WWE Royal Rumble was a 2010 professional wrestling event put on by WWE (which had officially changed its corporate name from World Wrestling Entertainment on January 1st of 2010). It was the 24th annual Royal Rumble event, the 1st event of 2010, and the 241st event overall in the alternate WWF timeline. Emanating from the United Center in Chicago, IL, the main event was the annual 30-Man Royal Rumble match in which the winner would receive a world title match at Wrestlemania 26. Other matches on the card included a WWE Title match between Batista and Triple H, a World Heavyweight Title match between The Undertaker and Chris Jericho and a tag team match featuring IC Champion Cody Rhodes teaming with his father "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes against Jack Swagger & Zeb Colter, where if Cody lost he would lose the Intercontinental Title.
Prelude[]
As it was every year, the road to Wrestlemania began with the annual Royal Rumble match, in which the winner moved on to receive a world title match of their choosing at the Showcase of the Immortals. This year's Rumble was centered around the return of John Cena to official action, as the Champ (and defending two time Rumble winner) had been sidelined with a triceps injury since June. Cena certainly hadn't minced words as to which champion he would challenge if presented the opportunity, stating he would go after the WWE Championship held by The Animal Batista in a rematch from the previous year's Wrestlemania main event. Cena was far from the only star pegged to win the match though, as Cena's former rivals in Edge and Randy Orton were also considered heavy favorites going in, with former world champion CM Punk considered a dark horse candidate. Shawn Michaels was also looking to win the match as a way to force a confrontation with The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Title and (more importantly to Michaels) a way to get another crack at ending the Deadman's Wrestlemania Undefeated Streak.
Triple H had finally earned a WWE Championship match by way of winning a Fatal Fourway match at Battleground the previous month. This despite the efforts of Triple H's father-in-law, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, to protect his "perfect" champion from The Game. Batista though was eager to put the challenge behind him, pointing out that Triple H had never beaten him one on one before with a title on the line. A confrontation between the two former Evolution teammates took place on the go-home episode of Raw with a contract signing that resulted in a pull apart brawl, given the heated rivalry between the two.
Despite not winning the #1 contendership to the WWE Championship a month earlier, Chris Jericho was still heavily involved in a world title picture going into the Royal Rumble. He made it a point to challenge for one title that he had never held, namely the World Heavyweight Championship. To that end, Jericho confronted The Undertaker on an episode of Smackdown, stating that though the two had been in WWE for over a decade (nearly two decades in the latter case), they had rarely crossed paths with one another. Undertaker accepted Jericho's challenge for a World Title match, chokeslamming him as a response. Jericho then attempted to have Undertaker "arrested for assault" on that same episode of Smackdown, only for the Undertaker to mysteriously vanish from the arena. Jericho vowed to have Undertaker arrested at the Royal Rumble as a way of ensuring his victory via forefit.
At Battleground, it appeared as if interference on the part of "The Real American" Jack Swagger's manager had cost Swagger the Intercontinental Title match, as Cody Rhodes intercepted Colter's cane and used it on Swagger as opposed to the other way around. However, a second referee pointed out that the cane that Colter attempted to use was instead used by Cody, resulting in the decision being reversed to a disqualification victory for the Real American. This would lead to another match between the two on Raw, only for that match to be interrupted when Swagger viciously attacked Cody's father, Dusty Rhodes, who was sitting at ringside. Eventually a tag team match was agreed to, with Swagger and Colter taking on Cody and his father. However, this was with the added stipulation that if Cody's team lost (regardless of who was pinned), he would lose the title to the Real American.
Event[]
Coming Soon...
Results[]
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-Show | William Regal d. JTG by Submission | Singles Match in which Winner Receives #30 spot in the Royal Rumble Match | 9:27 |
| 1 | Justin Gabriel (c) d. Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder by Pinfall | Triple Threat Match for the WWE Light Heavyweight Title | 12:08 |
| 2 | John Morrison d. Dolph Ziggler by Pinfall | Singles Match | 8:27 |
| 3 | The Bella Twins [Nikki & Brie Bella] (c) d. Mickie James & Natalya by Pinfall | Tag Team Match for the WWE Divas Tag Team Titles | 7:42 |
| 4 | Cody Rhodes (c) & Dusty Rhodes d. Jack Swagger & Zeb Colter by Pinfall | Tag Team Match for the WWE Intercontinental Title | 12:40 |
| 5 | The Undertaker (c) d. Chris Jericho by Pinfall | Singles Match for the World Heavyweight Championship | 9:17 |
| 6 | Batista (c) d. Triple H by Disqualification | Singles Match for the WWE Championship | 17:00 |
| 7 | Randy Orton Won the Royal Rumble Match | 30-Man Royal Rumble Match | 69:00 |
Royal Rumble Order[]
| No. | Entrant | Eliminated by |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | JTG | CM Punk |
| 2 | Shad Gaspard | CM Punk |
| 3 | CM Punk | John Cena |
| 4 | Kofi Kingston | CM Punk |
| 5 | Colt Cabana | Luke Gallows |
| 6 | Luke Gallows | John Cena |
| 7 | Rob Van Dam | Randy Orton |
| 8 | Ted DiBiase Jr. | Randy Orton |
| 9 | The Big Show | Ezekiel Jackson |
| 10 | John Cena | Edge |
| 11 | El Generico | The Big Show |
| 12 | Mark Henry | CM Punk |
| 13 | Ezekiel Jackson | Randy Orton |
| 14 | Sheamus | John Cena |
| 15 | The Miz | Shawn Michaels |
| 16 | Shawn Michaels | John Cena |
| 17 | Randy Orton | WINNER |
| 18 | Christian | Edge |
| 19 | Evan Bourne | The Miz |
| 20 | Drew McIntyre | Shawn Michaels |
| 21 | Edge | Randy Orton |
| 22 | Chuck Taylor | Mark Henry |
| 23 | MVP | John Cena |
| 24 | R-Truth | Sheamus |
| 25 | M.G. Anderson | Randy Orton |
| 26 | Rey Mysterio | CM Punk |
| 27 | Goldust | Edge |
| 28 | Austin Aries | Edge |
| 29 | Shelton Benjamin | Randy Orton |
| 30 | William Regal | John Cena |
Aftermath[]
John Cena inadvertantly costing Triple H the WWE Title (and Triple H directly costing Cena the Rumble match) would eventually play into their one on one encounter at Wrestlemania. The Undertaker would again refuse Shawn Michaels' challenge for a Wrestlemania rematch, entering the Elimination Chamber at the next Pay Per View to defend his title. CM Punk would enter a feud with Rey Mysterio, culminating in a match at Wrestlemania as well. The tension between The Big Show and The Miz also continued to build, as Miz chose Ezekiel Jackson to be his new tag partner to take on the Usos to try and regain the tag titles.