Royal Rumble (2009), a
professional wrestlingProfessional wrestling, or pro wrestling, is an athletic performing art where matches are prearranged by the promotion's booking staff. It is a non-competitive sport which contains strong elements of theatre, mock combat, and catch wrestling. Wrestling's origins date to 19th-century carnival...
pay-per-viewPay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast of that event to their homes. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
(PPV) event produced by
World Wrestling EntertainmentWorld Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is a publicly-traded, privately-controlled integrated media and sports entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(WWE), took place on January 25, 2009, at the
Joe Louis ArenaJoe Louis Arena, nicknamed The Joe and JLA is a hockey arena located at 600 Civic Center Drive in Detroit, Michigan. It is the home of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. Completed in 1979 at a cost of $57 million, Joe Louis Arena is named after boxer and former heavyweight...
in
Detroit, MichiganDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
. It was the 22nd event produced under the
Royal RumbleThe Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced every January by professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Entertainment . The event was created in 1988 with the inaugural event held on January 24, 1988 at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario...
name and featured wrestlers from the
RawWWE Raw is a professional wrestling television program for World Wrestling Entertainment that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States. The show's name, which is sometimes stylized as RAW, is also used to refer to the Raw brand, in which WWE employees are assigned to work and perform...
, SmackDown, and ECW
brandsThe World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment Brand Extension was a process first used in 2002 by said professional wrestling promotion as a means of providing separate brands of wrestling through its two top shows, Raw and SmackDown!, with the addition of ECW in 2006.- Background :After acquiring...
. Five
matchesMany types of matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, can be found in the form of performing art that is professional wrestling....
were featured on the event's
cardIn sports, a card comprises a listing of the matches taking place in a title-match combat-sport event. Organizers divide overall cards into a main-event match and the undercard, which encompasses the rest of the matches. One can also further subdivide the undercard into midcard and lower card,...
.
The main event, the annual 30-man Royal Rumble match, featured wrestlers from all the three brands.
Randy OrtonRandal "Randy" Keith Orton is an American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling on its Raw brand, where he is the reigning WWE Champion...
, the eighth entrant, won the match by last eliminating
Triple HPaul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of his former ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
, the seventh entrant. As a tradition, Orton received a World Championship match at
WrestleMania XXVWrestleMania XXV was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on April 5, 2009 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas...
for his choice of the
WWEThe World Wrestling Entertainment Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Wrestling Entertainment . It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of three in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship and ECW Championship. It was established...
,
World HeavyweightThe World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Wrestling Entertainment . It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of three in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship and ECW Championship...
, or ECW Championship. For the third straight year, there was an uneven distribution of participants in the Royal Rumble match among the brands (with fifteen from Raw, ten from SmackDown, four from ECW, and one special guest entrant).
The predominant match on the
SmackDown brand consisted of a No Disqualification match between
Jeff HardyJeffrey "Jeff" Nero Hardy is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in World Wrestling Entertainment....
and
EdgeAdam Joseph Copeland is a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Edge. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to an injury....
for Hardy's WWE Championship. Edge won via pinfall after Jeff's brother,
Matt HardyMatthew "Matt" Moore Hardy is an American professional wrestler. He is currently working for World Wrestling Entertainment on their SmackDown brand....
, interfered in the match and hit Jeff with a
steel chairA folding chair is a light portable chair that can be stored in a stack, row or on a specially designed cart . They are usually used for seating large amounts of people in an arena where permanent seating is not possible or practical...
. The primary match on the
Raw brand featured
John CenaJohn Felix Anthony Cena is an American actor, hip hop musician, and professional wrestler currently employed by World Wrestling Entertainment on its Raw brand....
defending the World Heavyweight Championship against
John "Bradshaw" LayfieldJohn Charles Layfield is a retired American professional wrestler and a current commentator/host for mixed martial arts promotion Vyper Fight League...
