TPWW Forums - Fantasy-Book Royal Rumble 2004

Yeah, this topic is for the people that want to fantasy book the 2004 Royal Rumble. Also note that spoilers from Raw and Smackdown will be in here, so UK’ers beware. Post everything from build-ups to the way you want the match to play out. I’m mainly doing this out of boredom but it can bring out comments and discussion on my booking or anyone else’s booking.

OK, well, here’s my fantasy booking of the 2004 Royal Rumble – All Matches are listed in Face vs. Heel Format:

Heat

I see Heat just being mostly promos about all the matches, and then Rico vs. John Heidenreich for the final Raw slot in the Rumble match. I see it being a fairly short match with Rico winning.

Now onto the PPV…

WWE United States Title/Royal Rumble Qualifier Match: John Cena vs. The Big Show (C)

THE BUILD-UP: Cena and Big Show have a back-and-forth feud. Heyman eventually lays down the law and says that if Cena wants the U.S. Title AND the WWE Title, he’s gonna have to give Big Show that same chance. Therefore, Cena’s Royal Rumble slot is put on the line in addition to the U.S. Title. Basically, the winner gets both, the loser gets nothing.

THE MATCH: Cena would have to sell Big Show’s offense like a bitch before making a comeback and nailing a surprise F-U and winning the match. I’m guessing it’d be a relatively quick bout.

World Tag Team Title Match: The Dudley Boyz vs. Ric Flair and Batista (C)

THE BUILD-UP: Standard stuff seen on Raw.

THE MATCH: Standard tag match. Team Evolution tries to cheat at every chance they get but in the midst of this they screw up and Batista receives the 3-D and the Dudleyz win the Tag Titles for the 300th time. Match will last around 7 minutes.

WWE Tag Team Title Match: Scotty 2 Hotty and Rikishi vs. The Basham Brothers w/ Shaniqua (C)

THE BUILD-UP: Bashams have been trying to get out of defending the belts against Scotty and Rikishi. Eventually they are forced to defend them at the Rumble.

THE MATCH: Another standard tag match. Nothing special. All throughout the match the Bashams use “classic look-alike tag team” cheating techniques. Ending result is The Bashams winning when Shaniqua holds Doug’s foot on the outside for leverage as he’s pinning Scotty. Match lasts around the area of 4 or 5 minutes.

World Heavyweight Title Match: Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H (C)

THE BUILD-UP: Michaels has been after Triple H’s blood since their World Heavyweight Title Match on the last Raw of 2003. Each man has gotten the upper hand on about the same amount of occasions leading up to the Rumble.

THE MATCH: Match of the night. Back and forth contest with great selling by both men mixed in with all the drama. Michaels wins the belt after a Sweet Chin Music. Match lasts about half an hour.

WWE Title Match: Hardcore Holly vs. Brock Lesnar (C)

THE BUILD-UP: The build-up is basically all the build-up you’ve seen on Smackdown. Heyman is trying to do everything to weaken Holly before the Rumble.

THE MATCH: It’d probably last at least 20 minutes. It could be a good **** match considering that Brock has carried the Undertaker to two **** matches in the past. Brock wins after the F-5.

The 2004 Royal Rumble Match

I’m bored, so I made a write-up of the match.

Benoit is, of course, #1. Shelton Benjamin is #2. There’s some decent chain wrestling near the ropes but Benoit manages to eliminate Benjamin just before the next entry. Val Venis is #3. He and Benoit do some good wrestling but Benoit eliminates him with about 30 seconds left in the interval. Mark Henry is #4. Surprisingly the writers don’t have Benoit get killed by him. Benoit does pretty well against Henry, but he still can’t get him out. Booker T is #5. He goes right after Henry, of course. The whole interval is basically a double-team on Henry, but the combined forces of Booker and Benoit still aren’t enough to get him out. Bradshaw is #6. Now we see a triple-team on Henry the whole interval. They milk Henry’s weight because they still can’t get him out. Rhyno is #7 and the crowd wonder because he’s a heel if he’s gonna help try to eliminate Henry or if he’s gonna fight the other guys. This question is answered immediately as he Gores Bradshaw. The crowd are a bit dead. Well, they were, because when RVD’s music hits for #8 the crowd get right back into it. He immediately goes right after Henry, which sparks an effort from the other 4 men to get him out. Finally the combined forces of the 5 men is enough to eliminate him. Test is #9. Chavo Guerrero is #10. Just going through the motions.

