IWE Royal Rumble (2009)
From Iwe
| Royal Rumble (2009) | ||
 Promotional poster featuring various IWE Superstars | ||
| Theme song(s) | "Let It Rock" by Kevin Rudolf featuring Lil Wayn | |
| Imformation | ||
| Promotion | International Wrestling Entertainment | |
| Brand(s) | Raw Smackdown XCW | |
| Date | January 27, 2008 | |
| Attendance | 16,685 | |
| Venue | Joe Louis Arena | |
| City | Detroit, Michigan | |
| Pay-per-view chronology | ||
| Armageddon (2008) | Royal Rumble (2009) | No Way Out (2009) |
| Royal Rumble chronology | ||
| Royal Rumble (2008) | Royal Rumble (2009) | Royal Rumble (2010) |
Royal Rumble (2009) was the twenty-second annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by International Wrestling Entertainment (IWE). It took place on January 25, 2009 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan and featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown and XCW brands. As has been customary since 1993, the Royal Rumble match winner received a match at that year's WrestleMania, (in this instance: WrestleMania XXV) for his choice at either the WWE Championship, the World Heavyweight Championship and the ECW 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. Kevin McAlmond, the eighth entrant, won the match by last eliminating Triple K, the seventh entrant. The featured match on the Raw brand was for the World Heavyweight Championship between reigning champion Dustin Simpson and John "Bradshaw" Goff (JBG), which Simpson won after performing an Attitude Adjustment. The primary match on the SmackDown brand was a No Disqualification match between Josh Hooper and Edge for the IWE Championship, which Edge won by pinfall after Matt Hooper interfered in the match and hit Josh with a steel chair. The predominant match on the XCW brand was between Charlie Wilson and Matt Hardy for the XCW Championship, which Wilson won by pinfall after a gutwrench powerbomb.
Contents |
[edit] Background
Royal Rumble 2009 featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots, and storylines played out on Raw, SmackDown, and XCW on Sci Fi – 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 in a wrestling match or in a 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 prime match scripted into Royal Rumble 2009, the annual Royal Rumble match, has featured at every Royal Rumble event since its inception. The match featured 30 male wrestlers from IWE's three brands; IWE officially announced 23 participants. The match ends when one wrestler remains in the ring after the elimination of all the 29 other wrestlers. (Participants eliminate opponents by tossing them over the top ring-rope and making both their feet touch the floor.) The winner earned an opportunity to challenge for the IWE, World Heavyweight, or XCW Championship at IWE's April WrestleMania XXV pay-per-view.
The main rivalry from the Raw brand played out between Dustin Simpson and John "Bradshaw" Goff (JBG) over the World Heavyweight Championship. JBG earned his championship match against Simpson 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 Khris Jericho, Kevin McAlmond, and Ryan Barnhart.
Another rivalry from the Raw brand came with Denise challenging Chandra Denney for her IWE Women's Championship in a singles match. Denise won the opportunity to face Denney on the December 29, 2008 episode of Raw by winning a battle royal, a match similar to the Royal Rumble, though with fewer competitors.
The main rivalry from the SmackDown brand incorporated into the Royal Rumble featured Josh Hooper and Edge, with the two feuding over the IWE Championship. At IWE's previous pay-per-view event, Armageddon, Hooper had defeated defending champion Edge and Triple K in a Triple Threat match, a standard match involving three wrestlers, to win the IWE Championship. On the January 2, 2009 episode of SmackDown, on-air authority figure Lynn Lehr announced that Edge would face Hooper for the IWE title at the Royal Rumble.
The XCW brand's main rivalry, that between Charlie Wilson and Matt Hooper, had the two feuding over the XCW Championship. On the January 13, 2009 edition of XCW on Syfy, Wilson defeated Hooper to capture the XCW Championship. On Janury 16 episode of Friday Night Smackdown, IWE announced that Wilson will defend the XCW title against Hooper in a rematch at the Royal Rumble.
[edit] Event
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentator | Michael Cole (Raw) |
| Jerry Lawler (Raw, Royal Rumble) | |
| Jim Ross (Smackdown, Royal Rumble) | |
| Tazz (Smackdown) | |
| Todd Grisham (XCW) | |
| Matt Striker (XCW) | |
| Carlos Cabrera (Spanish) | |
| Hugo Savinovich (Spanish) | |
| Ring announcer | Lilian Garcia (Raw) |
| Justin Roberts (SmackDown, Royal Rumble) | |
| Tony Chimel (XCW) | |
| Referees | Scott Armstrong |
| Mike Chioda | |
| Jack Doan | |
| Marty Elias | |
| Chad Patton | |
| Charles Robinson |
[edit] Preliminary matches
The first match of the evening saw Charlie Wilson defend the XCW Championship against Matt Hooper. The match started with both wrestlers countering the other's moves until Wilson injured Hooper's left shoulder and then targeted it for the rest of the match. Wilson ultimately defeated Hooper by pinning him after slamming him to the mat with a gutwrench powerbomb. Wilson thus retained the XCW title. The second match on the card involved the IWE Women's Championship, where Chandra Denney defended her title against Denise Lynn. The match ended as Denney attempted to perform the Glam Slam on Denise, but the latter countered it into a roll-up pin, giving her the win and the Women's Championship.
