- Heath Slater
- Kofi Kingston
- Jack Swagger
- King Sheamus
- Rey Mysterio
- Wade Barrett
- Dolph Ziggler
- Diesel
- Drew McIntyre
- Alex Riley
- Big Show
- Ezekiel Jackson
- Santino Marella
- Alberto Del Rio (WINNER)
- Randy Orton
- Kane
Royal Rumble Match Eliminations
- Daniel Bryan elim. Justin Gabriel
- Daniel Bryan (2) elim. Zack Ryder
- Ted DiBiase elim. William Regal
- Mark Henry elim. Chavo Guerrero
- Mark Henry (2) elim. Yoshi Tatsu
- Michael McGillicutty elim. JTG
- Husky Harris & Michael McGillicutty (2) elim. Ted DiBiase
- CM Punk elim. Daniel Bryan
- CM Punk (2) elim. Chris Masters
- CM Punk (3), David Otunga, Husky Harris (2), & Michael McGillicutty (3) elim. John Morrison
- CM Punk (4), David Otunga (2), Husky Harris (3), & Michael McGillicutty (4) elim. Mark Henry
- CM Punk (5) elim. Tyler Reks
- CM Punk (6) elim. Vladimir Kozlov
- CM Punk (7) elim. R-Truth
- The Great Khali elim. Husky Harris
- Mason Ryan elim. The Great Khali
- Mason Ryan (2) elim. Booker T.
- John Cena elim. Mason Ryan
- John Cena (2) elim. David Otunga
- John Cena (3) elim. Michael McGillicutty
- John Cena (4) elim. CM Punk
- John Cena (5) elim. Tyson Kidd
- John Cena (6) elim. Heath Slater
- King Sheamus elim. Hornswoggle
- Rey Mysterio elim. Jack Swagger
- Wade Barrett elim. Diesel
- Big Show elim. Dolph Ziggler
- Big Show (2) elim. Drew McIntyre
- John Cena (7) & Kofi Kingston elim. Alex Riley
- Ezekiel Jackson elim. Big Show
- Randy Orton elim. Kofi Kingston
- Randy Orton (2) elim. King Sheamus
- Kane elim. Ezekiel Jackson
- Rey Mysterio (2) elim. Kane
- Wade Barrett (2) elim. Rey Mysterio
- The Miz (with Alex Riley) elim. John Cena
- Randy Orton (3) elim. Wade Barrett
- Alberto Del Rio elim. Randy Orton
- Alberto Del Rio (2) elim. Santino Marella
Detailed Results
The 24th annual Royal Rumble kicks off in a huge way as the World Heavyweight Title would be up for grabs as reigning champion Edge would defend the World Heavyweight Title against “The Platinum Superstar” Dolph Ziggler, with Dolph’s girlfriend and acting General Manager of SmackDown Vickie Guerrero in his corner, with the added stipulation made by Vickie Guerrero that the Spear would be banned from the match and if Edge uses the Spear, Edge will be disqualified and will lose the World Heavyweight Title! During the hard-fought match, Edge would hit the Impaler DDT on Dolph Ziggler, but when Edge went for the pin, Vickie Guerrero would pull on the referee’s leg, interrupting the count! Edge would then confront Vickie on the apron and Dolph would try to catch Edge from behind, but Edge would dodge and would catch Dolph with a roll-up for a near fall! Vickie would then repeatedly slap Edge, but Kelly Kelly would come out and attack Vickie, taking Vickie out of the equation as Dolph hits the Zig Zag for a near fall! Dolph would then lock in the sleeper hold on Edge, but as Edge fought to escape the sleeper hold, the referee would get inadvertently knocked down! With both the referee and Vickie Guerrero down, Edge would line up and hit the banned Spear on Dolph Ziggler and, after the referee gets back to his feet, Edge would give a shout-out to his injured friend, Christian, by breaking out the Killswitch and hitting the move on Dolph en route to picking up the win and successfully retaining the World Heavyweight Title! How will Vickie Guerrero respond once she realizes that Edge used the Spear during the match?
After a stellar and controversial World Heavyweight Title match, it was then time for the WWE Title to be defended as reigning champion The Miz, with his “apprentice” Alex Riley in his corner, would defend the WWE Title against the man he took the title from late last year, “The Viper” Randy Orton! During the match, Randy Orton would look poised for victory as Orton readied the RKO, but Orton would be distracted by the arrival of The New Nexus as Mason Ryan, David Otunga, Husky Harris, & Michael McGillicutty come out and distract the referee, allowing Alex Riley to sneak into the ring, but Orton would spot Riley and would send Riley over the top rope, taking out The New Nexus and temporarily knocking down the referee! With the referee knocked down, Orton would hit the RKO on The Miz, but New Nexus leader CM Punk would emerge from under the ring and would hit the GTS on Randy Orton before proceeding to drag The Miz over the prone Orton as the referee comes to and counts the three, allowing The Miz to retain the WWE Title! Why did CM Punk & The New Nexus assist The Miz in retaining the WWE Title?