(JBL), which Cena won by pinfall after performing an Attitude Adjustment. The undercard consisted of
Jack SwaggerJacob "Jake" Hager is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment , where he works under the name Jack Swagger on the Raw brand....
versus Matt Hardy for the ECW Championship and
Beth PhoenixElizabeth Kocanski Carolan is an American professional wrestler, better known by her ring name Beth Phoenix. She is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment , where she wrestles on the SmackDown brand....
versus
MelinaMelina Nava Perez , better known simply as Melina, is a Mexican American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling on its Raw Brand. She is the reigning Divas Champion....
for the
WWE Women's ChampionshipThe World Wrestling Entertainment Women's Championship is a professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment. It is challenged by WWE Divas only and is exclusive to the SmackDown brand.-History:...
.
The event had 450,000 buys, down on the
Royal Rumble 2008Royal Rumble was the twenty-first annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on January 27, 2008 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York and was the first WWE pay-per-view broadcast in high definition...
figure of 533,000 buys.
Background
Royal Rumble featured
professional wrestling matchesMany types of matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, can be found in the form of performing art that is professional wrestling....
that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing
scriptA screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. A play for television is known as a teleplay.- Format and style :...
ed feuds, plots, and
storylineA narrative thread, or plot thread , refers to particular elements and techniques of writing to center the story in the action or experience of characters rather than to relate a matter in a dry 'All knowing' sort of narration...
s played out on
RawWWE Raw is a professional wrestling television program for World Wrestling Entertainment that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States. The show's name, which is sometimes stylized as RAW, is also used to refer to the Raw brand, in which WWE employees are assigned to work and perform...
,
Friday Night SmackDown, and
ECW on Sci Fi—
World Wrestling EntertainmentWorld Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is a publicly-traded, privately-controlled integrated media and sports entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
's (WWE) primary television programs. Wrestlers portrayed a
villainIn professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling storylines. They are typically opposed by a babyface or more simply, face . Some tweeners exhibit heel mannerisms...
or a
heroIn professional wrestling, a face or babyface is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains. Not everything a face wrestler does must be heroic: faces need only to be cheered by the audience to be effective characters...
as they followed a series of events that built tension, and culminated into a wrestling match or series of matches. The event featured wrestlers from WWE's Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands—a
storyline divisionThe World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment Brand Extension was a process first used in 2002 by said professional wrestling promotion as a means of providing separate brands of wrestling through its two top shows, Raw and SmackDown!, with the addition of ECW in 2006.- Background :After acquiring...
in which WWE employees were assigned to a television program of the same name.
The prime match scripted into the Royal Rumble, the annual Royal Rumble match, has featured at every Royal Rumble event since its inception. The match featured 30 male wrestlers from WWE's three brands; 23 participants were officially announced for the match. The match ends when one wrestler remains in the ring, after all 29 other wrestlers have been eliminated via being tossed over the top ring rope and having both feet touch the floor. The winner earned an opportunity to challenge for the
WWEThe World Wrestling Entertainment Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Wrestling Entertainment . It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of three in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship and ECW Championship. It was established...
, World Heavyweight, or ECW Championship at WWE's April
WrestleMania XXVWrestleMania XXV was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on April 5, 2009 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas...
pay-per-view.
The main
rivalryA professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
from the Raw brand played out between
John CenaJohn Felix Anthony Cena is an American actor, hip hop musician, and professional wrestler currently employed by World Wrestling Entertainment on its Raw brand....
and
John "Bradshaw" LayfieldJohn Charles Layfield is a retired American professional wrestler and a current commentator/host for mixed martial arts promotion Vyper Fight League...
(JBL), over the World Heavyweight Championship. JBL earned his championship match against Cena after winning a Fatal Four-Way Elimination match—a standard match in which the last remaining competitor who has not been eliminated is declared the winner—on the December 29, 2008 episode of
Raw by defeating
Chris JerichoChristopher Keith "Chris" Irvine better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-born Canadian professional wrestler, television and stage actor, author, radio host, television host and rock musician...
,
Randy OrtonRandal "Randy" Keith Orton is an American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling on its Raw brand, where he is the reigning WWE Champion...
, and
Shawn MichaelsMichael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American professional wrestler. He performs for World Wrestling Entertainment , formerly the World Wrestling Federation, on its Raw brand...
.
