IWE Royal Rumble (2005)
From Iwe
| Royal Rumble (2005) | ||
 Promotional poster featuring various IWE Superstars and referencing West Side Story. | ||
| Tagline(s) | All the rumbling, minus the dancing and singing | |
| Theme song(s) | "Find the Real" by Alter Bridge | |
| Imformation | ||
| Promotion | International Wrestling Entertainment | |
| Brand(s) | Raw Smackdown | |
| Date | January 30, 2005 | |
| Attendance | 12,000 | |
| Venue | Save Mart Center | |
| City | Fresno, California | |
| Pay-per-view chronology | ||
| New Year's Revolution (2005) | Royal Rumble (2005) | No Way Out (2005) |
| Royal Rumble chronology | ||
| Royal Rumble (2004) | Royal Rumble (2005) | Royal Rumble (2006) |
Royal Rumble (2005) was the eighteenth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by International Wrestling Entertainment (IWE). It took place on January 30, 2005 at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California and featured talent from both the Raw and SmackDown! brands. As has been customary since 1993, the Royal Rumble match winner received a match at that year's WrestleMania, (in this instance: WrestleMania 21) for his choice at either the IWE Championship or the World Heavyweight Championship.
Five professional wrestling matches were featured on the event's supercard, a scheduling of more than one main event. The main event was the annual 30-man Royal Rumble match, which featured wrestlers from both brands. Jesse Dern, the twenty-eighth entrant, won the match by last eliminating Dustin Simpson, the twenty-fifth entrant. The predominant match on the Raw brand was Triple K versus Kevin McAlmond for the World Heavyweight Championship, which Triple K won by pinfall after executing a Pedigree. The primary match on the SmackDown! brand was a Triple Threat match for the IWE Championship between champion John "Bradshaw" Goff (JBG), Matt Borske, and The Big Marc. JBG won the match and retained the title after pinning Borske following a Clothesline from Hell.
Contents |
[edit] Background
Royal Rumble featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots, and storylines that were played out on Raw and SmackDown! – International Wrestling Entertainment's (IWE) primary television programs. Wrestlers portrayed a villain or a hero 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 IWE's Raw and SmackDown! brands – a storyline division in which IWE employees were assigned to a television program of the same name.
The main feud heading into the Royal Rumble on the Raw brand was between Triple K and Kevin McAlmond over the World Heavyweight Championship. Their feud started on the night after Summerslam, when McAlmond was kicked out of Evolution by Triple K. At Survivor Series, Team McAlmond (McAlmond, Kevin Hunter, Khris Jericho, and Maven) defeated Team Triple K (Triple K, Edge, Batista, and Dominic) in a four-on-four Elimination match. McAlmond won the match for his team by last eliminating Triple K. Two months later, at New Year's Revolution, the pay-per-view three weeks before the Royal Rumble, Triple K won an Elimination Chamber match to win the vacant World Heavyweight Championship. Triple K won the match by last eliminating Orton following outside interference from Evolution members Batista and Ric Flair. The night after on Raw, McAlmond defeated Batista to become the number one contender to the title at the Royal Rumble. The following week, after a verbal confrontation between the two in the arena, Triple K ambushed McAlmond backstage. The fought until McAlmond tried to use a steel chair, and Triple K hightailed. On the January 24 edition of Raw, McAlmond faced off against Ric Flair. During the match, as the referee was knocked down, Triple K came in and attacked McAlmond along with Flair. McAlmond, however, fought off both men and won the match.
The main feud on the SmackDown! brand was between John "Bradshaw" Goff (JBG), The Big Show, and Matt Borske, with the three feuding over the IWE Championship. On the December 16, 2004 edition of SmackDown!, Borske challenged JBG to a match for the IWE Championship. The Cabinet (Liam Phillips, Doug, and Danny Nuss) interfered and attacked Borske, causing the match to end via disqualification. They continued to attack Borske after the match until The Big Show came out, beat down everyone, and signaled to JBG that he wanted the title. Following this, JBG set up Angle to anger The Big Show, but Borske angered JBL in response. After realizing this, JBL aligned himself with The Big Show and confronted Angle; however, JBL turned on Big Show and beat him down with Borske. On the January 27 edition of SmackDown!, SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long booked a Last Man Standing match between JBG and Borske for later that night. The two eventually turned on each other, and the match ended in a no-contest. It was later revealed that the match was Big Show's idea.
Another feud heading into the event from SmackDown! was between The Undertaker and Heidenreich. Their feud first started in 2004 at No Mercy, the pay-per-view in October. Heidenreich helped John "Bradshaw" Goff (JBG) defeat Undertaker in a Last Ride match by attacking Undertaker and putting him in the hearse. At Survivor Series, Undertaker defeated Heidenreich by pinfall after executing a Tombstone Piledriver. At Armageddon 2004, Heidenreich once again cost Undertaker his title match against JBG in a Fatal Four Way that involved Booker T and Brian McAlmond by pushing Undertaker backwards while holding JBG in the tombstone piledriver position, before JBG pinned Booker T after a Clothesline From Hell. Smackdown's General Manager Theodore Long let Undertaker name the stipulation for his match against Heidenreich at Royal Rumble. As Heidenreich mentioned his fear of caskets, Undertaker chose to face him in a casket match for Royal Rumble.