In the ring: Benoit, Booker, Bradshaw, Rhyno, RVD, Test, Chavo

Billy Gunn makes his return to a decent ovation at #11. Rhyno ducks a Clothesline From Hell from Bradshaw and the momentum carries Bradshaw up and over the top, out of the match. Randy Orton is #12, to the dismay of many. Rico is unlucky #13, and it shows as Benoit sends him out after about that many seconds. Shannon Moore is #14, and he uses his speed to keep away from the ropes. Matt Morgan is #15, and he makes Moore his bitch but refuses to eliminate him just to be an asshole. Matt Hardy is #16. As soon as he gets in he picks up his almost dead former MF’er and goes to throw him over, but Moore reverses at the last second and sends Hardy over the top to elimination. Hardy looks to be in shock and Moore looks to be very proud. His glory doesn’t last long though, as Morgan grabs him and tosses him out with one arm in a sick move. Hardy points and laughs at Moore as he’s leaving just to be an asshole.

In the ring: Benoit, Booker, RVD, Test, Chavo, Rhyno, Morgan, Gunn, Orton

The ring is starting to get somewhat crowded, but Goldberg draws #17 so that should change. A nice spot occurs when Goldberg gets in the ring. Rhyno tries to Gore him, but Goldberg sidesteps. Rhyno ricochets off the rope and into a Spear by Goldberg. Rhyno gets tossed. Bye-bye Test. Nice seeing you Billy. The announcers mention that Benoit and Booker have both been in for over 20 minutes. Eddie Guerrero comes out at #18 and he tears into Chavo and then tosses him out. A crash is heard and none other than Mick Foley runs out as #19. He’s carrying a barbed-wire 2x4. As he’s running down, Orton slides under the bottom rope and hides out of sight. Foley circles the ring as all the wrestlers back away from Foley and his barbed-wire 2x4. When his back is turned, Orton sneaks in and dumps Foley. Orton jumps around like he’s won the World Series, but he doesn’t pay enough attention as Goldberg clotheslines him in the back of the head and it sends Orton out. Foley gets a huge smirk as he walks closer to Orton with his barbed-wire 2x4. Orton begs off, but then eventually turns around and runs over the barrier and into the crowd, being pursued by Foley.

In the ring: Benoit, Booker, RVD, Morgan, Goldberg, Eddie

The new United States Champion John Cena is #20. Goldberg eliminates Morgan somewhere in the interval, making him the only man in the ring that doesn’t rule. Scott Steiner evens out the Suck Factor with his entry at #21. Goldberg at least saves us the pain of having two sucky guys in the ring at once and he eliminates Steiner fairly quickly. Chris Jericho is #22. A-Train is #23 and he adds nothing. Kurt Angle is #24. He doesn’t add much, but it’s Kurt Angle so who the hell cares. Kane is #25, which oddly makes him the 3rd bald guy in a row. He actually does add something by eliminating his ex-partner Rob Van Dam. Lance Storm is #26. Charlie Haas is #27. Faarooq is #28. Rey Mysterio is #29. Christian rounds off the field at #30.

Our final suspects: Benoit, Goldberg, A-Train, Eddie, Cena, Jericho, Kane, Angle, Storm, Haas, Faarooq, Mysterio, Christian

There’s 13 in there, WAY too many people and nothing going on. Kane hears me and then takes out Faarooq, Haas, Storm, and A-Train with one HUGE double-arm clothesline. The announcers then mention that he has now eliminated 5 men, which is more than anyone else thus far. They ask if anyone can stop him. On cue, the lights go out. When they come back on, we see the Undertaker decked in old school Deadman attire. The crowd have a collective orgasm. Everyone else stands around him in shock. Taker walks around, eyeing everybody, almost as if he’s deciding who to fight. Then suddenly he clotheslines Kane and he goes all the way over the top to the floor. Kane stands back up and looks like he’s seen a ghost. Taker raises his arms and the lights go off again. When they come back on, Taker and Kane are both nowhere to be seen. Everyone looks puzzled as they prepare to get back to fighting. Christian throws Jericho over and starts to celebrate, but Jericho hangs on. Jericho gets back in and grabs the distracted Christian and throws him over. Eddie and Rey do some high-risk attempts to eliminate each other, only for them both to get dumped out by Angle. Cena is soon eliminated by Jericho.

THE FINAL FOUR: Chris Jericho, Goldberg, Chris Benoit, and Kurt Angle

Goldberg is the first of the 4 to go after Angle ducked a Spear and back-body dropped Goldberg out. Jericho is the next out at the hands of Benoit. It’s all down to Benoit and Angle. The two do some great chain wrestling near the ropes. Angle hits a huge clothesline in the ropes and it sends both men over, but Benoit holds on and re-enters the ring ala Shawn Michaels to win the 2004 Royal Rumble and become the 2nd man to last all the way from #1. Angle shakes hands with the celebrating Benoit as the show goes off the air.