Another rivalry from the Raw brand came with
MelinaMelina Nava Perez , better known simply as Melina, is a Mexican American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling on its Raw Brand. She is the reigning Divas Champion....
challenging
Beth PhoenixElizabeth Kocanski Carolan is an American professional wrestler, better known by her ring name Beth Phoenix. She is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment , where she wrestles on the SmackDown brand....
for her
WWE Women's ChampionshipThe World Wrestling Entertainment Women's Championship is a professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment. It is challenged by WWE Divas only and is exclusive to the SmackDown brand.-History:...
in a singles match. Melina won the opportunity to face Phoenix on the December 29, 2008 episode of
Raw by winning a
battle royalIn professional wrestling, a battle royal is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner...
, a match similar to the Royal Rumble, though with fewer competitors.
The main rivalry from the SmackDown brand heading into the Royal Rumble featured
Jeff HardyJeffrey "Jeff" Nero Hardy is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in World Wrestling Entertainment....
and
EdgeAdam Joseph Copeland is a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Edge. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to an injury....
with the two feuding over the
WWE ChampionshipThe World Wrestling Entertainment Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Wrestling Entertainment . It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of three in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship and ECW Championship. It was established...
. At WWE's previous pay-per-view event,
ArmageddonArmageddon was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Entertainment promotion, which took place on December 14, 2008 at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York. It featured professional wrestlers and other talent from all WWE's three brands: Raw, SmackDown and...
, Hardy defeated defending champion Edge and
Triple HPaul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of his former ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
in a Triple Threat match, a standard match involving three wrestlers, to win the WWE Championship. On the January 2, 2009 episode of
SmackDown, on-air authority figure
Vickie GuerreroVickie Lynn Guerrero , better known simply as Vickie Guerrero, is a American professional wrestling personality and widow of professional wrestler Eddie Guerrero, currently signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand.-Eddie's death and early feuds :In 2005, Vickie Guerrero began to make cameo...
announced that Edge would face Hardy for the WWE title at the Royal Rumble.
The ECW brand's main rivalry, that between
Jack SwaggerJacob "Jake" Hager is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment , where he works under the name Jack Swagger on the Raw brand....
and
Matt HardyMatthew "Matt" Moore Hardy is an American professional wrestler. He is currently working for World Wrestling Entertainment on their SmackDown brand....
, saw the two feuding over the ECW Championship. On the January 13, 2009 edition of
ECW on Syfy, Swagger defeated Hardy to capture the ECW Championship. On the January 16 episode of
Friday Night SmackDown, it was announced that Swagger would defend the ECW title against Hardy in a rematch at the Royal Rumble.
Preliminary matches
The first match of the evening saw
Jack SwaggerJacob "Jake" Hager is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment , where he works under the name Jack Swagger on the Raw brand....
defend the ECW Championship against
Matt HardyMatthew "Matt" Moore Hardy is an American professional wrestler. He is currently working for World Wrestling Entertainment on their SmackDown brand....
. The match started with both wrestlers countering each other's moves for some time, until Swagger injured Matt's left shoulder and then targeted it for the entire match. Swagger ultimately defeated Matt by pinning him after a Gutwrench powerbomb and retained the ECW title.
The second match on the card involved the
WWE Women's ChampionshipThe World Wrestling Entertainment Women's Championship is a professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment. It is challenged by WWE Divas only and is exclusive to the SmackDown brand.-History:...
, where
Beth PhoenixElizabeth Kocanski Carolan is an American professional wrestler, better known by her ring name Beth Phoenix. She is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment , where she wrestles on the SmackDown brand....
defended her title against
MelinaMelina Nava Perez , better known simply as Melina, is a Mexican American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling on its Raw Brand. She is the reigning Divas Champion....
. Phoenix was mostly in control of the match after working on Melina's legs in some point of the match. The match ended as Phoenix attempted to deliver the Glam Slam to Melina, but the latter countered it into a roll-up pin, giving her the win and the Women's Championship.
Main event matches
The third match on the card pitted John Cena against JBL for the World Heavyweight Championship. JBL was accompanied to the ring by his employee
Shawn MichaelsMichael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American professional wrestler. He performs for World Wrestling Entertainment , formerly the World Wrestling Federation, on its Raw brand...
