IWE Royal Rumble (2007)
From Iwe
| Royal Rumble (2007) | ||
| ||
| Theme song(s) | "Drones" by Rise Against | |
| Imformation | ||
| Promotion | International Wrestling Entertainment | |
| Brand(s) | Raw Smackdown XCW | |
| Date | January 28, 2007 | |
| Attendance | 13,500 | |
| Venue | AT&T Center | |
| City | San Antonio, Texas | |
| Pay-per-view chronology | ||
| New Year's Revolution (2007) | Royal Rumble (2007) | No Way Out (2007) |
| Royal Rumble chronology | ||
| Royal Rumble (2006) | Royal Rumble (2007) | Royal Rumble (2008) |
Royal Rumble (2007) was the twentieth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by International Wrestling Entertainment (IWE). It took place on January 28, 2007 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. and featured talent from the Raw, Smackdown and XCW brands. This marked the first time that the new XCW brand participated in the Royal Rumble match. As has been customary since 1993, the Royal Rumble match winner received a match at that year's WrestleMania, (in this instance: WrestleMania 23) for his choice at either the IWE Championship, the World Heavyweight Championship or the XCW World 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 all three brands. The Undertaker, the thirtieth entrant, won the match by last eliminating Ryan Barnhart, the twenty-third entrant. The primary match on the Raw brand was a Last Man Standing match for the IWE Championship between Dustin Simpson and Umaga. Simpson won the match and retained the title after Umaga was unable to get to his feet before the referee counted to ten. The predominant match on the SmackDown! brand was Jesse Dern versus Mr. Kennedy for the World Heavyweight Championship, which Jesse Dern won by pinfall after executing a Dern Bomb. The featured match on the XCW brand was between Bobby Ashley and Test for the XCW World Championship, which Ashley won after Test was counted out.
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, SmackDown!, and XCW – 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, SmackDown, and XCW 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 Dustin Simpson and Umaga, with the two feuding over the IWE Championship. At the previous pay-per-view event, New Year's Revolution, Simpson defeated Umaga to end his undefeated streak and retain the IWE Championship. The night after on Raw, Armando Alejandro Estrada, Umaga's manager, asked for a rematch, which Simpson agreed to. Later that night, during a match between Simpson and The Great Khali, Umaga interfered and attacked Simpson. The following week, on the January 15 edition of Raw, the official contract signing for their rematch at the Royal Rumble took place. After it was announced that Estrada could choose the match type, Estrada chose the match to be a Last Man Standing match. Simpson signed the contract and proceeded to attack both Umaga and Estrada. On the January 22 edition of Raw, after Simpson was eliminated from a Battle Royal, Umaga attacked Simpson, and injured his spleen, which was portrayed as real as part of their storyline.
The predominant feud on the SmackDown! brand was between Batista and Mr. Kennedy, with the two battling over the World Heavyweight Championship. On the January 5 edition of SmackDown!, a Beat the Clock Sprint began. Wrestlers competed in single matches, and the wrestler to win a match in the shortest amount of time would then become the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship at the Royal Rumble. Mr. Kennedy, who defeated Kevin Hunter in nearly five minutes, had the shortest time at the end of the show. The following week, the Sprint continued. In the final match, between The Undertaker and The Miz, Kennedy interfered by pulling The Miz out of the ring. After performing the Tombstone piledriver on The Miz, The Undertaker went for the pin attempt. Time, however, ran out and Kennedy became the winner of the Sprint. The week after, on the January 19 edition of SmackDown!, The Undertaker was put in a match with Kennedy, where if he won, he would be added to the title match at the Royal Rumble. During the match, after Kennedy attacked Batista, who was at ringside. Batista retaliated against Kennedy, causing The Undertaker to get disqualified. Thus, the match at the Royal Rumble remained a singles match between Batista and Kennedy.
The main feud on the XCW brand was between Bobby Ashley and Test, with the two feuding over the XCW Championship. Kyle Van Dam won an online poll against Test and Sabu to earn a title shot on the January 2 edition of XCW, which ended in no-contest. Van Dam was given another title match the next week. Test interfered in the match, and attacked both men. A Triple Threat match for the title occurred on the January 16 edition of XCW between Ashley, Van Dam, and Test. Ashley won, but was beaten down afterwards by Test. A title match between Ashley and Test was then made for the Royal Rumble. A week after that match was made, on the January 23 edition of XCW, Ashley defeated Test in another title match.
