The 2008 Royal Rumble is in the books and the WWE started off the year with an excellent PPV that had one of the biggest shocks in WWE history at the end. Madison Square Garden was full and there were no disappointments for the fans. During the pre-game show the WWE ran a piece on the history of the Rumble focusing on numbers and the piece was extremely well done as it showed some of the most interesting facts behind the previous shows.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The "Bo's Prediction's" part of the review below was posted on Friday night (012508).

CAREER ENDING MATCH:
MVP (United States Champion) v.Ric Flair
BO'S PREDICTION:
Since the Flair angle is going all the way up to WrestleMania he isn’t going to lose in this match but with MVP being champion he has to lose in a way that keeps him strong. I would expect a lot of slow burns from MVP and some showmanship from both men in a match that won’t be that bad at all. This is likely going to end with a DQ or MVP will get annoyed and get counted out so that the duo will go at it again at another time. (MVP’s belt is not on the line here so he and Matt Hardy can continue their feud once Matt is cleared by the doctors after his appendectomy)

BO'S REVIEW: 
The show began with a limited amount of pyro since the Garden isn’t really laid out for that and we kicked things off with the Flair/MVP match. You could wonder why Flair’s possible retirement match was chosen to be the first one but since the rest of the card was what it was there wasn’t much of a choice. MVP’s US title wasn’t on the line here. Flair was out first and he gave a speech about his first match being at the Garden (true, it’s on the Flair DVD) and how honored he was before MVP came out as he was speaking to guarantee heat. The two went back and forth with MVP getting in offense while Flair chopped the hell out of his chest. MVP almost won the match but Flair got the ropes so ref Charles Robinson (natural choice for the match) broke the count. Flair then got MVP in the figure four and made him tap out but when MVP was leaving he was complaining about the rope break so he will claim that he beat Flair even though he tapped out.

We got our first backstage segment of the night between Vince and Hornswoggle over being Irish and the history of the McMahon’s at the Garden (not mentioning the long break between cards last year) before Vince told his son not to trust Finlay. Finlay came in and he and the little fellow left the office. From there Mike Adamle made his WWE debut in the stands (after a nice intro from JR) to set up the JBL/Jericho match and feud.

Chris Jerico v. JBL
BO'S PREDICTION:
I have no clue why Jericho was picked to be the first person JBL would match up with after he was talked back into wrestling by Vince. Jericho was in the title hunt immediately after he returned from his retirement and even though the folks on the booking committee think JBL was over as champion he isn’t at all. There is a definite style clash between the two since Jericho can work in any style and JBL is a brawler unable to carry anyone. This means that Jericho is doing most of the work here and will likely win but I wouldn’t be surprised if the bookers have the two just go at it and get themselves disqualified or counted out.

BO'S REVIEW: 
The match went back and forth with Jericho taking the offensive before being thrown into the shiny new ring posts, falling out of the ring and starting to bleed. We got our first botched spot of the night when JBL sold a bulldog that Jericho missed (JBL hasn’t wrestled in a while so he wasn’t where he was supposed to be) but Jericho recovered and got the match going again. He took JBL outside and after JBL took the top of the ECW announcers table off Jericho nailed him with a hard chair shot. At that point the match was over since Jericho was disqualified. As JBL staggered back into the ring Jericho did the Sabu throw the chair spot then choked JBL out with a mike cord. He then went outside the ring and proceeded to hang JBL from outside from the floor then from the top of the Raw desk. The refs got him to stop and as he left Justin Roberts announced that JBL won so we saw JBL raised his hand in victory even though he got the hell beat out of him. The fact that Jericho carried JBL to a good match speaks volumes about Jericho.

Ashley was seen backstage making her way to Maria’s dressing room but Santino came out and told her to go away because his Maria would never pose for a dirty magazine such as Playboy.

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE MATCH:
Edge(c) v. Rey Mysterio
BO'S PREDICTION:
The injury to the Undertaker followed by the injury to Edge made the Smackdown belt more interesting than the Raw belt because we never knew who was going to get it. Edge getting it back was more or less a foregone conclusion but the way he got it showed creative booking. He always wanted a stable so when Vince asked why the Major Brothers were being called brothers when they weren’t (true story) someone must have noticed that there was a slight resemblance to Edge and they were connected to him. What all that means is that Rey isn’t wrestling one person he’s wrestling three so he can be a huge underdog and we can hear Michael Cole complain about the lack of justice. Edge isn’t losing the belt here but this could be one hell of a match. I would expect some involvement from CM Punk since they are slowly building an angle between him and Edge.

