Product Description

It's the dream of every superstar--to headline WrestleMania. For one man out of 30, the dream becomes reality at the Royal Rumble. Whoever outlasts 29 other competitors earns himself a championship match at WrestleMania 24. The superstars of Raw, Smackdown, and ECW, including past winners John Cena, Undertaker, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Rey Mysterio, and Batista, and superstars looking to add this impressive goal to their resume, including Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, Edge, Kane, Mr. Kennedy, Randy Orton, CM Punk, MVP and more will do everything in their power to overpower and outlast the competition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24572 in DVD
• Brand: Genius
• Released on: 2009-02-24
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 180 minutes

Customer Reviews

Randy Orton's Legacy Begins...
ECW Champion Jack Swagger vs. Matt Hardy - For Jack Swagger's PPV debut, he delievered a a solid wrestling match here with Matt Hardy and continued to showcase his inring potential with his storytelling on Hardy's arm throughout the match. Solid opening match.

Womens Champion Beth Phoenix vs. Melina - It just seemed like they weren't clicking here as you openily saw some botched moves, off timing, along with the crowd at one point more focused on cheering Santino at ringside than the match itself. One memorable moment though was when Beth stretched Melina's leg to the point where she had Melina kicking herself in the head with her own foot. In the end, this was their weakest match together as they were just off here but what's ironic is that their worst day is still a more watchable & better performance than you would get from some of the other divas on their best day.

World Champion John Cena vs. J.B.L. - If anyone remembers their matches from WrestleMania 21 along with Judgment Day & One Night Stand from 2008, you know not to expect much from these two unless it's a hardcore type match like Judgment Day '05 & Great American Bash 2008. But I'll give it credit as these two put on their best "wrestling" match here as it wasn't one sided here & both men trading offense. The wild card with Shawn Michaels at ringside helped this match more than hurt it as this was again, their best "wrestling" match that we should have gotten during their previous 3 attempts at a normal match.

No Disqualification Match: WWE Champion Jeff Hardy vs. Edge - Chavo Guerrero was in Edge's corner for this match & Vickie Guerrero made it a No DQ match. I can never remember Jeff Hardy (who looked very similar to the Joker from "The Dark Knight") & Edge having a bad match and this was no exception as they just worked well together with the No DQ rule making various highlights like Hardy's dangerous leap off the ladder onto Chavo before the ending that was a shock to everyone involved with the match. Great match between these two but again, when did they have a bad one?

Royal Rumble Battle Royal: This Rumble heavily made up for last years as we got a bunch of welcomed suprizes here in terms of either performances or special appearences and at one point, we had the most wrestlers in the ring at the same time during the match that I ever remember seeing. Various highlights include the opening minutes with the young talents getting the spotlight for a while, Cryme Tyme's coin flip, how Mysterio re-entered the ring after being tossed out, the "Rhodes Family Reunion", Rob Van Dam's appearence & "no ring rust" performance including one awesome looking double team move he did with Mysterio at one point, Santino's Rumble performance, "Hi I'm Dolph Ziggler", seeing the 400 pound Big Show "skin the cat" at one point, and the dominance of Randy Orton's Legacy. Great Rumble match overall that delievered.

In the end, this was a very enjoyable Rumble overall with the only bad match being Melina & Beth having an off night so I recommend overall.

The "Legacy" of the Rumble
ECW Championship match
Jack Swagger vs. Matt Hardy
This match was more of a grounded wrestling match. These two put a good match on though. Swagger's title reign came a little too early though. But Hardy's reign was a little long. This match is slow but fun to watch.

The next match is nothing special but Melina is your NEW Women's champion.

World Heavyweight Championship
JBL with Shawn Michaels vs. John Cena
A very bad match with no purpose but to push the Michaels/JBL storyline. These two have had bad matches and this one wasnt any different. Bad match

No Disqualification Match for the WWE Championship
Edge vs. Jeff Hardy
This match was pretty dissapointing if you ask me. Hardy wasnt prepared for this match as Edge pretty much dominated this one. There were some good spots in this one as Hardy put Chavo through the announce table. The ending was pretty shocking!

Royal Rumble 2009 match
A very good rumble that tops most rumbles. This one wasnt boring and always had something entertaining every minute. Everybody had a good spot in this one. It had some returns in it. It had a new record set. This one didnt dissapoint. The only problem with this one is Orton winning. That was a given for like two weeks. That one basically spoiled this one. I think Jericho or Triple H should have had this one but this Rumble didnt dissapoint.

Explores New Territory, but Sacrifices Closure
"It's not the destination that matters. It's how you get there that counts."

Mark those words before you watch this one. A lot of surprises went down at the 2009 ROYAL RUMBLE PPV, and all of them worked. A couple titles changed hands, and many loyalties were tested. But even though I'm satisfied with where ROYAL RUMBLE 2009 has brought me, I didn't always enjoy the ride there.