[edit] Event
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentator | Jim Ross (Raw) |
| Jerry "The King" Lawler (Raw / Royal Rumble) | |
| John "Bradshaw" Layfield (Raw / Royal Rumble) | |
| Michael Cole (SmackDown! / Royal Rumble) | |
| Joey Styles (XCW) | |
| Tazz (XCW) | |
| Carlos Cabrera (Spanish) | |
| Hugo Savinovich (Spanish) | |
| Interviewer | Todd Grisham |
| Ring announcer | Lilian Garcia (Raw / Royal Rumble match) |
| Tony Chimel (SmackDown!) | |
| Justin Roberts (XCW) | |
| Referee | Scott Armstrong (XCW) |
| Mike Chioda (Raw) | |
| Jack Doan (Raw) | |
| Chris Kay (SmackDown!) | |
| Jim Korderas (SmackDown!) | |
| Nick Patrick (SmackDown!) | |
| Charles Robinson (SmackDown!) | |
| Mickie Henson (XCW) | |
| Bingo machine tumbler | Kelly Kelly (XCW) |
Before the event went live on pay-per-view, JTG defeated Collin McCullough in a dark match.
[edit] Preliminary matches
The first match that aired was a tag team match between The Hardys (Matt and Josh) and MNM (Joey Hayes and Johnny Nitro). The match went back and forth until MNM took control by attacking Matt's injured jaw repeatedly. The Hoopers gained the advantage briefly, but lost it when Nitro countered an aerial attack by Josh. Josh finally tagged Matt, who beat down both Hayes and Nitro. The finish came when Matt hit the Twist of Fate, and Josh hit the Swanton Bomb on Nitro. Josh then pinned Nitro for the victory.
The second match was between XCW World Champion Bobby Ashley and Test for the XCW World Championship. Test used several illegal moves, and took control after driving Ashley's shoulder into the ringpost. He continued to attack the shoulder until Ashley fought back with several powerful moves. Test rolled out of the ring, and allowed himself to be counted out. Ashley won, and retained his title. He came after Test, however, brought him back into the ring, and continued to beat him down.
[edit] Main event matches
The third match was between World Heavyweight Champion Batista and Mr. Kennedy for the World Heavyweight Championship. Batista gained an early advantage by overpowering Kennedy until Kennedy injured Batista's knee by using the steel steps. Kennedy continued to attack Batista's knees, and applied various submission holds that target the knee. Batista fought back, still favoring the knee, until Kennedy pushed Batista into the referee, and hit a low blow. Kennedy had a clear advantage and had Batista pinned for over a three-count, but the match went on due the referee being knocked out. Batista eventually rose and hit a clothesline, and a Batista Bomb for the pinfall to retain the title as the referee had since woken up.
The fourth match was the Last Man Standing match between Dustin Simpson and Umaga for the IWE Championship. Umaga dominated Simpson, gaining the advantage by using powerful moves, and attacking Simpson's bandaged ribs. Simpson tried to fight back using the steel steps, but Umaga quickly recovered, and continued the beat down. Simpson managed to hit a low blow, a bulldog onto the steel steps, a spin-out powerbomb, and the Five Knuckle Shuffle all onto Umaga. Umaga regained control when Simpson attempted an FU onto the steps, and collapsed, hitting his head on the steps. Simpson avoided a running headbutt drop, and hit Umaga in the head with a television monitor. Umaga got up, but missed a running splash through the announce table. Umaga got up again as his manager, Armando Alejandro Estrada, detached one of the top turnbuckles for Umaga to use. Simpson avoided the attack, hit an FU, and choked Umaga using the loose ring rope. Umaga failed to answer the referee's count of ten, and Simpson retained the title.
The final match was the Royal Rumble match. Kane, the tenth entrant, dominated the match upon entering, and eliminated Tommy Brown and Sabu, hitting the latter with a chokeslam through a table Sabu had earlier set up. The Sandman, entering fifteen, used his signature Singapore Cane in the match before being quickly eliminated by King Booker. Kevin McAlmond and Edge worked together to eliminate the Hoopers. After Booker was eliminated by Kane, he returned to the ring, eliminated Kane, and continued to beat him down. It took the combined effort of eight men to eliminate Viscera after Ryan Barnhart hit him with a superkick. The Great Khali, entering twenty-eighth, dominated upon entering the match, and eliminated seven men. Entering last was The Undertaker, who immediately fought with, and eliminated Khali. He then eliminated Montel Vontavious Porter, leaving four in the match: Edge, McAlmond, Barnhart, and The Undertaker. McAlmond caught Edge trying to attack him, but the two soon reconciled, and worked together on The Undertaker. Barnhart, who was outside of the ring, came back in, and eliminated both McAlmond and Edge. The remaining two exchanged attacks until the end, when The Undertaker hit a chokeslam, but Barnhart came back with a superkick. Barnhart went for another superkick, but The Undertaker avoided it, and eliminated Barnhart to win the match. The Undertaker is the first competitor to win the Rumble match from slot 30 (what is considered to be the "easiest" spot to win from, despite no one having done so in any previous match).