BO'S REVIEW: 
Edge was the first one out and he was followed by the Edgeheads, Vickie Guerrero and Teddy Long. (Teddy did a nice slow burn as he walked past the Edgeheads) Rey was out next and for some strange reason the fans at the Garden decided that Edge was the face in this match because he got more cheers than Rey. Rey was the first to be tossed outside and when Ryder and Hawkins went near him ref Mickey Jay tossed them from ringside. When Rey jumped onto the second rope Edge kicked him in the braced knee and that began an ongoing assault on Rey’s knee. Rey did a dive off the top rope and had Edge covered but Vickie got out of her wheelchair and grabbed Jay’s leg to stop the count. As Jay asked her what she was doing Edge was put in the 619 position and as Rey went for the move Vickie tried to move him and took the prelude to Rey’s finisher in the back of the head before crumpling to the floor in a heap. Rey tried another flying move but Edge caught him in mid air with a spear and got the win. Ryder and Hawkins came back out and they all helped Vickie to the back. At this point the best pure wrestling match of the night and the card has had no low points.

We see Flair backstage in the locker room after a shower and there waiting for him is Kennedy. Kennedy hints that he would like a shot at ending Flair’s career before HBK enters the room. Kennedy leaves (Shawn makes a remark about him being cocky) then Batista comes in as well as HHH. The three claim that they are going to win the Rumble before Shawn pimps his new shirt and the segment ends with a funny line by HHH.

Maria comes to the ring for the first kiss cam in HD. Ashley then interrupts to mention that when she was at the Playboy mansion recently Hugh Hefner told her to ask Maria if she would be interested in posing for Playboy (the shoot was weeks ago, btw). This brought Santino out with someone under a black sheet. Santino then proceeds to insult the fans in New York and says that no one wants to see Maria naked. He says if fans want to see something then look at this and takes the sheet off to reveal Big Dick Johnson wearing a half Tom Brady jersey, a Patriots tattoo on his stomach and underwear that has 19-0 on the back of it. Ashley knocks him out of the ring with rubber chickens. We then see the first WrestleMania commercial with Kelly Kelly and Mae Young as lifeguards.

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Randy Orton(c) v. Jeff Hardy
BO'S PREDICTION:
At present this is the hottest angle in wrestling. Jeff has the backing of HHH (due to his hard work) and Orton loves working with him (letting Jeff lay him out every week shows that). That said Orton isn’t going to leave New York without the belt. The unofficial plan is for Orton and HHH to lock up at WrestleMania (which should be the reintroduction of John Cena) and unless one of them gets hurt that’s going to happen. That shouldn’t stop Orton and Hardy from having one hell of a match though. I would expect to see Jeff to do something incredibly dangerous looking either before the match is over or after when he loses to keep the two connected for at least another month.

BO'S REVIEW: 
Adamle reappears to set up the match and blows Jeff’s name (but recovered right away) before we see the video package. There were a few in the company who were pushing for Hardy to win (Austin and Mick Foley started the push) so I watched he and Orton coming out but neither showed the finish. Orton got knocked out of the ring early and his head hit the barrier hard but he was able to get up and take a Jeff dive onto him. Orton got frustrated and tried to take the belt and leave but Jeff tossed him back into the ring. As Jeff tried to get back in Orton recovered and dropkicked him to the floor. Hardy jumped from the top a few times and even did a moonsault from the top rope (did I mention that Orton must really trust Hardy in my predictions?) but Orton countered the twist of fate with the RKO and won the match. He never took his eyes off Hardy as he left the area and Hardy watched him as well so this isn’t over yet. Hardy got a big hand from the crowd.
 
We saw Tazz and Joey Styles for the first time to pimp the Rumble and they reran the video package before Michael Buffer was shown in the ring to set up the Rumble. This year the time between entrants is 90 seconds.

ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH
ANNOUNCED AS OF FRIDAY NIGHT: Umaga, Snitsky, The Miz, John Morrison, Hornswoggle, Mick Foley, Batista, Undertaker, Kane, Jamie Noble, Finlay, Cody Rhodes, Shelton Benjamin, Carlito, Santino Marella, Shawn Michaels, Mark Henry, Bob Holly, The Great Khali, Mr. Kennedy, Triple H, Tommy Dreamer, Big Daddy V and Chuck Palumbo.
BO'S PREDICTION:
As is usual for the Rumble there are feuds that will continue as the match goes on. We have the Michaels/Kennedy lock up going on as well as the amazingly successful Noble/Palumbo angle. You also have tag teams involved as well (so we will see some begin their break ups here) and Kane and Taker in the ring at the same time. The tradition is for the WWE to show their hand and have one superstar take over a major part of the match so we will see who gets the spotlight this time around (I would bet Snitsky since they are determined to get him over as a monster). The winner gets a title shot at WrestleMania against one of the champions so the immediate candidates to win include: HHH (it would have been more interesting if he wasn’t on the card and won his title shot at No Way Out), Batista, Taker or Kennedy. The unknown participants make picking a winner impossible but if HHH won I wouldn’t be shocked at all.

BO'S REVIEW: 
Drawing number one was the Undertaker. He was followed by HBK. The two went back and forth before Santino came out. He was superkicked by HBK then tossed out by Taker. The Great Khali was next out (the fans began the ‘You Can’t Wrestle’ chant immediately) and he was eliminated by Taker after the two went at it. Hardcore Holly was next then John Morrison, Tommy Dreamer (who went after the Undertaker) and Batista. Batista eliminated Dreamer. Hornswoggle was next and he looked into the ring then hid under it. Chuck Palumbo was next followed by Jamie Noble. They went right after one another and Palumbo eliminated Noble. CM Punk was next and he eliminated Palumbo. Cody Rhodes entered nest and he also went right after Taker. Umaga was next in his new red tights and he spiked Holly out. Snitsky, The Miz and Shelton Benjamin were next. Shelton did a standing leap to the top rope at the start but was superkicked out soon after by HBK. Jimmy Snuka was out next (man, he looks old) and he was followed by Rowdy Roddy Piper (looking as good as a man can look with artificial hips). At this point time stood still and everyone watched Piper and Snuka go at it before resuming with the beatings. Kane was the next man out and he eliminated both Piper and Snuka. Carlito, Mick Foley, Kennedy and Big Daddy V were the next out. Snitsky, Taker and HBK went out (HBK eliminated Taker) and before leaving Taker leg dropped Snitsky on one of the announce tables. Mark Henry was next. The Miz was eliminated by Hornswoggle when he pulled his arm from the outside. Chavo Guerrero was next. Morrison was eliminated by Kane (after Morrison teased about five eliminations). Hornswoggle was pulled into the ring by Henry and Big Daddy V before Finlay jumped the gun and hit both with the shillelagh. Finlay then took Hornswoggle to the back and we heard that he was disqualified for using a weapon and entering early. Elijah Burke was next out. CM Punk was eliminated by Chavo before HHH came out. HHH eliminated Rhodes, Big Daddy V, Foley and Burke. At this point we think that HHH is going to go over before number 30 is announced-John Cena. The roof goes off the Garden and HHH just looks at Cena in total disbelief. Cena eliminated Mark Henry and Umaga (I think) and that leaves him, Batista, Kennedy and HHH in the ring. Batista eliminates Kennedy. He and HHH eliminated Kane then HHH eliminated Batista. This left HHH and Cena. Both motioned at the WrestleMania sign over the ring and went at it. Cena tossed HHH out of the ring and he is going to WrestleMania to take on Orton. We then get the full bore fireworks display and the card ends with Cena in the ring triumphant.

As I said, this was a great card to start the year with. On 2/17 we get Now Way Out in Vegas with the Elimination Chamber determining who will go after the Smackdown belt and by then The Big Show will be back. The Cena return came from out of nowhere (he was claiming he would be at WrestleMania but not in a wrestling capacity days before) and made a rabid crowd even more so. It would have been nice to see Hardy win (and the move was going to happen) but with the Cena return then Orton keeping the belt was the right move.

Photo © 2008 WWE/World Wrestling Entertainment
Article © 2008 Alternate Reality, Inc.