This week for That's My Story and I'm Sticking To It I'll be telling you what I think of The Royal Rumble.

I usually watch the PPVs with the normal wrestling crew and we all enjoy some food while watching the PPV but they weren't avalible because of an event in their family so I was debating weather to actually order the PPV, which meant paying $40 for it. I thought "well, the card is really predictable but it's the Rumble so why not"? I ordered the show and one of my wrestling pals wanted to watch the PPV so before it started instead of watching the preview we went a a gas station to get some pretzels and ice tea...Ha Ha You know it's not a Rumble without pretzels and ice tea...Ha Ha Anyway we got back to my house just as the PPV started and I have to say it was a good decision to order the show because the Rumble had a few surprises, which is rare for a WWE PPV.

The show opened with Ric Flair v.s. MVP in a career threatening match and as I said in my column last week it's obvious that Flair wasn't losing because his retirement match will be a Wrestlemania, which it should be because Flair deserves to have a respectful retirement from wrestling considering he is probably the greatest of all time. There are a few things to note about the match though and one of those being it seems like Flair is starting to lose a step or two in the ring, which resulted in an unsteady pace to the match but what Flair does works well because he has alot of charisma. There was a few missed spots which is uncommon for a Ric Flair match but not so uncommon for an MVP match so it wasn't a surprised that there were a few missed spots. The match had a good ending with Flair countering into the figure four and overall it was an entertaining match but at this point Flair is showing his age so as cool as it would be for Flair to keep wrestling it's probably a good decision he will retire a Wrestlemania. That being said, it should be interesting to see who Flair wrestles in his retirement match. It's been reported on a few sites it could be Vince McMahon but let's hope that the WWE does the right thing and has Flair wrestle a respectable opponent at Wrestlemania.

A backstage promo was shown with Vince, Finlay, and Hornswoggle but it was completely pointless as well as a waste of time. I say this because it was about Hornswoggle's role in the Rumble match but all he did was hide under the ring so what was the point of having him in the match? It seems like the promo and Hornswoggle's role in the Rumble were pointless. From there new WWE announcer, Mike Adamle debuts and who exactly is this supposed to be? Okay, he played football but how does that make him qualified to be a wrestling announcer? I understand that he is there to promote the upcoming match but it doesn't seem like he is too knowledgeable about pro wrestling considering he pronounced Jeff Hardy's name wrong before the WWE title match. JR mentioned that Adamle was an announcer for the XFL but that isn't exactly a good thing and let's all hope the XFL is never mentioned on WWE PPV again.

The next match was Chris Jericho v.s. JBL and I have to say this match was alot better then I expected it to be. The match was somewhat of a clash of styles and it wasn't a fast paced match but the stiff style as well as Jericho spilling alot of blood made up for the lack of fast paced action. The physical style of the match really added alot to the storyline and overall it was a good match but the DQ ending sucked. I've said it before and I will say it again, having a DQ ending at a PPV robs the people of what they are paying to see because people order the PPV to see who is going to win the match. The only logical explanation for the DQ ending is possibly some type of gimmick match in the future to continue the feud. JBL and Jericho are both in the Elimination Chamber match at No Way Out but that gimmick match won't directly add to the feud because there's four other wrestlers in the match.

I expected The World Heavy Weight title match to be solid and it delivered in terms of in ring action. Edge was there with the no name Major Brothers, who are now known as Zack Ryder and Kurt Hawkins. Let's be honest here, the Major Brothers were probably just happy to be at a PPV even though no one will cares that they are there and being Edge's lackeys will probably be the most notable thing they do in their career. A few other notes about the match is Rey looked like a gladiator with his head gear he wore to the ring and the ring introductions added to the match making it seem important. Overall it was a good match that told a good story during the match but it was very predictable. A side note to the match is that Vicky Guerrero really needs some work with her acting skills. It's cool she had a job with the WWE but the entire Edge/Vicky storyline is ridiculous and Vicky's less then great acting skills don't really help the situation.

The video packages shown before the WWE title match were really good and a good way to build up the match. Jeff Hardy took alot of risks during the match and it really helped make it the match of the night because of the action and the great ending to the match. Hardy may not have won the title but he definitely proved he belongs in the main event picture. I don't see the WWE following up to the Rumble but Hardy showed he is without a doubt one of the top stars on Raw that can have PPV quality matches.

Micheal Buffer announcing the Royal Rumble was really cool and it added to the match. It's tough to talk about a match that has thirty wrestlers so I will try to mention things in the order in which wrestlers entered the Rumble and I apologize if it's tough to follow. The Undertaker and HBK was a great way to start the Rumble and they provided alot of action. Santino may have been in the Rumble a total of about thirty seconds but he was very entertaining with his promos during the PPV. The Great Khali was in the Rumble and thankful he was only in the ring about a minute because he barely sold The Undertaker's punches and the crowd chanted "you can't wrestle." J.R. suggesting Hardcore Holly winning the Rumble was funny and I'm sure Holly main eventing Wrestlemania would sell alot of PPVs...Ha Ha It was cool to see Tommy Dreamer in the Rumble and he got a great crowd reaction. Another funny note was Chuck Palumbo getting zero crowd reaction when he entered the Rumble and Palumbo getting no crowd reaction is common so it wasn't too much of a surprise no one cared he was in the match. CM Punk ran to the ring and had to set some type of record for the most knees used in a match...Ha Ha Anyway Punk didn't win the match but it seems as though the seeds have been planted for an Edge/Punk feud, which I think could be a great feud so hopefully there will be an Edge/Punk feud sometime in the future. Shelton Benjamin entered the ring, showed some amazing ability, and then was eliminated, which doesn't make too much sense but atleast Batista was in the Rumble for a while. Maybe Shelton just had too much talent for the Rumble? The point is, Benjamin is still the most under rated wrestler in the WWE and hopefully the WWE will finally do something with his career other then having him pin a jobber on ECW. Jimmy "Super Fly" Snuka being in the Rumble was ridiculous and when he was in the ring it looked like someone needed to remind him that he was in Madison Square Garden. Don't get me wrong here, Snuka is a legend but him entering the Rumble chopping everyone in the ring was a joke. It was cool to see "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and it was funny when everyone in the ring stopped wrestling during the Snuka/Piper showdown. John Cena returning was a major surprise and I don't think anyone expected it because he was supposed to be out of action until after Wrestlemania. The back and fourth action of Cena and Triple H was a great ending to the Rumble and it will be interesting to see if Cena wins the WWE title at No Way Out.

Overall I think the Royal Rumble was a good PPV.

Until next week
That's My Story and I'm Sticking To It
Dr. Wrestling

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