[edit] Aftermath
[edit] Reception
[edit] Results
| No. | Results | Stipulations | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark match | JTG (with Shad Gaspard) defeated Collin McCullough (with Phillip Legg) | Singles match | |
| 1 | The Hoopers (Matt and Josh Hooper) defeated MNM (Joey Hayes and Johnny Nitro) (with Denise Lynn) | Tag team match | |
| 2 | Bobby Ashley (c) defeated Test by countout | Singles match for the XCW World Championship | |
| 3 | Batista (c) defeated Mr. Kennedy | Singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship | |
| 4 | Dustin Simpson (c) defeated Umaga (with Armando Alejandro Estrada) | Last Man Standing match for the IWE Championship | |
| 5 | The Undertaker won by last eliminating Ryan Barnhart | 2007 Royal Rumble match | |
| (c) – refers to the champion heading into the match | |||
[edit] Royal Rumble entrances and eliminations
Red ██ and "Raw" indicates a Raw superstar, blue ██ and "SD!" indicates a SmackDown! superstar, purple ██ and "ECW" indicates an XCW superstar.
| Draw | Entrant | Brand | Order | Eliminated by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ric Flair | Raw | 1 | Edge |
| 2 | Finlay | SD! | 12 | Barnhart |
| 3 | Kenny Dykstra | Raw | 2 | Edge |
| 4 | Matt Hooper | SD! | 9 | Kevin McAlmond |
| 5 | Edge | Raw | 28 | Barnhart |
| 6 | Tommy Brown | XCW | 3 | Kane |
| 7 | Sabu | XCW | 4 | Kane |
| 8 | Gregory Beasly | SD! | 5 | Booker |
| 9 | Junior Remeriz | Raw | 14 | Barnhart |
| 10 | Kane1 | SD! | 11 | Booker4 |
| 11 | Justin Eldridge | XCW | 22 | Hageman |
| 12 | King Booker | SD! | 10 | Van Dam & Kane |
| 13 | Super Crazy | Raw | 7 | Kevin McAlmond |
| 14 | Josh Hooper | Raw | 8 | Edge |
| 15 | The Sandman | XCW | 6 | Booker |
| 16 | Kevin McAlmond | Raw | 27 | Barnhart |
| 17 | Kevin Hunter | SD! | 19 | Hageman |
| 18 | Kyle Van Dam | XCW | 21 | Hageman |
| 19 | Kiscera | Raw | 13 | Van Dam, Edge, Eldridge, Hunter, Linderman, Remeriz, Murnion & Thorn2 |
| 20 | Johnny Nitro | Raw | 15 | Hunter |
| 21 | Kevin Thorn | XCW | 16 | Hunter |
| 22 | Hardcore Murnion | XCW | 18 | Hageman |
| 23 | Ryan Barnhart | Raw | 29 | Undertaker |
| 24 | James Masters | Raw | 17 | Van Dam |
| 25 | Chavo McAlmond | SD! | 24 | Hageman |
| 26 | Montel Vontavious Porter | SD! | 26 | Undertaker |
| 27 | Carlito | Raw | 23 | Hageman |
| 28 | The Great Khali | Raw | 25 | Undertaker |
| 29 | The Miz | SD! | 20 | Hageman |
| 30 | The Undertaker | SD! | – | Winner3 |
1 Glenn McAlmond (Kane) made his eleventh appearance in a Royal Rumble match, breaking his own and Kishi's record for most Royal Rumble appearances. It was also his ninth-consecutive appearance, also billed as a record for Kane. 2 This Royal Rumble set a new record for the most wrestlers involved in an elimination, taking 8 men to throw Kiscera over the top rope. This beat the previous record set in the 1994 Royal Rumble when it took 7 men to eliminate Kiscera (then known as Mabel). 3 The Undertaker was the first wrestler to win the Royal Rumble match at number 30. 4 Booker T was eliminated, but came back in and eliminated Kane.