. Shawn Michaels first got involved in the match when the referee was incapacitated, where came into the ring and performed his
Sweet Chin MusicA superkick is the name used when referring to a high side thrust kick attack in professional wrestling, which sees the wrestler use the sole of the foot to strike an opponent's head or chin, usually preceded by a sidestep, often referred to as a crescent kick, or just a side kick.-History:Many...
finisher both on JBL and Cena. He then left ringside, leaving JBL's arm on top of Cena. Cena however managed to get a shoulder up and performed an Attitude Adjustment to retain his World Championship.
The fourth match on the card involved the WWE Championship, as Jeff Hardy defended his title against Edge. Before the match began Vickie Guerrero came out and announced that the match would be a No Disqualification match. Edge then revealed that
Chavo GuerreroSalvador Guerrero IV also known as Chavo Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero, Jr., is a third generation American professional wrestler and member of the famed Guerrero wrestling family, currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling on its Raw brand.He is the grandson of Gory Guerrero; the...
would be in his corner. The first big action came in the match when Jeff Hardy brought a ladder out and set it up near the Spanish announce table. When Chavo tried to interfere, Jeff put him on the table and jumped off the ladder connecting Chavo and breaking the table. Jeff then had the match won when he hit the Swanton after kicking Vickie off the apron when she tried to interfere. When Jeff went for the pin, Vickie stopped referee Scott Armstrong from making a three count. Jeff's brother Matt then made his way to the ring, placing a chair under Edge's face. Grabbing another chair, Matt at first appeared to be setting Edge up for his own version of Edge's con-chair-to maneuver. However, he instead smashed Jeff in the head with a chair. Edge then pinned Jeff to become the new WWE Champion.
The main event consisted of the Royal Rumble match. Rey Mysterio and
John MorrisonJohn Randall Hennigan is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names John Morrison and Johnny Nitro...
started the Rumble. The final six participants left in the match were
The Big ShowPaul Donald Wight, Jr. , better known by his ring name, Big Show, is an American professional wrestler and actor currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment on its Raw brand where he is one half of the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions with Chris Jericho.In professional wrestling, Show is a...
, The Undertaker, Triple H and
The LegacyThe Legacy is a villainous alliance in the professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Entertainment , that competes on its Raw brand. The group is led by Randy Orton and contains the tag team of Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase. Two other wrestlers, Manu and Sim Snuka, were affiliated with the...
(Cody Rhodes,
Ted DiBiaseTheodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase, Jr. is an American professional wrestler and actor currently signed with World Wrestling Entertainment , where he appears on its Raw brand...
and
Randy OrtonRandal "Randy" Keith Orton is an American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling on its Raw brand, where he is the reigning WWE Champion...
). While the Undertaker and Big Show were both brawling on the outside apron (both went over the top rope, but had not hit the floor), Orton eliminated Big Show with an RKO, causing him to fall off the apron. The Undertaker was shortly eliminated afterwards when Big Show pulled him off the apron by his leg. Despite being at a disadvantage against the Legacy, Triple H managed to eliminate both DiBiase and Rhodes. With Triple H by the ropes, Orton quickly clotheslined him from behind to send him over the top rope and become the winner of the Royal Rumble match.
Aftermath
On the January 26 edition of
Raw, The Legacy came out with two lawyers and a therapist. Randy Orton then revealed that he suffers from
IEDIntermittent explosive disorder is a behavioral disorder characterized by extreme expressions of anger, often to the point of uncontrollable rage, that are disproportionate to the situation at hand. It is currently categorized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as an...
, which causes him to experience violent outbursts when provoked, losing all control of his emotions and actions. According to Orton and his lawyers, Orton told Stephanie McMahon, if she is to fire him, he will not only take DiBiase and Rhodes with him but the whole locker room as he will bring in a lawsuit against the company.
