The 2007 Royal Rumble was the 20th annual

Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming List of WWE pay-per-view and WWE Network events, event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named afte ...

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

pay-per-view (PPV)

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of e ...

produced by

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and va ...

(WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's

Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

, SmackDown!, and ECW brand divisions. The event took place on January 28, 2007, at the

AT&T Center AT&T Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena on the east side of San Antonio, Texas, United States. It is the home of the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association. The arena seats 18,418 for basketball, and 19,000 for concerts or ...

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

. This marked the first time that the ECW brand participated at the Royal Rumble, which became WWE's third brand in mid-2006. As has been customary since 1993, the

Royal Rumble match The Royal Rumble match is a professional wrestling match based on the classic Battle Royal match in which a number of wrestlers (traditionally 30) aim at eliminating their competitors by tossing them over the top rope, with both feet touching the ...

winner received a world championship match at that year's

WrestleMania WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event held annually between mid-March and mid-April by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Since premiering in 1985, 37 editions followed, mos ...

. For the 2007 event, the winner received their choice to challenge for either Raw's

WWE Championship The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDow ...

, SmackDown!'s World Heavyweight Championship, or the

ECW World Championship The ECW World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally used in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and later, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the original world title of the ECW ...

WrestleMania 23 WrestleMania 23 was the 23rd annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW brand divisions. The eve ...

, marking the first time that three titles were an option. Five

professional wrestling matches Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

were featured on the event's

supercard In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

, a scheduling of more than one

main event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

. The main event was the 2007 Royal Rumble match, which featured wrestlers from all three brands. SmackDown!'s

The Undertaker Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by the ring name The Undertaker, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway spent the vast majorit ...

, the thirtieth entrant, won the match by last eliminating Raw's Shawn Michaels, the twenty-third entrant. The primary match on the Raw brand was a

Last Man Standing match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

for the WWE Championship between

John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American part-time professional wrestler, actor, and former rapper. He is currently signed to WWE. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is tied ...

and Umaga. Cena won the match and retained the title after Umaga was unable to get to his feet before the referee counted to ten. The predominant match on the SmackDown! brand was

Batista Batista is a Spanish or Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include: * Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player * Dave Bautista, American actor and professional wrestler, also known as Batista * Edina Alves Batis ...

versus

Mr. Kennedy Kenneth Anderson (born March 6, 1976) is an American professional wrestler. Anderson is known for his tenure with WWE from 2005 to 2009 under the ring name Mr. Kennedy, and his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as Mr. Anderson from 2010 to 2 ...

for the World Heavyweight Championship, which Batista won by

pinfall In wrestling, a pin is achieved by holding an opponent's shoulders to the mat for a three count. Pinfall is the term used in professional wrestling which is a way to win the match for that person or team. Background A pinfall is a victory condi ...

after executing a Batista Bomb. The featured match on the ECW brand was between

Bobby Lashley Franklin Roberto Lashley (born July 16, 1976) is an American professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and bodybuilder. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. He is an eight-time world champion, having been a two-t ...

and

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

for the ECW World Championship, which Lashley won after Test was counted out.

Production

Background

The

is an annual gimmick pay-per-view (PPV), produced every January by

(WWE) since 1988. It is one of the promotion's original four pay-per-views, along with

SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's secon ...

, and

Survivor Series Survivor Series is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the se ...

, dubbed the "Big Four". It is named after the

, a modified

battle royal Battle royal (; also royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants that is fought until only one fighter remains standing, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules. In recent times, the term has been used in a ...

in which the participants enter at timed intervals instead of all beginning in the ring at the same time. The 2007 event was the 20th event in the Royal Rumble chronology and was scheduled to be held on January 28, 2007, at the

. It featured wrestlers from the

, SmackDown!, and ECW

brands A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

, which was the first Royal Rumble to include ECW, a relaunch of the former

Extreme Championship Wrestling HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...

promotion that became WWE's third brand in May 2006. The Royal Rumble match generally features 30 wrestlers and the winner traditionally earns a

world championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

match at that year's WrestleMania. For 2007, the winner could choose to challenge for either Raw's

, SmackDown!'s World Heavyweight Championship, or the

. This marked the first time that the ECW World Championship was a choice for the winner of the match, subsequently marking the first time that the winner had a choice between three world championships.

Storylines

The card consisted of six matches, as well as one

dark match Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnivals and circuses. In the past, professional wrestlers used such terms in the presence o ...

. The matches resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed

heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

villains A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character a ...

, or less distinguishable characters to build tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands, with storylines produced on their weekly television shows, ''

'', ''

SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes sim ...