1) ECW Championship
Matt Hardy v. Jack Swagger (champion)
---As expected, both men delivered a crisp opener to get us excited. Hardy has been a very reliable singles talent for quite a few years now, and Swagger's physical talents are well utilized. Amateur-style takedowns seem to be a trend in the WWE today, as Swagger often used some collegiate maneuvers to turn into suplexes. Matt Hardy's signature moves are becoming a little predictable now, but his resilience and timing are still crisp enough to keep us on the edge of our seats. All in all, this was my favorite of the four singles matches on tonight's card.
"7.0 / 10"
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2) Women's Championship
Melina v. Beth Phoenix (champion)
---This was one of the most unpredictable and unorthodox matches I've seen in quite some time. That's both a good thing and a bad thing with this match. There were quite a few moments when the ladies would pick up the pace, and their speed seemed to overcome their timing. Several slams and counters were off. However, the reason I overall liked this match was because there was some very strange offense from both women. Melina used kicks from every conceivable position to stay in the fight, while Phoenix implemented some very vicious power offense. There's a particularly savage leglock that you've got to see to believe. I think most will be able to sit through it, but I've seen these ladies do better against each other.
"6.0 / 10"
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3) World Heavyweight Championship
JBL (w/ Shawn Michaels) v. John Cena (champion)
---Pick a Cena/JBL match besides their "I Quit" Match a few years ago, and you've pretty much seen this one. This is getting ridiculous now, because JBL just pummels and torques Cena's body, yet the champ remains in the fight using only his signature moves. The only reason I'm not beating this one to death is because the angle with Shawn Michaels and JBL continues to be very good TV. It's a well-acted, well-constructed storyline that has kept me interested. Also, I will give credit to the match's interesting finish. However, the one-on-one match itself was average at best. I kinda enjoyed myself; then again, I was in a very comfy chair.
"6.0 / 10"
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4) No Disqualifications - WWE Championship
Jeff Hardy (champion) v. Edge (w/ Chavo Guerrero)
---Vickie Guerrero came out and announced that there would be no rules for the title bout. And boy, I thought I had good reason to expect a knockout display of carnage. But then, Edge and Jeff started off with a relatively slower-paced contest. "Okay," I thought to myself, "This is a necessary way to begin, so that the weapons spots will mean more." But quite frankly, this one just never gets off the ground. Not only is there very little "No-DQ" action, but also some of the more hardcore moments are dull. For example, there's a spot where Chavo Guerrero is lying on a table, and Jeff dives from a ladder onto him. That whole spot was ruined because Chavo was resting on the table after a few weak punches, just waiting for Jeff to crash on him. In fact, Chavo looked confused, because he'd cheat behind the referee's back in a No-DQ Match! The last 5 minutes include some nice counters and close calls. And as neat as the finish was, I don't think it'll hold up months from now. As it turns out, the "No-DQ" stipulation was good for the storyline, but didn't make the match any better. I was very disappointed with this display from these two gifted wrestlers.
"6.5 / 10"
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5) 30-Man Royal Rumble
---Anytime I watch a Royal Rumble on live PPV, I get a little exhausted when it's over. The suspense of the entrances, the close calls, the pile-up of wrestlers, and closing moments will always get me exhilarated on a first viewing. So I ask this: will the 2009 30-Man Rumble hold up on repeat viewings? The answer is, "Yes".

First the good stuff:
* The first half of this Rumble was non-stop excitement. The first 25 minutes has to be the most action-packed of any 30-Man Royal Rumble. There was so much going on that I couldn't keep up!
* Seeing Rob Van Dam return to action was a genuine thrill. He entertained the Detroit crowd, got to show off some stuff, but also allowed the other wrestlers to do their jobs.
* A lot of big names in this one. I knew who was going to win, but I kept second-guessing myself. That's never a bad thing.
* I've never seen so many near-eliminations in a Royal Rumble in my life. The number of times a superstar ALMOST touched the floor has to be a new record. Tons of suspense.
* Randy Orton's victory celebration was perfect. He raised the hands of Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase for their assistance for getting him the win, and the final shots of Orton pointing to the WRESTLEMANIA 25 signs & pyro couldn't have been better timed. Orton knows how to use the camera to his advantage. Priceless!

Okay, so what's not so good about the 2009 30-Man Royal Rumble?
* The pileup became ridiculous. I think this Rumble featured the most superstars ever to be in the ring during a Rumble. This wouldn't have been an issue if the eliminations were more frequent.
* Terrible way to use The Brian Kendrick. 15 seconds?! Just stupid!
* The showdown between the final six competitors was good. But as entertaining as it was, it was pretty obvious who was going to win. In hindsight, I should've paid more attention to how Orton was being talked about backstage.

So, overall I think the 2009 30-Man Royal Rumble was on the verge of being the absolute best. The first half is non-stop excitement, and I challenge anybody to argue over that. But after a while, the match begins to drag, and gets pretty good in the final stretch. A very good 30-Man Royal Rumble. Not the best, but definitely one of my favorites.
"7.5 / 10"
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ROYAL RUMBLE 2009 is a decent PPV. The biggest problem is that in every match, the finish overshadows the contest leading up to it. Matt Hardy and Jack Swagger delivered a solid match, but the camera lingered on Hardy afterwards, rather than pushing Swagger. Melina won the title in a very surprising fashion, but perhaps almost too surprising.
Cena and JBL must stop working together, especially if you have Shawn Michaels at ringside. Let's face it: we knew he was going to get involved at some point. The whole time we're thinking about HBK, rather than Cena & JBL.
Edge and Jeff Hardy have no excuse for their average display. I liked the betrayal finish as much as everyone else will, but considering how intense this storyline has gotten, the match was surprisingly soft.
Thankfully, the 30-Man Royal Rumble is one of the better ones. It drags a bit in the middle, and might be predictable by some people's standards. But battle royals don't always entertain on repeat viewings; the 2009 30-Man Royal Rumble will stand the test of time.

"It's not the destination that matters. It's how you get there that counts." ROYAL RUMBLE 2009 does a good job setting up the months to come, but suffers as an individual chapter.