The Raw brand started the qualifying matches for the brand's upcoming
Elimination ChamberThe Elimination Chamber is a match type in professional wrestling, specifically seen in World Wrestling Entertainment.-Background:Former Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff was given on-screen credit for creating the match in the fall of 2002, stating it combines elements of WWE's Royal Rumble,...
match at WWE's next pay-per-view event,
No Way OutNo Way Out was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on February 15, 2009 at the KeyArena in Seattle, Washington. It was the 11th event under the No Way Out name and featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown and ECW brands...
. Three of the qualifying matches saw
Kofi KingstonKofi Sarkodie-Mensah is a Ghanaian-American professional wrestler, better known under his ring name, Kofi Kingston, currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment working on the Raw brand...
defeat Kane, Rey Mysterio defeat
William RegalDarren Nathaniel Matthews also known by his ring names Steven Regal and William Regal, is an English professional wrestler, currently signed to the World Wrestling Entertainment where he is performing on its ECW brand....
and Chris Jericho defeat
CM PunkPhillip Jack Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, sometimes written as C.M. Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment on its SmackDown brand....
to qualify. In a fourth qualification match, Shawn Michaels failed to win a match against John Cena that would have made JBL eligible to participate in the Elimination Chamber.
The ECW Championship feud between Jack Swagger and Matt Hardy had officially finished when ECW's on-air authority figure
Theodore LongTheodore R. "Teddy" Long is a former American professional wrestling referee and manager, who currently works for World Wrestling Entertainment on its SmackDown brand as its General Manager....
announced on the January 27 edition of
ECW that Hardy requested to be moved to the SmackDown brand. Swagger had other problems as his ECW title belt was stolen by Hornswoggle. When Hornswoggle's
storyline fatherIn professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real." That is, the portrayal of professional wrestling as being genuine or not worked...
,
FinlayDavid J. Finlay, Jr. is a professional wrestler and road agent. He currently wrestles on the SmackDown brand of World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Finlay. He has held both the WCW World Television Championship and the WWE United States Championship...
, urged Hornswoggle to give the title back to Swagger, Swagger shoved Hornswoggle to the ground, which caused Finlay to knock down Swagger with his own title.
On the January 30 edition of SmackDown, Matt Hardy came out to ring and told the WWE Universe that he had no remorse about smashing his brother Jeff in the head at the Royal Rumble and costing him the
WWE ChampionshipThe World Wrestling Entertainment Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Wrestling Entertainment . It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of three in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship and ECW Championship. It was established...
. He then told the universe that he no longer considers Jeff a partner or a sibling. There were three Elimination Chamber qualifiers for No Way Out. The first match being The Undertaker versus
Mark HenryMark Jerrold Henry is an American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment performing on its Raw brand. Aside from wrestling, he is a 1992 Olympian and winner of the Arnold Schwarzenegger Strongest Man Contest...
, which Taker won via submission with the
Hell's GateA gogoplata is a type of chokehold also called Kagato-Jime in Judo, that is used in grappling and was popularised by practitioners of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.-Execution:...
. The second qualifier match was
The Big ShowPaul Donald Wight, Jr. , better known by his ring name, Big Show, is an American professional wrestler and actor currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment on its Raw brand where he is one half of the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions with Chris Jericho.In professional wrestling, Show is a...
defeating Festus with a K.O. Punch. The last qualifier was a triple threat match featuring Triple H, The Great Khali and
Vladimir KozlovOleg Prudius is a Ukrainian professional wrestler, also known by his ring name Vladimir Kozlov. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment and is working on the ECW brand...
. Triple H won the match after he delivered a Pedigree to Khali to pick up the victory.
Results
| # |
Matches |
Stipulations |
Time |
| Dark |
Jimmy Wang YangJames Carson Yun is an American professional wrestler and actor, currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment on its SmackDown brand under the ring name Jimmy Wang Yang....
defeated Paul BurchillPaul Kenneth Birchall better known by his ring name Paul Burchill, is an English professional wrestler. He is currently working for World Wrestling Entertainment , wrestling on its ECW brand...
|
Singles match |
N/A |
| 1 |
Jack Swagger Jacob "Jake" Hager is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment , where he works under the name Jack Swagger on the Raw brand....
