Search - WWE Royal Rumble - The Complete Anthology, Vol. 4 on DVD

The most recent Rumbles

Ervin Griffin | Bluefield, WV | 02/05/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This collection takes a look at The Royal Rumble cards from 2003 thru 2007. And, for those that wonder, the footage of the now infamous Chris Benoit is intact. Now, lets get to the cards:

Royal Rumble 2003

Big Show Vs. Brock Lesner - A rematch from their Survivor Series 2002 match with the winner getting a slot in The Royal Rumble match later in the card. Not a bad match to start off with.

The Dudleyz Vs. Lance Storm/William Regal (World Tag Team Title Match) - A good tag team bout which saw Regal and Storm's dirty tricks backfire as The Dudleyz collect another tag team title.

Torrie Wilson Vs. Dawn Marie - The second weakest bout on the card. Thankfully, it was kept short.

Triple H w/Ric Flair Vs. Scott Steiner (World Heavyweight Championship Match) - This has to be one of the worst world title bouts ever! I'd stop short of calling it THE worst but its up there! While HHH is a good performer, he has to be in there with someone that compliments his style and Steiner wasn't that guy! It really stunk up the joint!

Chris Benoit Vs. Kurt Angle (WWE Title Match) - This, along with the Rumble itself, saves this card! Despite his twisted and evil actions, no one can take away the fact that Chris Benoit (along with Kurt) gave us one of the best WWE title matches ever. No, I am not forgetting what he did to his family but if this is going to be a true anthology, then I am glad WWE had the stones to keep this match on here. History of any kind shouldn't ever be censored to please people. If that were the case then 9/11 would be forgotten and I am sure if someone suggested that, there would be an outrage.

Back to the match, it was a classic and for those that think it should've been deleted, I say learn to use your DVD menu or your fast forward button! End of story.

The Rumble match itself was pretty good. Pretty well balanced as far as surprises and performances.

Royal Rumble 2004

The Dudleyz Vs. Ric Flair/Batista (World Tag Team Title Match) - This was contested under "tables" rules. The Dudleyz was unable to repeat what they did the previous year against the Evolution duo. Okay match but it seemed a bit rushed.

Rey Mysterio Vs. Jamie Noble w/Nidia (Cruiserweight Title Match) - Lots of action but something seemed dead about this bout. Ends when Nidia's attempt to help Jamie backfires and gives Mysterio the win.

Eddie Guerrero Vs. Chavo Guerrero w/Chavo,Sr. - Okay bout. These two had better matches against each other in the old WCW but this was okay. The real action takes place after the bout as Eddie gives his nephew Chavo and brother Chavo, Sr. a savage beating!

Brock Lesner Vs. Hardcore Holly (WWE Title Match) - Weakest match on the card. Not close to the level of Benoit Vs. Angle but no where near the stinker that Steiner Vs. HHH was the previous year! It had some decent spots but thankfully, it was kept short.

Triple H Vs. Shawn Michaels (World Heavyweight Title Match/Last Man Standing) - Now this was much better than the previous years' World Title match! Despite the draw ending, its worth your 20 minutes to watch.

The Rumble match might as well have been called (as DP said) "The Chris Benoit Show" because it was pretty much his show en route to him winning and setting a record. Other notable performances were Randy Orton, The Big Show and the spot when Benoit, John Cena, Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle pretty much put their finishers on The Big Show at one point or another!

Royal Rumble 2005

Shawn Michaels Vs. Edge - This was Edge first serious push in a long time towards single stardom as he took on "HBK" in an exciting opener.

The Undertaker Vs. Heidenreich - This was a casket match and was the weakest match on the card. It has its moments however, especially when Snitsky and Kane get involved near the end.

The Big Show Vs. Kurt Angle Vs. JBL (WWE Title Match/Triple Threat Rules) - Surprisingly good. These three have decent chemistry together. Was never impressed with JBL's ring ability but I will give him this, he does have a good character and gets a lot of heat during this match. Ends when JBL gets a cover on Kurt with the help of his "cabinet."

Randy Orton Vs. HHH (World Heavyweight Title Match) - Okay bout but these two have had better against each other. Don't know if it was legit or just acting but Randy Orton does suffer a concussion after a botched DDT attempt on HHH. The match is over after that.

The Rumble match here was pretty good. Highlights is the showdown between John Cena and Batista at the end as well as a "chop-fest" at the beginning that saw Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero and Hardcore Holly take then-rookie Daniel Puter to the proverbial "woodshed" after Puter makes some cocky comments. Also, it was the beginning of the classic series between Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle that dominated much of 2005 and one spot that saw superstars from both RAW and Smackdown put aside their differences to beat up Iraqi sympathizer Assad in a short but hilarious moment!

Royal Rumble 2006

I'll go ahead and just say it. Watch this one only for John Cena Vs. Edge as it was the best match on the card! Yes, it is one of the rare times I actually give Cena credit! All the other matches (including the Rumble match itself) ranged from okay (Cruiserweight bout) to terrible (Kurt Angle Vs. Mark Henry).