Post comments or your own booking of the PPV.

Here are mine:

HeAt Match

A fatal four-way match for a shot at Evolution's Tag Team Titles on the RAW after pits Lance Storm and Val Venis against The Hurricane and Rosey, Garrison Cade and Mark Jindrak, and La Resistance (Dupree and Conway).

The finish comes after one of the La Res members hits Val with the French flag behind the referee's back (he's busy breaking up a fight between the other La Res member and the Hurricane). He goes for the pin, but it's broken up before the referee can turn around by Jindrak and Cade. Jindrak and Cade hit their elevated dropkick on the La Res member, then make the fake tag and get the pin to earn a title shot.

Cruiserweight Title Match: Rey Mysterio vs. Chavo Guerrero

On a SmackDown leading up to the PPV, Chavo tells Eddie that he's ready to start off on his own. Eddie, standing up for his nephew, goes to Paul Heyman and gets him this shot. Chavo is furious. He said he wanted a title shot, but he wanted to earn it in the Rumble. Because he's getting this shot, Heyman disqualifies him from the Rumble match.

The match is hot, with a lot of back-and-forth action. The finish comes when Eddie comes out to help Chavo after he's been hit with the 619. Rey pushes Chavo into Eddie, then rolls him up for the victory. After the match, Eddie tries to apologize, but Chavo takes him out. He goes absolutely ape on him. Rey tries to help Eddie out, but Kyo Dai comes out to run him off. "My God, Tazz! Chavo has made some dangerous friends!"

Women's Title Match: Molly Holly vs. Victoria

The seed for this match was planted last week after Victoria laid Molly out with the belt. I hope this gets signed, because this could turn out to be the best women's match in years.

The question posed by this question, though, is who do you turn face? I say turn Vicky, since the fans love her and Steven anyway. Make it a full-fledged face turn. You could even have Steven chase Gail Kim away from ringside when she tries to interfere. Molly goes up top for the Molly-Go-Round, but Victoria dodges. When Molly turns around after landing on her feet, Vicky hits the kick to the midsection and the Widow's Peak. New Women's Champion!

WWE Tag Team Title Match: Basham Brothers vs. World's Greatest Tag Team

I don't know how you set this match up, honestly. I just want to see it. I suppose you could do something where the Bashams are still steamed after WGTT didn't save them from that double-Stinkface a few weeks back.

I would normally say give the belts back to Charlie and Shelton but, honestly, they don't need them right now. To stay over, Doug and Danny need to hold on to them here. After interference from Shaniqua, they hit the Ball Gag on Shelton for the three-count.

World Heavyweight Title Match: Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels

This match, though it hasn't officially been signed, is a given. I think we'll see some interference from Evolution broken up by Austin, then a Stunner to HHH for good measure. As HHH bounces to his feet (as people always do in this situation), HBK lands some Sweet Chin Music for the one...two...three! This could be an excellent match if they're given a comparable time frame to what they got on RAW.

WWE Title Match: Brock Lesnar vs. Hardcore Holly

I honestly don't care enough to do a full analysis on the match. Brock wins, F-5.

Rumble Match

As announced on SmackDown, Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, John Cena, and Billy Gunn will all be in the Rumble. As a favor to Brock, the Big Show and Matt Morgan are also entered in the Rumble. Heyman adds Shannon Moore and the A-Train, just because he wants to see them get more of a pounding. The APA are added because...well...for some reason WWE can't get enough of these guys. Of course, Eddie Guerrero is in, because he's Eddie Guerrero. Tajiri and Jamie Noble get the token cruiserweight slots, and the comic-relief spot goes to Rikishi. The fifteenth SmackDown guy is Rhyno, because somebody needs to win this year's Bushwhacker Luke award.

Over on RAW, Bischoff and Orton both enter all the members of their Survivor Series teams, so that means Orton, Steiner, Henry, and Christian for Bischoff and RVD, Booker T, and the Dudley Boyz for Austin. Austin enters Jericho against Christian's protests to Bischoff. Bischoff enters Flair and Batista justifying it by adding they're the Tag Team Champions. Bischoff refuses to enter Goldberg, but relents when Austin lets him fill the remaining three slots with kane, Test, and Matt Hardy.

So, anyway, the match.

Chris Benoit comes to the ring first, because Heyman has forced him into it. The crowd holds its breath in anticipation of #2...

