WWE Royal Rumble 2009: Top 5 Moments from a Shocking Event

We are now less than two weeks from the annual Royal Rumble event. WWE tends to always put out its best efforts around this time of the year. Back in 2009, it was no different.

Jeff Hardy was the new WWE Champion. John Cena was the reigning World Champion. However, things were about to be shook up in a big way. Here are my top moments from the WWE PPV three years ago!

5. Melina vs. Beth Phoenix

Melina was the face here. Beth Phoenix was playing the heel.

Beth had been doing well as Women's Champion, especially with Santino by her side. Sadly, her reign was about to come to an end. Melina won this match and became the new title holder.

The match was fine, but it will forever be remembered for one sequence.

Beth Phoenix hit Melina in her head...with her own boot! Just watch the video and see it for yourself...

4. Jack Swagger Shines

Jack Swagger was new to the company. He had spent some time on ECW and was already the champion on Tuesday nights, but I really think this was the night he left his mark on fans.

He had a great match with Matt Hardy and let everybody know that he was here to stay. His run as champion was very fun to watch. He was a rare heel that won clean. He did so again here.

His series of matches with Christian that would be soon to follow all but confirmed his bright future with WWE. Swagger was moved to the Raw brand months later and was a World Champion a year later.

3. World Title Match

John Cena was defending his World Title against JBL here. In the end, Cena won. However, there was much more to this match.

Shawn Michaels was in the corner of JBL here. Their story was that HBK had to help JBL win the title or else his family's financial future would not be secure. It was a weak story, but I enjoyed it. Both men played their parts perfectly.

Anyways, John Cena was great in trying to help Shawn "do the right thing" through all this. He was the middle man during this entire feud, but it worked.

During the closing moments of the match, Shawn knocked out JBL. Moments later, he knocked out Cena as well! The crowd was in shock, but it would all come together the following month.

2. Randy Orton Wins the Rumble

I liked this Rumble.

My only problem was that Randy Orton was really the only option to win. The unpredictable feeling was not there in 2009. It just wasn't.

The entire match was entertaining, and we even got a fun RVD surprise. It's just that everything was about Mr. RKO winning. Even the opening PPV video was all about Orton.

This was about as predictable as the 2000 Rumble. Nice hour-long story but no sense of urgency!

Quick note: For those who want a laugh, watch the final minute or two of the video I posted. The fireworks, WWE, referees and Randy Orton were not on the same page!

1. Matt Hardy Turns on His Brother

Jeff Hardy was defending his WWE title against Edge. To be honest, I expected Edge to win here. There was no way Jeff was heading into WrestleMania season as one of the main event players. Sorry!

Therefore, Edge was going to get the belt off of him here. The question was, how? Somebody had been causing damage to Jeff for the past few months, and it seemed like the Rumble event was time for the story to pay off.

Who was messing with Jeff Hardy?

Matt Hardy!

He came out and knocked out his brother with a steel chair, which led to a great story leading up to WrestleMania (and beyond). Some may have thought Christian would have filled the spot here to feud with Hardy, but that never interested me.

Christian returning to WWE to feud with Jeff Hardy? Good story, nothing spectacular.

Matt Hardy turning on his brother and beginning a feud? Excellent idea!

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