Even The Rumble match wasn't that special this time around in 2006. As much as I love Rey Mysterio, there is no way in hell he should've won The Royal Rumble! While he does have the stamina, there is no way he would survive HHH, let alone Randy Orton, Chris Benoit, Shawn Michaels, The Big Show, Kane and all the other stars that entered that match! One of those heavyweights would've eventually caught him and tossed his a** over the top rope!

Don't get me wrong, I understand what they were trying to do and that was make a feel good moment in memory of Eddie Guerrero (who had died 2 months prior) but they could've picked someone else that had a close connection to Eddie like Chavo or Benoit (don't scoff at that because it was January 2006, long before the tragic events of June 2007) or even Matt Hardy. Anyway, it had its moments but overall, not a great Rumble match.

Royal Rumble 2007

The Hardyz Vs. MNM - Great tag team match to begin the card. It has to be watched.

Bobby Lashley Vs. Test (ECW Title Match) - Weakest bout on the card. It was more worthy of ECW on Sci-Fi than a PPV.

Mr. Kennedy Vs. Batista (World Heavyweight Title Match) - These two had a good bout. Most of which was carried by Kennedy. Ends with Batista winning after having his leg worked over by Kennedy for several minutes.

John Cena Vs. Umaga (WWE Title/Last Man Standing) - If you want wrestling, then you won't find it here! This was just a straight brawl and, to be honest, one of Cena's better bouts! I loved when he used the ring ropes to choke out Umaga in the STFU. As I said, one of his best and believable bouts.

The Royal Rumble match was very good overall. The last 10 minutes with Undertaker Vs. Shawn Michaels is worth just forwarding to that part alone! It was their first face off since The Royal Rumble 1998 in that casket match that put Shawn on the shelf until 2002.

Overall, this is a good collection to get just for the nostalgic value. Worth your $30 bucks or so.



"

The Last 5 Years Of The Rumble

D.P. | California | 03/23/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"2003 - I'm still wondering how WWE would have the best & worst matches in Rumble history on the same card. That was the case here as WWE Champion Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit wrestled in a classic match which many consider their best match ever...to the point to where Chris Benoit got a standing ovation after the match although he tapped out & lost. The other match was Triple H vs. Scott Steiner...the less said, the better because this was absolutely horrible. The Rumble match itself had some good moments like Jeff Hardy finally getting his hands on Matt for how he left RAW and Tommy Dreamer bringing in weapons & getting "hardcore" but the big highlight here was the storyline between Jericho & HBK with help from Christian that resulted in both of their elimination's. Brock Lesnar would go on to win it at the end (#29) after having a good match with Big Show earlier in the night.

2004 - The Chris Benoit Show would be the proper title for this Rumble as Benoit did what HBK did in '95 by starting #1 & winning the Rumble at the end with a hard-fought finish with Big Show. WrestleMania XX was right around the corner so this Rumble setup alot of the storylines going into the Rumble such as Mick Foley's return at the expense of Randy Orton, the first signs of the Undertaker returning to his "deadman" character, and the interaction between Brock Lesnar & Goldberg. The other standout matches on here was the awesome Last Man Standing match between HBK & HHH, and Eddie vs. Chavo.

2005 - This Rumble match was a step-down from the previous years but is still a solid showing that included the buildup for the "dream match" at the time between HBK & Kurt Angle, Benoit & Holly having a chopping contest on Daniel Puder's chest, and the finish that results in Vince McMahon injuring his quad...by getting into the ring. The undercard here was strong as there wasn't a bad match. Triple H vs. Randy Orton, JBL vs. Big Show vs. Kurt Angle, Edge vs. HBK, and Undertaker vs. Heidenrich in a casket match with cameos from Snitsky & Kane. This was just a fun Rumble PPV from top to bottom.

2006 - This was the worst Rumble since the '99 edition as they had alot of matches that just weren't going to be any good and a Royal Rumble that was so dry & boring. Rey Mysterio ended up winning the Rumble at the end & becoming the third man to start out the Rumble & win it in the end (he entered #2) but besides the return of Shane McMahon to help eliminate HBK...there's nothing else here noteworthy. The only match here worth talking about was the Cena vs. Edge match that was really a fun match to watch as Cena put on a good performance while Edge made the best of his main event opportunity.

2007 - WWE heavily rebounded from the previous edition with the latest Rumble. The undercard featured good performances MNM & Hardyz in their match. The other match to look out here is the Cena/Umaga last man standing match as it was one of the best performances from both men and the ending with Cena having to chokeout Umaga with the ringropes was something. The Rumble match itself was fun to watch, as it was your average Rumble with the last 10 mins. really being something you wouldn't want to miss with Undertaker, HBK, and Rated RKO.
"

CMON IT'S THE ROYAL RUMBLE BABY!!!!!!

jeff the jump | usa | 07/30/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What do you expect from the uniquest paper-view ever created. There is the royal rumble from 2004 to the past royal rumble which was 2008's. I mean if your new to this stuff get the first one but if you know all about get the whole set because it is entertaining baby!!!!"