(c) defeated Matt HardyMatthew "Matt" Moore Hardy is an American professional wrestler. He is currently working for World Wrestling Entertainment on their SmackDown brand....
|
Singles match for the ECW Championship |
10:27 |
| 2 |
MelinaMelina Nava Perez , better known simply as Melina, is a Mexican American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling on its Raw Brand. She is the reigning Divas Champion....
defeated Beth PhoenixElizabeth Kocanski Carolan is an American professional wrestler, better known by her ring name Beth Phoenix. She is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment , where she wrestles on the SmackDown brand....
(c) (with Santino Marella) |
Singles match for the WWE Women's Championship The World Wrestling Entertainment Women's Championship is a professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment. It is challenged by WWE Divas only and is exclusive to the SmackDown brand.-History:...
|
5:56 |
| 3 |
John CenaJohn Felix Anthony Cena is an American actor, hip hop musician, and professional wrestler currently employed by World Wrestling Entertainment on its Raw brand....
(c) defeated John "Bradshaw" LayfieldJohn Charles Layfield is a retired American professional wrestler and a current commentator/host for mixed martial arts promotion Vyper Fight League...
(with Shawn MichaelsMichael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American professional wrestler. He performs for World Wrestling Entertainment , formerly the World Wrestling Federation, on its Raw brand...
) |
Singles match for the World Heavyweight ChampionshipThe World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Wrestling Entertainment . It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of three in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship and ECW Championship...
|
15:29 |
| 4 |
EdgeAdam Joseph Copeland is a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Edge. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to an injury....
(with Chavo GuerreroSalvador Guerrero IV also known as Chavo Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero, Jr., is a third generation American professional wrestler and member of the famed Guerrero wrestling family, currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling on its Raw brand.He is the grandson of Gory Guerrero; the...
) defeated Jeff HardyJeffrey "Jeff" Nero Hardy is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in World Wrestling Entertainment....
(c) |
No Disqualification match for the WWE ChampionshipThe World Wrestling Entertainment Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Wrestling Entertainment . It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of three in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship and ECW Championship. It was established...
|
19:22 |
| 5 |
Randy OrtonRandal "Randy" Keith Orton is an American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling on its Raw brand, where he is the reigning WWE Champion...
last eliminated Triple HPaul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of his former ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
to win. |
2009 Royal Rumble match |
58:37 |
|
- The winner had the option of choosing which championship he would challenge for.
Royal Rumble entrances and eliminations
Red
██ and "Raw" indicates a
RawWWE Raw is a professional wrestling television program for World Wrestling Entertainment that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States. The show's name, which is sometimes stylized as RAW, is also used to refer to the Raw brand, in which WWE employees are assigned to work and perform...
superstar, blue
██ and "SD" indicates a SmackDown superstar, purple
██ and "ECW" indicates an ECW superstar, and white indicates a special guest entrant.
| Draw |
Entrant |
Brand |
Order |
Eliminated by |
Time |
|
| Rey Mysterio |
Raw |
19 |
Big Show |
49:24 |
|
| John MorrisonJohn Randall Hennigan is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names John Morrison and Johnny Nitro...
|
ECW |
| Triple H |
19:32 |
|
| CarlitoCarlos Edwin "Carly" Colón, Jr. is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler better known internationally by his ring name Carlito. In his native Puerto Rico, he is known as both Carly and Carlito...
|
SD |
| Kozlov |
|
|
| Montel Vontavious Porter |
SD |
| Kozlov |
|
|
| The Great Khali |
SD |
| Kozlov |
|
|
| Vladimir KozlovOleg Prudius is a Ukrainian professional wrestler, also known by his ring name Vladimir Kozlov. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment and is working on the ECW brand...
|
SD |
| Triple H |
|
|
| Triple HPaul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of his former ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
|
SD |
29 |
Orton |
49:55 |
|
| Randy OrtonRandal "Randy" Keith Orton is an American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling on its Raw brand, where he is the reigning WWE Champion...
|
Raw |
| WINNER |
48:27 |
|
| JTG |
Raw |
| Undertaker |
11:59 |
| 10 |
Ted DiBiaseTheodore Marvin "Ted" DiBiase, Jr. is an American professional wrestler and actor currently signed with World Wrestling Entertainment , where he appears on its Raw brand...