'', and '' ECW''. The main feud heading into the Royal Rumble on

was between

WWE Champion The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDow ...

and Umaga. At the previous pay-per-view event, New Year's Revolution, Cena defeated Umaga to end his undefeated streak and retain the WWE Championship. The night after on ''Raw'', Armando Alejandro Estrada, Umaga's manager, asked for a rematch, which Cena agreed to. Later that night, during a match between Cena and

The Great Khali Dalip Singh Rana (born 27 August 1972) is an Indian professional wrestler and wrestling promoter better known by his ring name The Great Khali. He is best known for his tenure in WWE where he became the first Indian-born WWE World Heavywe ...

, Umaga interfered and attacked Cena. The following week, the official contract signing for their rematch at the Royal Rumble took place. After it was announced that Estrada could choose the match type, Estrada chose the match to be a

. Cena signed the contract and proceeded to attack both Umaga and Estrada. On the January 22 episode of ''Raw'', after Cena was eliminated from a

Battle Royal Battle royal (; also royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants that is fought until only one fighter remains standing, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules. In recent times, the term has been used in a ...

, Umaga attacked Cena, and injured his

spleen The spleen is an organ found in almost all vertebrates. Similar in structure to a large lymph node, it acts primarily as a blood filter. The word spleen comes .

, which was portrayed as real as part of their storyline. The predominant feud on the SmackDown! brand was between

and

, with the two battling over the World Heavyweight Championship. On the January 5 episode of ''SmackDown!'' a Beat the Clock Sprint began. Wrestlers competed in single matches, and the wrestler to win a match in the shortest amount of time would then become the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship at the Royal Rumble. Mr. Kennedy, who defeated

Chris Benoit Christopher Michael Benoit (; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career including most notably the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestlin ...

in nearly five minutes, had the shortest time at the end of the show. The following week, the Sprint continued. In the final match, between

and

The Miz Michael Gregory Mizanin (born October 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name The Miz. Mizanin first gained fa ...

, Kennedy interfered by pulling The Miz out of the ring. After performing the Tombstone piledriver on The Miz, The Undertaker went for the pin attempt. Time, however, ran out and Kennedy became the winner of the Sprint. The following week after on ''SmackDown!'', The Undertaker was put in a match with Kennedy, where if he won, he would be added to the title match at the Royal Rumble. During the match, after Kennedy attacked Batista, who was at ringside. Batista retaliated against Kennedy, causing The Undertaker to get disqualified. Thus, the match at the Royal Rumble remained a singles match between Batista and Kennedy. The main feud on the ECW brand was between

and

, with the two feuding over the

ECW Championship The ECW World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally used in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and later, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the original world title of the ECW ...

Rob Van Dam Robert Alexander Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD). He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling ...

won an online poll against Test and Sabu to earn a title shot on the January 2 episode of ''ECW'', which ended in no-contest. Van Dam was given another title match the next week. Test interfered in the match, and attacked both men. A

Triple Threat match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

for the title occurred on the January 16 episode of ''ECW'' between Lashley, Van Dam, and Test. Lashley won, but was beaten down afterwards by Test. A title match between Lashley and Test was then made for the Royal Rumble. A week after that match was made, on the January 23 episode of ''ECW'', Lashley defeated Test in another title match.

Event

Before the event went live on pay-per-view,

JTG Jayson Anthony Paul (born December 10, 1984) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to the National Wrestling Alliance. He is best known for his time in WWE under the ring name JTG. Paul began his professional wrestling career ...

defeated

Lance Cade Lance Kurtis McNaught (March 2, 1981 – August 13, 2010) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where he performed under the ring names Garrison Cade and Lance Cade. After be ...

in a

Preliminary match

The first match that aired was a

tag team match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

between

The Hardys The Hardys, also known as The Hardy Boyz, are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of real-life brothers Matt and Jeff Hardy, who are currently appearing in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The team is currently inactive due to Jeff ...

( Matt and

Jeff Hardy Jeffrey Nero Hardy (born August 31, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and musician. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Hardy is widely considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all-time and is regarded ...

) and MNM (

Joey Mercury Adam Birch (born July 18, 1979), better known by the ring names Joey Mercury and Joey Matthews, is an American professional wrestler who is best known for his two tenures in WWE. Birch was most recently signed to Ring of Honor, where he worked ...

and Johnny Nitro). The match went back and forth until MNM took control by attacking Matt's injured jaw repeatedly. The Hardys gained the advantage briefly, but lost it when Nitro countered an

aerial attack An airstrike, air strike or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighters, heavy bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters and drones. The offic ...

by Jeff. Jeff finally tagged Matt, who beat down both Mercury and Nitro. The finish came when Matt delivered a Twist of Fate and Jeff performed the Swanton Bomb on Nitro. Jeff then pinned Nitro for the victory.