[edit] Main event matches
The third match on the card pitted Dustin Simpson against JBG for the World Heavyweight Championship. JBG's employee Ryan Barnhart accompanied him to the ring and first got involved in the match when the referee became incapacitated; he came into the ring and performed his Sweet Chin Music finisher both on JBG and Simpson. He then left ringside, leaving JBG's arm on top of Simpson. Simpson 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 IWE Championship, as Jeff Hooper defended his title against Edge. Before the match began Lynn Lehr came out and announced it as a No Disqualification match. Edge then revealed that Chavo McAlmond would be in his corner. During the match Hardy brought a ladder out and set it up near the Spanish announce table. When Chavo tried to interfere, Hooper put him on the table and jumped off the ladder, connecting with Chavo and breaking the table. Hooper then had the match won when he performed the Swanton on Edge after kicking Lynn off the apron when she tried to interfere. When Hooper went for the pin, Lynn stopped referee Scott Armstrong from making a three count. Josh'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. He instead hit Josh in the head with the chair, allowing Edge to then pin Josh and become the new IWE Champion.
The main event consisted of the Royal Rumble match. Scott Wright and Joe Linderman started the Rumble. The final six participants left in the match were The Big Show, The Undertaker, Triple K and The Legacy (Mark Semmler, Kyle Johnson and Kevin McAlmond). While the Undertaker and Big Show brawled on the outside apron (both went over the top rope, but had not hit the floor), McAlmond eliminated Big Show with an RKO, causing him to fall off the apron. Big Show eliminated The Undertaker shortly thereafter when he pulled his opponent off the apron by his leg. Despite being at a disadvantage against the Legacy, Triple K eliminated both Johnson and Semmler. With Triple K by the ropes, McAlmond quickly clotheslined him from behind to send him over the top rope and become the winner of the Royal Rumble match.
[edit] Aftermath
[edit] Reception
[edit] Results
| # | Results | Stipulations |
|---|---|---|
| Dark | Jimmy Wang Yang defeated Nick Burchill | Singles match |
| 1 | Charlie Wilson (c) defeated Matt Hooper | Extreme rules match for the XCW Championship |
| 2 | Denise defeated Chandra Denney (c) (with Justin Black) | Singles match for the IWE Women's Championship |
| 3 | Dustin Simpson (c) defeated John "Bradshaw" Goff (with Ryan Barnhart) | Singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship |
| 4 | Edge defeated Josh Hooper (c) | No Disqualification match for the IWE Championship |
| 5 | Kevin McAlmond won by last eliminating Triple K | 2009 Royal Rumble match |
[edit] Royal Rumble entrances and eliminations
Red ██ "Raw" indicates a Raw superstar, blue ██ "SD" indicates a SmackDown superstar, purple ██ "XCW" indicates an ECW superstar, and gold ██ indicates a special guest entrant.
| Draw | Entrant | Brand | Order | Eliminated by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scott Wright | Raw | 20 | Big Marc |
| 2 | Joe Linderman | XCW | 6 | Triple K |
| 3 | Carlito | SD | 3 | Wilson |
| 4 | Mikhail Vontavious Porter | SD | 2 | Wilson |
| 5 | The Great Khali | SD | 1 | Wilson |
| 6 | Jake Wilson | SD | 4 | Triple K |
| 7 | Triple K | SD | 29 | Kevin McAlmond |
| 8 | Kevin McAlmond | Raw | - | Winner |
| 9 | JTG | Raw | 7 | Undertaker |
| 10 | Kyle Johnson | Raw | 27 | Triple K |
| 11 | Kris McGowan | Raw | 23 | Undertaker |
| 12 | Alex Knox | Raw | 19 | Big Marc |
| 13 | Joe Smith | XCW | 5 | Triple K |
| 14 | Finlay | XCW | 21 | Kane |
| 15 | Mark Semmler | Raw | 28 | Triple K |
| 16 | The Undertaker | SD | 26 | Big Marc 1 |
| 17 | Goldust | Raw | 8 | Semmler |
| 18 | Justin Eldridge | Raw | 18 | Big Marc |
| 19 | Steven Larson | XCW | 9 | Wright |
| 20 | Junior Remeriz | SD | 10 | Undertaker |
| 21 | William Kapphan | Raw | 11 | Eldridge |
| 22 | Jose Serrano | Raw | 12 | Woods |
| 23 | Kane | Raw | 24 | Kevin, Semmler and Johnson |
| 24 | B-Truth | SD | 17 | Big Marc |
| 25 | Kyle Van Dam | - | 22 | McGowan |
| 26 | Brian Woods | SD | 13 | Triple K |
| 27 | Nick Kessler | Raw | 14 | Kane |
| 28 | Justin Black | Raw | 15 | Kane |
| 29 | Jim Duggan | Raw | 16 | Big Marc |
| 30 | The Big Marc | SD | 25 | Kevin McAlmond |
1Kevin McAlmond had already eliminated The Big Marc prior to his elimination of The Undertaker.