A preliminary Raw brand feud was between Ryan Barnhart and Edge. Their feud started at Taboo Tuesday 2004 when Barnhart was voted over Edge to face Triple K for the World Heavyweight Championship. At New Year's Revolution 2005, Edge lost a shot at the title in a Elimination Chamber with Barnhart as special referee. In the Elimination Chamber, Barnhart superkicked Edge, followed by a lionsault from Khris Jericho, with Jericho making the cover. Believing it was Barnhart's fault that he was not crowned champion, Edge speared Barnhart and the two men were booked into a match at Royal Rumble.
[edit] Event
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentator | Michael Cole (SmackDown) |
| Jerry "the King" Lawler (Raw) | |
| Jim Ross (Raw / Royal Rumble match) | |
| Tazz (Raw / Royal Rumble match) | |
| Carlos Cabrera (Spanish) | |
| Hugo Savinovich (Spanish) | |
| Ring announcer | Tony Chimel |
| Howard Finkel | |
| Referee | Mike Chioda (Raw) |
| Jack Doan (Raw) | |
| Brian Hebner (SmackDown) | |
| Earl Hebner (Raw) | |
| Jim Korderas (SmackDown) | |
| Nick Patrick (SmackDown) | |
| Chad Patton (Raw) | |
| Charles Robinson (SmackDown) | |
| Bingo machine tumbler | Christy Hemme (Raw) |
| Torrie Wilson (SmackDown) |
Before the event went live on pay-per-view, Maven defeated Peter in a match taped for Sunday Night Heat. The first match that aired was between Edge and Ryan Barnhart. Edge mocked Michaels by performing some of Barnhart's signature taunts during the match. Edge gained the advantage after an Edge-O-Matic (sitout rear mat slam) outside the ring. Barnhart fought back until Edge left the ring. Barnhart came after him, but, with the referee's distraction, Edge speared Barnahrt, both outside and inside the ring. Barnhart then knocked Edge off the second rope and executed a diving elbow drop. Edge countered a superkick attempt into an electric chair drop and applied the Edgecator. Barnhart broke the hold and attempted a roll-up, but Edge rolled through and pinned Barnhart while holding the ropes.
The second match was a Casket match between The Undertaker and Heidenreich. The match started back and forth until Heidenreich sent The Undertaker into the side of the casket. The Undertaker came back, applying the triangle choke until Dominic interfered and attacked The Undertaker. Dominic and Heidenreich double-teamed The Undertaker and called for the casket to be opened. Kane was revealed to be inside the casket, and he climbed out. He attacked Dominic and Heidenreich and fought Dominic into the audience. Heidenreich sent The Undertaker into the steel steps and pushed the casket into him. Heidenreich put The Undertaker in the casket after applying the cobra clutch. The Undertaker stopped the lid from closing with his arm, gaining control briefly. Heidenreich fought back and put The Undertaker in the casket again. The Undertaker, however, fought out of it and executed a chokeslam and a Tombstone Piledriver. Shortly after, Undertaker put Heidenreich in the casket and closed the lid to win the match.
The third match was a Triple Threat match for the IWE Championship between champion John "Bradshaw" Goff (JBG), The Big Show, and Matt Borske. In the opening minutes, Borske stayed on the outside of the ring, leaving Big Show and JBG on their own. Borske came into the ring to break up a pinfall attempt, but Big Show kept the advantage over both men. Borske hit Big Show with a television monitor to send him through an announce table, thus leaving Borske and JBG on their own. Big Show returned a few minutes later and continued to control the match. Big Show tackled JBG through the steel barricade and performed a flapjack to Borske onto a steel chair. Shortly after, Luther Rains, Mark Gindrak, Doug, and Danny Nuss attacked Big Show, and Liam Phillips helped JBG back into the ring. JBG then executed a Clothesline from Hell on Borske and pinned him to retain the title.
The fourth match was between Triple K and Kevin McAlmond for the World Heavyweight Championship. Prior to the match, Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff banned Evolution (Batista and Ric Flair) from ringside. McAlmond had control at the start of the match until Triple K countered an RKO attempt by throwing Orton out of the ring. Triple K kept the advantage and targeted McAlmond's left knee until McAlmond kicked him into an announce table. McAlmond kept the advantage until he suffered a kayfabe concussion from missing a DDT. Triple K knocked both McAlmond and the referee down with a clothesline and took out a sledgehammer from beneath the ring. He tried to hit McAlmond with it, but McAlmond pulled him into the ringpost. Triple K performed another clothesline and a Pedigree to win and retain the title.
