The 2005 Royal Rumble, held on January 30, 2005, was the eighteenth edition of the annual World Wrestling Entertainment Royal Rumble pay-per-view event. It was a joint production of both the RAW and SmackDown! brands. The event emanated from the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California, which is why it used the West Side Story theme.
Tickets for this event went on sale on December 18, 2004.
Along with the traditional Royal Rumble match, there were other matches booked for the event.
Final card
Singles Match
Shawn Michaels will wrestle Edge.
Casket Match
Heidenreich will wrestle The Undertaker in a Casket Match.
Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship
WWE Champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield will defend the WWE Championship against Kurt Angle and The Big Show in a Triple Threat Match.
World Heavyweight Championship Match
Randy Orton will wrestle World Heavyweight Champion Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship.
The 2005 Royal Rumble match
This is the list of professional wrestlers who officially qualified for the 2005 Royal Rumble.
On-air personalities
RAW announce team
SmackDown! announce team
- Michael Cole (play-by-play commentator)
- Tazz (colour commentator)
- Tony Chimel (SmackDown! ring announcer)
Spanish announce team
- Hugo Savinovich (play-by-play commentator)
- Carlos Cabrera (colour commentator)
Royal Rumble match commentators
Results
Sunday Night Heat
Maven defeated Rhyno
Singles match
Edge defeated Shawn Michaels via pinfall.
Casket match
The Undertaker defeated Heidenreich after a tombstone piledriver.
Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship
WWE Champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield defeated The Big Show and Kurt Angle via pinning Angle thus retaining the WWE Championship.
World Heavyweight Championship match
World Heavyweight Champion Triple H defeated Randy Orton via pinfall thus retaining the World Heavyweight Championship.
The 2005 Royal Rumble match
Batista eliminated John Cena following a controversial finish, which both Cena and Batista hit the floor at the exact same time. This prompted Vince McMahon to come out to ringside and he "restarted" the match with the final two competitors with Batista ending up the winner.Sources suggest that the double finish was not intended,and Batista lost balance when he was to eliminate Cena.This concerned McMahon,and he injured his knee to come out in a hurry.
See also
Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble 2004
The annual World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view events
External link
Official WWE Royal Rumble website
Last updated: 08-30-2005 03:22:22
