After nearly two years on the shelf, WWE wrestling made its awesome comeback in 2010. Last year, WWE hosted a single PPV, The Royal Rumble 2009. The Rumble was won by Infinite Sexy, who was unable to cash in on his victory because World Wrestling Entertainment closed its doors for one more year. Back with a vengeance, WWE brought all of its major stars to the limelight to begin the battle anew. And yes, all 7 Non-Scorers returned as well to earn themselves a shot at the world titles.
The 2010 Royal Rumble started with the high flyers, as The Duncan battled Chalie Haas (the reigning champion), "Flyin'" Brian Pillman, and The Hurricane in a 4-man match for the X-Division title. The Duncan, by far the highest rated superstar in the match, held control for most of the match. In the end, The Duncan fell victim to Brian Pillman's finishing move and single's gold was once again denied him.
The next match on the card pitted Tag Team Champions Du-mee and Rico against the Dudley Boyz and La Resistance. The Dudley Boyz dominated by using a variety of weapons and tables during the contest and easily scored the victory. Much like The Duncan, Du-Mee would have to wait for his turn in the Royal Rumble match itself to make up for his loss.
The following 4-man match brought stars Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, and Eddie Guerrero (champion) into a steel cage with Icehouse for the InterContinental Title. Despite the star power against him, Icehouse proved victorious as he pinned Bret Hart as Eddie Guerrero was attempting to make Shawn Michaels submit. The win gave Icehouse the IC title for the 2nd time, and it was his 4th ever title overall. Because of the win, however, Icehouse was not allowed to participate in the Royal Rumble match because he already possessed a single's title. Icehouse's night was finished.
"Bad" Brad took his turn next as he entered the bloodiest match of the evening. A Hardcore Time limit match had everyone seeing red, including reigning champion Matt Hardy. In an amazing upset, George "The Animal" Steele snuck away with the title in the waning seconds, as he body splashed Rikishi with 15 seconds to go. Rikishi had a chance to come back, even having "The Animal" in a finishing move as time expired, but couldn't pull off the move quickly enough to score a victory. "Bad" Brad was effective, but never seriously contended for the title during the match. He would have to get cleaned up and rested for his shot during the Royal Rumble match.
Next up was one of the most anticipated matches of the evening. This saw De-Evolution, reigning WWE Tag Team Champions for over two years (thanks to the work shortage) put their titles on the line in a ladder match against Scott Steiner/Buff Bagwell and L.O.D. Because of the results of the previous Smackdown, Steiner and Bagwell came down to the ring armed and they unleashed their spoils early on.
De-Evolution stayed confidently in the match, even surviving a scare by Scott Steiner, who had the titles in his grasp before being pulled down by J-Lord. In the end, the tag team dominance would continue as De-Evolution prevailed to retain their titles. Both J-Lord and Infinite Sexy were partners for their tag title defense, but would be foes for the Royal Rumble match. Would they have to battle each other for a shot at the Main Event at Wrestlemania?
The last two matches before the Rumble were to decide the world title holders. Whomever won these titles would disqualified from the Royal Rumble match because they already had a world title. In a 6-man Hell In A Cell., Triple H retained his WWE Title by pinning Stone Cold Steve Austin in the ring while The Undertaker and Andre the Giant battled inside the cage and while The Rock and Edge battled outside the cell. Triple H would get the rest of the evening off, while the other 5 participants rested for the upcoming Rumble.
The final match before the Rumble was a 6-man elimination bout for the World Title. Randy Orton was certainly the extreme underdog in this match, as he was pitted against the likes of John Cena, Chris Jericho, Big Show, Brock Lesnar (champion), and the mighty Goldberg. Orton was quickly eliminated, but immediately went over to the announcer booth. The bell had not been rung before the fighting began, so Orton's loss had not actually occurred. The bell was then rang and the match began again.
This time Randy Orton put in a better effort. Jericho was quickly eliminated and it was obvious that heavyweights like Lesnar and Goldberg were going to prove difficult to defeat. Orton bided his time, however, and after Goldberg was KO'ed by Big Show, he went to work. Having hid and taunted for most of the match, Orton went straight at the remaining wrestlers, Big Show and Lesnar. Orton's unleashed fury eventually KO'ed Big Show, and several RKO's later, Lesnar was knocked cold as well. Orton survived, which the rest of the group quickly rested for the all-important Royal Rumble match.
The Royal Rumble match was the final bout on the card. The winner would be allowed to fight for either world title during the Main Event at Wrestlemania. 4 people had earned the right to be included in the match. Ted Dibiase won the "Legends" match, Rhyno, Tajiri, and even Trish Stratus were entered into the contest. All of the Non-Scorers were entered except for Icehouse, who already had the InterContinental Title. Infinite Sexy was surely the favorite, as he won the previous Royal Rumble, as well as having won 5 out of the last 7. Would Infinite Sexy add to his impressive total?
Having 6 Non-Scorers in the Rumble greatly increased the likelihood of a Non-Scoring victor, and The Duncan would get the first shot, coming in around #5. The Duncan was quickly followed the Fat Lump, who entered the match around #7. The Corporate Bastards went to work on the remaining Rumble contestants until J-Lord entered at #9. J-Lord immediately began to clean house, quickly eliminating Bobby Lashley.
After Lashley's departure, the only female contestant, Trish Stratus, came to the ring. J-Lord worked in concert with Trish to take on The Corporate Bastards. In an amazing irony, Trish Stratus, the smallest wrestler in the Rumble was somehow able to eliminate the fattest wrestler, Lump. The crowd roared as Lump was forced backstage and vowed revenge.
Several more wrestlers would enter the ring before another Non-Scorer was tossed over the top rope. This time, 2005 Royal Rumble winner J-Lord was the victim, being tossed over the ropes approximately 15 more wrestlers left yet to enter the contest. J-Lord would soon have company, as The Duncan was also tossed over less than a minute later.
The remaining Non-Scorers would all enter as one of the final 10 participants. "Bad" Brad would come down first, around #20. A few spots later, Du-Mee would join the fray. Sadly, neither performed well, perhaps fatigued from their previous matches. Du-Mee would be quickly eliminated by the time that Infinite Sexy, at #25, would enter the ring.
Infinite Sexy decided to play it safe and stayed out of the action. Infinite Sexy made his presence felt when #28 Rhyno entered and was quickly eliminated by Infinite Sexy. The final three participants were Infinite Sexy, Booker T, and Tajiri, who entered at #29 and who was only in the Rumble because he had earned a spot by winning a match earlier in the week.
Infinite Sexy felt that Tajiri had no place winning the Royal Rumble and quickly went after him. They battled back and forth briefly before Infinite Sexy tossed the Japanese Buzzsaw over the top rope. Unfortunately, Booker T was waiting for Infinite Sexy and sprang an attack from behind. Infinite Sexy fought bravely to regain control and win his 6th Royal Rumble out of 8 years, but in a surprising result, Booker T heaved Infinite Sexy over the top rope and became the 2010 Royal Rumble winner.
Despite the setback, Infinite Sexy told Booker T that the matter was not over, telling Booker T, "I'm still going to get my shot!" as he backed up the stage. Booker T ignored Infinite Sexy and began celebrating his victory in the middle of the ring as confetti, cheering, and applause filled the stadium.
Non-Scoring Match Results (1/31/10):
Check out more Non-Scorers' wrestling profiles!
Check out more Non-Scorers' wrestling profiles!
Return to our main Non-Scoring Page!