WWE Classic of the Week: Remembering the 2008 Royal Rumble Match

Surprises.

In today's Internet age, legitimate surprises have become increasingly rare. Most of the time, plans are leaked onto web pages weeks and, in some cases, months ahead of time.

Catching an audience off-guard and delivering a true surprise, a moment that will live in history, takes a great deal of effort. It can involve hiding performers in a car in the backstage area for hours on end just to preserve the surprise.

The 2008 Royal Rumble match saw World Wrestling Entertainment deliver one of the biggest, most shocking surprises in its long and illustrious history. It was one of those moments in time that fans who were in attendance will never forget and one that even the most cynical fans, the most in-the-know fans never could have expected.

Background

In October 2007, John Cena tore his pectoral muscle. The injury, it was determined, would sideline him for anywhere from six months to one year. As a result, he was stripped of the WWE Championship, and his hated foe, Randy Orton, would be next in line to hold the most coveted prize in the sport.

Triple H, arguably the second hottest babyface at the time, would provide quite the challenge for Orton, as would Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho. Despite those celebrated Superstars vying for the title he held closest to him, Orton managed to enter 2008 as champion.

Earlier in the Rumble broadcast, he defeated Jeff Hardy to retain his title in a solid back-and-forth match.

WWE's resident Rated R Superstar, Edge, was dominating SmackDown as World Heavyweight champion and was certainly paying close attention to the Royal Rumble match as the next challenger to his title could come from it as easily as Orton's could.

With at least one WrestleMania main event hinging on the outcome of the massive Battle Royal, both champions, as well as the die-hard fans inside the historic Madison Square Garden, waited with bated breath to see who would emerge from the 30-man bout with his arm raised in victory.

The Match

The match kicked off by paying homage to the previous year's Rumble as The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels drew Nos. 1 and 2 and picked up where they left off in 2007.

Legends Mick Foley, Roddy Piper and Jimmy Snuka all had ties to the historic MSG, and their entries popped the crowd and made for some memorable moments in the middle of the bout.

Nothing could compare, however, to the shocking arrival of John Cena at No. 30.

With other major stars such as Batista, Triple H and Umaga in the squared circle at the same time as Cena, the final four of the 2008 proved to be one of the most star-studded ever.

Cena won the match by Attitude Adjusting Triple H out of the ring and to the arena floor.

Analysis

A slightly above-average Royal Rumble match that was helped greatly by the involvement of the aforementioned legends and Cena's return.

The star power was strong and the nod to Michaels and Undertaker's outstanding match-closing exchange a year earlier by having them open this match was a stroke of pure booking brilliance.

The fact that so many feuds and stories were represented in the match (Noble-Palumbo, the Hornswoggle story, Taker-Michaels) helped strengthen it, despite the fact that it was fairly short.

A really good match that could have been better but was saved by the epic final 20 minutes.

Historical Significance

The 2008 Royal Rumble was historically significant for two very specific reasons.

The first was that it was the first Rumble match to take place in Madison Square Garden in eight years. While that may seem to be rather insignificant, the historic arena adds a greater importance to any event that takes place there, and the atmosphere for the match was phenomenal.

The second reason is, as has been beaten into the ground at this point, the shocking return of Cena after only four months away from the squared circle.

He would fail to capitalize on his title opportunity at WrestleMania, losing a triple threat match (also involving Triple H) to Orton, but the moment in New York City more than made up for the disappointing outcome three months later.