"One of a Kind" hits the speakers, and the roof blows off. Rob Van Dam comes down to the ring. The bell sounds, and we're underway. The two exchange counters and holds for the first minute-and-a-half. Benoit works RVD over toward the ropes at about the two minute mark when...

Mark Henry comes out. Benoit and RVD decide that it's a good idea to pool their strengths against the World's Strongest Man. They almost have him over, but he hulks up and pushes them both off. While he starts to abuse RVD...

Bradshaw enters fourth. He goes right after Benoit, and the announcers comment on the fact that the two RAW guys are fighting, as are the two SmackDown guys. Bradshaw attempts a Clothesline From Hell, but Benoit catches him and locks on the Crippler Crossface as...

"Can You Dig It, Suckaaaaaaa?" Booker T sprints down the aisle and goes right after Henry. He knocks him up against the ropes and hits him with a big spinning heel kick that sends both men tumbling to the floor. RVD rests in the corner until...

"Whoooooooooooooooooooooo!" Ric Flair struts his way down the aisle and goes right after RVD. Benoit eliminates Bradshaw, then goes to help RVD against Flair.

The bombs drop, and D-Von Dudley tears his way to the ring at #7. D-Von goes right after Flair, leaving RVD and Benoit to renew their technical battle from the start of the match. D-Von is obviously pissed that Flair and Batista took his and Bubba's World Tag Team Titles, but he's also seriously overmatched as Flair eliminates him. Three men in the ring again when...

The arena explodes in cheers when Kurt Angle's music hits! Angle hits the ring and hits a big German suplex on RVD to get him away from Benoit. The two former Tag Team Champions have a lengthy staredown that's broken up by Flair chopblocking Angle.

Christian comes out ninth, but doesn't enter the ring right away. He watches the in-ring action, apparently waiting for the opportune moment. The fans are treated to more fantastic in-ring action as Benoit, RVD, Flair, and Angle continue to battle right up until...

"Viva la raza!" Another masive pop for Eddie Guerrero. He grabs Christian and drags him into the ring with him. So, the fights going on at the moment are Eddie vs. Christian, Benoit vs. RVD, Flair vs. Angle. It's looking like the best technical Rumble in history...

And then #11 is Batista. The monstrous Leviathan enters the ring with a purpose, zeroing in on Kurt Angle, who had gained an advantage on Flair. The World Tag Team Champions double-team the Olympic Champion until a save is made by Benoit and RVD. RVD goes for a cross-body on Batista, but Dave just catches him and tosses him to the floor. The countdown begins for...

Chris Jericho! Jericho goes right after Christian, freeing up Eddie Guerrero to help Angle and Benoit with Evolution.

Billy Gunn is lucky #13. With eight guys in the ring, things become pretty chaotic and the one-on-one match-ups disintegrate. Everybody throws trademark moves around, but nobody's closer to any eliminations...

"So. You think you're untouchable?" Another massive pop, as John Cena makes his way down the aisle. He goes right up to Chris Benoit, and the two begin jawing at each other. Christian shoves Benoit into Cena, which Cena takes as an act of aggression, and the two begin to brawl.

"Weeeeeeell. It's the Big Show!" The big man makes his way down to the ring and goes right after Cena. Benoit tries to interject, but gets peeled off by the big man. This turns into a two-on-one with Benoit and Cena going after Show. The ring is filling up, which means that it's about time for...

Goldberg! And the house-cleaning begins. Clothesline to Billy Gunn sends him to the floor. Christian is the next cannon fodder for the Hype, and he's hurled out. He looks like he's about to get Jericho until...

The APA music hits again, and Faarooq enters. He swings at anything that moves, which is stupid, because...Spear! Jackhammer! Faaroq is tossed. Ric Flair is the next victim, and he joins the eight other guys who've been eliminated. At this point, a few of the guys in the ring decide to gang up on him, but he manages to toss Guerrero just before the buzzer sounds.

A-Train comes out next. He zeroes in on the Big Show, and Goldberg's momentum has been stopped by Batista. Cena and Benoit have resumed their battle, and one has started between Angle and Jericho, who has been hanging back and picking his shots.

The bombshells hit again, this time signaling Bubba Ray Dudley's entrance at #19. The announcers start to hype up the fact that the slots from twenty up are all very advantageous (despite the fact that winners almost never come from the last five). Bubba Ray, though he deserves the same fate as Eddie, is spared because...well...Vince gets off on size. He manages to last the whole two minutes.

