Royal Rumble Review/WWE and ROH News

The 2009 edition of WWE's Royal Rumble PPV was much as I expected it to be. It had to be seen, simply because it is the Rumble, but other than that, it was not spectacular.

Matt Hardy and Jack Swagger started off the show. They put on a well-wrestled match, the result of which was no surprise to me. Swagger retained the title in convincing fashion. I like Swagger as ECW Champion and we will be seeing more of it.

Next, Beth Phoenix and Melina put on a marginally interesting match, the results of which were uninteresting to me. Melina was able to pick up a win after being beaten nearly out of her boots for most of the match.

The World Title match between Cena and JBL was nothing spectacular. The story in this match, as everyone knew it would be, was the actions of Shawn Michaels. Michaels delivered a WCM to each man...but in the end decided to place JBL on top of Cena for the pin. However, Cena being the overblown Hulk Hogan reincarnation that he is, kicked out and picked up to win a fews moments later. The ramifications of this match, between Michaels and JBL of course, should be seen tonight on RAW.

Edge and Jeff Hardy put on a good match. Again, the match was not spectacular. In the end, my predictions came true. Matt Hardy screwed his brother out of the WWE Title via a charshot to the head. The reaction from the crowd was HOT. Honestly, I can't believe that everyone hasn't seen this coming since Survivor Series. The ramification of this match should be very interesting.

The Royal Rumble match itself was the best on the card, mostly because of its chaotic nature. It was not the best Rumble of all time, by any stretch of the imagination. Shelton Benjamin put on a good performance, as did Kan and Undertaker. Rey Mysterio lasted over 45 minutes, entering at number 2. Ted DiBiasi Jr. also lasted over a half an hour. Of course, as I predicted (and with no insider help, thank you very much), Randy Orton came away with the win and the shot at WrestleMania 25.

In his most recent blog post, Paul Hayman has been quoted as saying that the Age of Orton is "INDEED UPON US!"

As Paul--and anyone else for that matte-- can see, Orton has raised himself to a level that is unsurpassed by any performer in the current WWE. His win at the Rumble marks yet another step in the "youth movement" in WWE. As Heyman points out, none of the seasoned vets have title at this point, Michaels, Taker, and Triple H included. The titles are all on young guys. Each one of those young guys is an extremely talented performer. WWE finally seemes to be looking toward the future of the business and not the past.

yesterday before the Rumble, Christian Cage was reported as being involved in the match...but was not...unless I'm wrong. My stream cut out for a period of over eight minutes last night when watching on my computer (friggin technology!). I surmised that Finaly and Undertaker enterd during that time...but do not know who else.

I would now assume that Christian will be premiering on a SmackDown some time soon. Something between he and Edge is said to be cooking. Could we possibly see two awesome matches like Edge vs. Christian and Matt vs. Jeff at WrestleMania 25? We shall see.

Ring of Honor has announced that they are entering into a long term partnership with HDNet. Coming soon, ROH will have their own weekly show on HDNet. Owner Mark Cuban and ROh President Carey Silken both seem very pleased with the deal. Could this be the start of a rise for ROH? I sure as hell hope so.

Stay tuned for further developments in the upcoming days.