The Divas Title would also be on the line at the Royal Rumble as Natalya would defend the Divas Title against both members of LayCool, Layla & Michelle McCool in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match, but before the match begins, the anonymous General Manager of RAW chimes in with an email that announces that he is changing the Divas Title match to a Fatal 4-Way Match for the Divas Title as Natalya would defend the Divas Title against Layla, Michelle McCool, & Eve Torres! During the chaotic match, Michelle McCool would go for a big boot on Natalya, but Natalya would move out of the way and McCool would inadvertently blast Layla with the big boot! Natalya would then send Michelle McCool out of the ring before Eve Torres would send Natalya out of the ring and Eve would then hit the Evesault on Layla, but as Eve pinned Layla, Michelle McCool would roll-up Natalya, but the referee would not see McCool’s roll-up and would count Eve’s pinfall to crown Eve Torres the new Divas Champion!
Backstage, The Bella Twins confront United States Champion Daniel Bryan and his girlfriend, Gail Kim, and try to make amends by giving flowers to the couple, but The Bellas would backtrack by alleging that Bryan settled for Gail because they are more attractive! This would spark another brawl between Gail Kim and The Bella Twins that would see Daniel Bryan and Josh Mathews trying to break up the fight before Bryan is finally able to calm Gail Kim down!
Then it was time for the main attraction of the Royal Rumble as, in the biggest Royal Rumble Match in history, 40 Superstars from RAW and SmackDown would compete in the match where two random Superstars will start the match and, every 90 seconds, another Superstar would enter the match and the only way to be eliminated is to be thrown over the top rope with both feet landing on the floor and the last Superstar standing will earn a shot at either the WWE or World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania! The #1 entrant in the 40-Man Royal Rumble Match would then be revealed to be none other than the leader of The New Nexus, “The Second City Saint” CM Punk, but as the #2 entrant was set to be revealed, all four members of The Corre would come out as Wade Barrett, Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, & Ezekiel Jackson would surround the ring before attacking CM Punk and The New Nexus would join the fray as Mason Ryan, David Otunga, Husky Harris, & Michael McGillicutty! As referees struggle to separate the two factions, the anonymous General Manager of RAW chimes in with an email that stops the groups’ brawl and reiterates that CM Punk is the only one who should be in the ring and, if The Corre and The New Nexus do not leave the ring, then they will all be disqualified from the Royal Rumble Match! Faced with this ultimatum, The Corre and The New Nexus would exit the ring before the #2 entrant would be revealed to be United States Champion Daniel Bryan!
As the leader of The New Nexus, CM Punk, and the United States Champion, Daniel Bryan, continue their battle, the #3 entrant would emerge as Corre member Justin Gabriel would enter the Royal Rumble Match! After missing the 450 Splash on CM Punk, Justin Gabriel would find himself sent to the back as Daniel Bryan would eliminate Gabriel from the match! The #4 entrant would then come out as “The Long Island Iced Z” Zack Ryder would enter the Rumble Match, but would be eliminated by Daniel Bryan, as well, before the #5 entrant would be the 2008 King of the Ring William Regal! The #6 entrant would then be revealed to be “The Fortunate Son” Ted DiBiase, which would be followed by the #7 entrant, “The Prince of Parkour” John Morrison! Then, in one of the most unique moments in Royal Rumble history, William Regal would knock John Morrison off of the ring apron, but Morrison would latch onto the ringside barricade before climbing onto the barricade and jumping from the barricade to the steel steps before re-entering the ring, never being eliminated as his feet did not touch the floor!
Meanwhile, Ted DiBiase would eliminate William Regal before Yoshi Tatsu makes his entrance as the #8 entrant! The #9 entrant would then be revealed to be New Nexus member Husky Harris as Harris comes to the aid of The New Nexus leader, CM Punk! The #10 entrant would then be revealed to be the third-generation “Mexican Warrior” Chavo Guerrero, followed by the #11 entrant, “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry as Henry would eliminate Chavo Guerrero and Yoshi Tatsu!
The #12 entrant, JTG, would then enter the Rumble Match before the #13 entrant enters as New Nexus member Michael McGillicutty enters and immediately eliminates JTG! New Nexus members Husky Harris & Michael McGillicutty would then eliminate Ted DiBiase before the #14 entrant, Chris Masters, makes his entrance into the match, followed by the #15 entrant, New Nexus member David Otunga! With only one New Nexus member yet to enter the match, CM Punk would eliminate Daniel Bryan and Chris Masters before CM Punk & The New Nexus would work together to eliminate John Morrison and Mark Henry before attacking the #16 entrant, Tyler Reks, allowing CM Punk to eliminate Reks before CM Punk & The New Nexus await the arrival of the #17 entrant, one-half of the WWE Tag Team Champions Vladimir Kozlov! CM Punk & The New Nexus would then do the same to eliminate the #18 entrant, R-Truth, before CM Punk & The New Nexus is met by the “great” challenge of the #19 entrant, The Great Khali, who eliminates Husky Harris and leaves CM Punk & The New Nexus laid out before the #20 entrant is revealed to be New Nexus member, Mason Ryan, who manages to power Khali over the top rope to eliminate the giant! CM Punk & The New Nexus would then regroup before the shocking #21 entrant is revealed to be the six-time World Champion, the legendary Booker T!