The entry explodes in flames. All the action in the ring stops as the Big Red Monster prepares to enter. A-Train makes the first move, and is chokeslammed for his troubles. Bubba Ray tries to jump him, but he's eliminated. Big Show picks A-Train's carcass and eliminates him. It's almost time for #21...

Rhyno. The crowd goes nuts, but Vince obviously doesn't notice, as he books him to be promptly eliminated by John Cena.

Test is #22. Everyone in the ring is either a skilled technician...or big. Fortunately the hosses (Batista/Show/Goldberg/Kane/Test) break off into their own little Rumble, while the technicians (Benoit/Angle/Jericho/Cena) go at it. The hosses are getting hungry, so it's feeding time...

Here comes cruiserweight #1: Tajiri. He manages to hold his own, though, as he blasts Test and Batista with buzzsaw kicks. He lasts the two minutes.

Jamie Noble is the 24th entrant, and he goes right for Tajiri, which is a mistake. The cruiserweights isolate themselves, which makes them easier to eliminate by Batista. While Batista's back is turned, though, he's dumped out by Jericho.

Matt Morgan comes out at #25. The announcers are hyping that Benoit has been in the ring for more than 45 minutes so far. Morgan rushes to the Big Show's aid, and the two go right after Benoit and Cena. The announcers speculate that Morgan must have gotten instructions backstage from Paul Heyman.

The sirens sound, and Scott Steiner is next. Steiner and Test join Kane in trying to eliminate Goldberg, but Angle takes the opportunity to dump Test to the floor. Steiner turns around and goes for a belly-to-belly suplex, but it's reversed by Angle.

Rikishi is next, and the announcers talk about who's left to come to the ring. The King mentions that his pick, Randy Orton, is still backstage. Rikishi goes right after Steiner, and the two worst wrestlers in the match create a sucking black hole that eliminates everyone else... :shifty: Never mind. Yeah, what really happens is Rikishi eliminates Steiner, then gets taken out by Matt Morgan.

Shannon Moore is the next one to enter, and he is extremely hesitant. Fortunately, Team Lesnar seems too preoccupied with Benoit and Cena, so Moore manages to survive the two minutes.

The Evolution theme hits, and Randy Orton is #29! JR wonders aloud whose back Orton had to scratch to get that spot (only because I don't think he can insinuate fellatio on a wrestling broadcast). Orton shows no pity on Moore, eliminating the feisty cruiserweight. The announcers mention that when #30 comes down, Benoit will have been in the match for 56 minutes.

"Ohhhh, yeaaaaaaah!" Matt Hardy Version 1.0 gets the last spot in the Rumble. JR and the King marvel at the fact that five RAW and five SmackDown wrestlers are the final ten (what are the odds? :roll: ) At this point, though, the eliminations come pretty fast. Morgan is taken out by Benoit, and the Show is gone at Cena's hands. Matt Hardy is taken out by Goldberg, and Jericho is a victim of Kane. Angle holds Benoit's arms back as Orton charges. Benoit ducks, and Angle is bumped out. While Orton apologizes to the Olympic Hero, Benoit dumps him out, too.

The Final Four: Chris Benoit, John Cena, Goldberg, and Kane

Benoit and Cena resume their battle, but Cena has a clear upper hand. Benoit is fatigued. He's been in the ring more than an hour, and he's really showing it. Goldberg goes to spear Kane, but the Big Red Machine sidesteps it, and Goldylocks is gone.

Down to three now, and Benoit and Cena decide it's probably in their best interests to take out the relatively-fresh (and freakin'-huge) Kane. A couple of big boots, and both SmackDown main eventers go down. Cena back to his feet...backdrop to the floor!

Chris Benoit vs. Kane. One man gets a shot at their brand's champion in the main event of Wrestlemania, the other gets...well...nothing. As Benoit closes in on the 65-minute mark, he can barely hold himself up on the ropes. Kane presses him and prepares to toss him out, but the lights go out in the arena. A bell tolls, and the lights are back on, but the TitanTron is just showing the words "I'm coming for you!" Kane, freaked-out, drops Benoit and starts screaming at the ringside crew, demanding to know who put that up there. While he's distracted, Benoit does a legtrip, sending him toppling to the concrete and winning the Rumble!

Show close

The crowd goes absolutely ape-poopy for the Crippler. Kurt Angle, John Cena, Eddie Guerrero, and a bunch of faces from RAW (HBK, RVD, Booker?) come out to celebrate with him, a la Bret Hart at Wrestlemania X. The show fades to black as Our Lady Peace continues to sing "Whatever," and the highlight package rolls.