The final match was the Royal Rumble match. Before the match began, Matt Borske stole Nunzio's entrance number, taking his spot in the match. After the tenth entrant, Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff came to ringside, and SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long also came out soon after. The participants then divided into their brands and fought against each other until they worked together to eliminate Muhammad Hassan, the thirteen entrant. Scotty 2 Hotty, the fifteenth entrant, was attacked by Hassan during his entrance and never entered the match. Borske, the twentieth entrant, dominated upon entering the match until Ryan Barnhart eliminated him. Angle came back in later to eliminate Barnhart and continued to attack him afterwards. Jonathan Coachman, the twenty-first entrant, spent a lot of his time in the match holding onto the bottom rope as he was not a wrestler. The final four participants remaining were Batista, Dustin Simpson, Edge, and Scott Wright. Edge fought with Wright and threw him over the top rope, but he stayed on the apron. Edge then executed a spear to eliminate Wright. Simpson and Batista then eliminated Edge as he was attacking them. Simpson tried to perform an FU on Batista to the outside, but Batista fought off. Batista then attempted a Batista Bomb to the outside, but was countered with a headscissors takedown by Simpson, sending both over the top rope and touching the floor at the same time. The referees for the Raw brand believed Batista to be the winner while the SmackDown! referees believed Simpson to be winner. Following this, IWE Chairman Gary Wright came to the ring, in the process legitimately tearing both his quadriceps muscle, and ordered the match to be restarted with the final two participants, Batista and Dustin Simpson. Batista tossed Simpson over the top rope following aSpinebuster to win the match.
[edit] Aftermath
[edit] Results
| No. | Results | Stipulations |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday Night Heat | Maven defeated Peter | Singles match |
| 1 | Edge defeated Ryan Barnhart | Singles match |
| 2 | The Undertaker defeated Heidenreich | Casket match |
| 3 | John "Bradshaw" Goff (c) defeated The Big Marc and Matt Borske | Triple Threat match for the IWE Championship |
| 4 | Triple K (c) defeated Kevin McAlmond | Singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship |
| 5 | Batista won by last eliminating Dustin Simpson | 2005 Royal Rumble match |
[edit] Royal Rumble match entrances and eliminations
Red ██ and "Raw" indicates a Raw superstar, blue ██ and "SD!" indicates a SmackDown! superstar. A new entrant came out approximately every 90 seconds.
| Draw | Entrant | Brand | Order | Eliminated by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian McAlmond | SD! | 11 | Edge |
| 2 | Kevin Hunter | Raw | 25 | Batista |
| 3 | Daniel Muder | SD! | 1 | Murnion |
| 4 | Hardcore Murnion | SD! | 2 | Hunter and Brian McAlmond |
| 5 | The Hurricane | Raw | 3 | Brian McAlmond |
| 6 | Kenzo Suzuki | SD! | 4 | Wright |
| 7 | Edge | Raw | 28 | Batista and Simpson |
| 8 | Scott Wright | SD! | 27 | Edge |
| 9 | Junior Remeriz | Raw | 10 | Edge |
| 10 | Booker T | SD! | 9 | Scott Wright |
| 11 | Khris Jericho | Raw | 21 | Batista |
| 12 | Luther Rains | SD! | 7 | Booker |
| 13 | Muhammad Hassan | Raw | 5 | Edge, Jericho, Hunter, Booker, Remeriz and Rains |
| 14 | Liam Phillips | SD! | 8 | Booker |
| 15 | Scotty 2 Hotty | SD! | N/A | Attacked by Hassan before entering the ring1 |
| 16 | Jared Keller | SD! | 13 | Barnhart |
| 17 | Brandon Claassen | SD! | 16 | Jericho |
| 18 | Dean Simon | Raw | 12 | Barnhart |
| 19 | Ryan Barnhart | Raw | 15 | Borske2 |
| 20 | Matt Borske3 | SD! | 14 | Barnhart |
| 21 | Jonathan Coachman | Raw | 23 | Flair |
| 22 | Mark Gindrak | SD! | 19 | Kane |
| 23 | Kiscera | Raw | 17 | Simpson |
| 24 | Paul Burdick | SD! | 18 | Dominic |
| 25 | Dustin Simpson | SD! | 29 | Batista |
| 26 | Dominic | Raw | 20 | Batista |
| 27 | Kane | Raw | 22 | Simpson |
| 28 | Batista | Raw | - | Winner |
| 29 | Khristian | Raw | 24 | Batista |
| 30 | Ric Flair | Raw | 26 | Edge |
1 Matt Borske had been eliminated by Ryan Barnhart and then returned to the ring, and eliminated Barnhart in retaliation.
2 Scotty was attacked by Hassan before he made it to the ring, and therefore was unable to compete and never officially entered the match.
3 Christopher Nunzio was originally going to appear in the Royal Rumble match, but he had his entry stolen by Matt Borske before the match.