The returning Booker T would hold his own against CM Punk & The New Nexus, but the numbers game would catch up to the legend as Mason Ryan would shockingly eliminate the six-time World Champion! However, CM Punk & The New Nexus would be met by another detriment to Punk’s cause as the #22 entrant would be none other than John Cena as Cena would enter the Rumble and would eliminate Mason Ryan, David Otunga, & Michael McGillicutty, eliminating all of CM Punk’s New Nexus, leaving Punk to go one-on-one with John Cena! The #23 entrant, and the smallest, would then enter the match as Hornswoggle would enter the fray and would be the victim of a vicious kick by CM Punk! John Cena would then completely eradicate the existence of The New Nexus from the Royal Rumble Match with the elimination of CM Punk!
Cena would then help Hornswoggle up as the odd pairing of Cena and Hornswoggle would await the #24 entrant, Tyson Kidd and both Cena and Hornswoggle would deliver the Attitude Adjustment to Kidd before Cena would eliminate Kidd! The #25 entrant would then be revealed to be Corre member Heath Slater as Cena and Hornswoggle would double-team Slater before Cena would eliminate the Corre member! The #26 entrant would then be revealed to be Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston before the #27 entrant enters the match as “The All-American American” Jack Swagger enters the match before King Sheamus would enter at #28! With Hornswoggle on the top rope, King Sheamus would deliver the Brogue Kick to Hornswoggle, eliminating the little man from the Rumble!
The #29 entrant would then enter the match as the 2006 Royal Rumble winner, Rey Mysterio, would join the fray and would deliver a modified 619 to eliminate Jack Swagger! The #30 entrant would then be revealed to be Corre member Wade Barrett and, after failing to win the World Heavyweight Title earlier in the night, the #31 entrant would be revealed to be Dolph Ziggler! The #32 entrant would then be another shocker as the former WWE Champion, Diesel, would make his return! The #33 entrant would then come out as “The Chosen One” Drew McIntyre would enter the match, followed by the personally signed “apprentice” of WWE Champion The Miz entering the match as Alex Riley would enter the match at #34, but while Riley enters the match and The Miz sits down to be a guest on commentary, Wade Barrett delivers a big boot to eliminate Diesel!
The #35 entrant would then enter the match as “The World’s Largest Athlete” Big Show would lock eyes with the departing Diesel before entering the match and would eliminate Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre! The #36 entrant would then be revealed to be the last member of The Corre, Ezekiel Jackson as “Big Zeke” would dominate and eliminate Big Show! The #37 entrant would then enter the match as the other half of the WWE Tag Team Champions, Santino Marella, would enter the match! The #38 entrant would then be revealed to be the Superstar who stated that it was his “destiny” to win the Royal Rumble Match as “The Mexican Elitist” Alberto Del Rio would take his time entering the match, but the #39 entrant would help Del Rio along as, after CM Punk & The New Nexus ensured that he would fail to win the WWE Title earlier in the night, “The Viper” Randy Orton would enter the match and would assault Del Rio before entering the ring and delivering RKO’s all around before eliminating Kofi Kingston and King Sheamus!
Then it was time for the final participant in the 40-Man Royal Rumble Match to be revealed as “The Big Red Monster” Kane would enter the match and would eliminate Corre member Ezekiel Jackson before being eliminated by Rey Mysterio, who is in turn eliminated by Wade Barrett, leaving only four Superstars left in the Royal Rumble Match as John Cena, Randy Orton, Wade Barrett, & Alberto Del Rio remained! After being eliminated earlier on in the match, Alex Riley would re-emerge and would distract John Cena long enough for WWE Champion The Miz to enter the ring and eliminate Cena from the match!
It would then come down to three Superstars as only Randy Orton, Wade Barrett, & Alberto Del Rio remained! Randy Orton would then eliminate Wade Barrett, but Alberto Del Rio would come from behind and eliminate Randy Orton to win the 40-Man Royal Rumble Match, or so it would seem, but the referee would inform Del Rio that there was one Superstar left to contend with as Santino Marella would re-enter the ring, never having been formally eliminated! Santino Marella would hit the Cobra Strike on Alberto Del Rio, but the overexcitement of the moment would cost Santino as Del Rio would recover enough to send Santino over the top rope to win the 2011 Royal Rumble and earn a guaranteed title opportunity at WrestleMania!
Now the question remains, will Alberto Del Rio challenge for the WWE or World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania XXVII?