|
Raw |
27 |
Triple H |
45:11 |
| 11 |
Chris JerichoChristopher Keith "Chris" Irvine better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-born Canadian professional wrestler, television and stage actor, author, radio host, television host and rock musician...
|
Raw |
23 |
Undertaker |
37:17 |
| 12 |
Mike KnoxMichael Shawn Hettinga is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment and wrestling on its SmackDown brand under the ring name Mike Knox.-Ultimate Pro Wrestling :...
|
Raw |
20 |
Big Show |
32:42 |
| 13 |
The MizMichael "Mike" Mizanin is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name The Miz. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment , where he competes on the Raw brand as the reigning WWE United States Champion.Before being promoted to the main WWE roster, Mizanin trained...
|
ECW |
| Triple H |
|
| 14 |
FinlayDavid J. Finlay, Jr. is a professional wrestler and road agent. He currently wrestles on the SmackDown brand of World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Finlay. He has held both the WCW World Television Championship and the WWE United States Championship...
|
ECW |
21 |
Kane |
29:59 |
| 15 |
Cody Rhodes |
Raw |
28 |
Triple H |
37:01 |
| 16 |
The Undertaker |
SD |
26 |
| 32:29 |
| 17 |
Goldust |
Raw |
| Rhodes |
|
| 18 |
CM PunkPhillip Jack Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, sometimes written as C.M. Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment on its SmackDown brand....
|
Raw |
18 |
Big Show |
22:29 |
| 19 |
Mark HenryMark Jerrold Henry is an American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment performing on its Raw brand. Aside from wrestling, he is a 1992 Olympian and winner of the Arnold Schwarzenegger Strongest Man Contest...
|
ECW |
| Mysterio |
|
| 20 |
Shelton BenjaminShelton Benjamin is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler signed to World Wrestling Entertainment working on its ECW brand....
|
SD |
10 |
Undertaker |
|
| 21 |
William RegalDarren Nathaniel Matthews also known by his ring names Steven Regal and William Regal, is an English professional wrestler, currently signed to the World Wrestling Entertainment where he is performing on its ECW brand....
|
Raw |
11 |
Punk |
|
| 22 |
Kofi KingstonKofi Sarkodie-Mensah is a Ghanaian-American professional wrestler, better known under his ring name, Kofi Kingston, currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment working on the Raw brand...
|
Raw |
12 |
Kendrick |
|
| 23 |
Kane |
Raw |
24 |
Rhodes, DiBiase and Orton |
18:21 |
| 24 |
R-TruthRonald "Ron" Killings is an American professional wrestler and rapper. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment, performing on its SmackDown brand under the ring name R-Truth...
|
SD |
17 |
Big Show |
12:06 |
| 25 |
Rob Van DamRobert "Rob" Alexander Szatkowski is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam . He is best known for his time in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment...
|
— |
22 |
Jericho |
13:56 |
| 26 |
The Brian KendrickBrian David Kendrick is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for working for World Wrestling Entertainment, both under his real name and as "The" Brian Kendrick....
|
SD |
13 |
Triple H |
|
| 27 |
Dolph ZigglerNicholas Theodore "Nick" Nemeth is an American professional wrestler, currently working for World Wrestling Entertainment under the name Dolph Ziggler on the SmackDown brand...
|
Raw |
14 |
Kane |
|
| 28 |
Santino Marella |
Raw |
15 |
Kane |
|
| 29 |
Jim DugganJames Stuart Duggan , better known by his ring name Hacksaw Jim Duggan, is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment in the 1980s, when it was known as World Wrestling Federation , and World Championship Wrestling...
|
Raw |
16 |
Big Show |
|
| 30 |
The Big ShowPaul Donald Wight, Jr. , better known by his ring name, Big Show, is an American professional wrestler and actor currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment on its Raw brand where he is one half of the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions with Chris Jericho.In professional wrestling, Show is a...
|
SD |
25 |
Orton |
|
Randy Orton had already eliminated The Big Show prior to his eliminating of The Undertaker.
External links