Main matches

The second match was

against

for the

. Test used many illegal moves, and took control after driving Lashley's shoulder into the ringpost. He continued to attack the shoulder until Lashley fought back with several powerful moves. Test rolled out of the ring, allowing himself to be counted out. Lashley won, and retained his title. He came after Test, however, brought him back into the ring, and continued to beat him down. The third match was between

World Heavyweight Champion At boxing's beginning, the heavyweight division had no weight limit, and historically the weight class has gone with vague or no definition. During the 19th century many heavyweights were 170 pounds (12 st 2 lb, 77 kg) or less, tho ...

and

for the World Heavyweight Championship. Batista gained an early advantage by overpowering Kennedy until Kennedy injured Batista's knee by using the steel steps. Kennedy continued to attack Batista's knees, and applied various submission holds that target the knee. Batista fought back, still favoring the knee, until Kennedy pushed Batista into the referee and hit a low blow. Kennedy had Batista pinned for over a three-count, but the match went on due to the referee being

knocked out A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving strikin ...

. Kennedy brought the referee conscious but Batista performed a

lariat A lasso ( or ), also called lariat, riata, or reata (all from Castilian, la reata 're-tied rope'), is a loop of rope designed as a restraint to be thrown around a target and tightened when pulled. It is a well-known tool of the Spanish an ...

and a Batista Bomb to retain the title. In the fourth match, Umaga faced

for the

in the

. Umaga dominated Cena, gaining the advantage by using powerful moves, and attacking Cena's bandaged ribs. Cena tried to fight back using the steel steps, but Umaga quickly recovered, and continued the beat down. Cena managed to hit a low blow and delivered a

bulldog The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.spin-out powerbomb onto the steel steps, and the Five Knuckle Shuffle all onto Umaga. Umaga regained control when Cena attempted an FU onto the steps, and collapsed, hitting his head on the steps. Cena avoided a running headbutt drop, and hit Umaga in the head with a television monitor. Umaga stood but missed a running splash through a broadcast table. Umaga got up again as his

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

, Armando Alejandro Estrada, detached one of the turnbuckles for Umaga to use. Cena avoided the attack, executed an FU, and applied the STF on Umaga using the loose ring rope. Umaga failed to answer the referee's count of ten, and Cena retained the title.

Main event match

The final match was the Royal Rumble match. Kane, the tenth entrant, dominated the match upon entering, eliminating

Tommy Dreamer Thomas James Laughlin (born February 13, 1971), is an American professional wrestler and promoter better known by the ring name Tommy Dreamer. He is signed to Impact Wrestling and is the owner and promoter of the House of Hardcore (HOH) prom ...

and Sabu, by chokeslamming Sabu through a table Sabu had earlier set up. The Sandman, entering fifteen, used his signature

Singapore Cane Rattan, also spelled ratan, is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the closed-canopy old-growth tropical forests of ...

in the match before King Booker quickly eliminated him. Randy Orton and

Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed ...

worked together to eliminate the Hardys. After Booker was eliminated by Kane, he returned to the ring, eliminated Kane, and continued to beat him down. It took the combined effort of eight men to eliminate

Viscera In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to act together in a f ...

after Shawn Michaels performed a

superkick Strikes are offensive moves in professional wrestling, that can sometimes be used to set up an opponent for a hold or for a throw. There are a wide variety of strikes in pro wrestling, and many are known by several different names. Professional wre ...

on Viscera.

, entering twenty-eighth, dominated upon entering the match, eliminating seven men quickly.

entered last, who immediately fought with, and eliminated Khali, then

Montel Vontavious Porter Hassan Hamin Assad (born Alvin Antonio Burke Jr.; October 28, 1973) is an American professional wrestler and manager currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name MVP (standing for Montel Vontavious Porter) a ...

, leaving Edge, Orton, Michaels, and Undertaker as the final four. Orton executed an RKO on Michaels, causing him to roll out of the ring under the ropes and leaving Edge, Orton, and the Undertaker. Orton caught Edge trying to attack him, but the two soon reconciled, working together on The Undertaker. Michaels, outside the ring, came back in, eliminating both Orton and Edge. The remaining two exchanged attacks until the end, when The Undertaker chokeslammed Michaels, who retaliated with Sweet Chin Music. Michaels attempted another Sweet Chin Music but Undertaker avoided it, then eliminated Michaels to win the match. The Undertaker became the first competitor to win the Rumble match from #30 (what is considered to be the "easiest" spot to win from, despite no one having done so in any previous match).

Reception

The AT&T Center has hosted many different events that have a variety of seating maximums. A basketball event, which has a smaller set-up than a wrestling event, can hold a maximum of 18,797 fans. Due to the Royal Rumble's production, the maximum standard was lowered and the event drew 13,500 fans and received 491,000 pay-per-view buys. WWE made $15.8 million from pay-per-view revenues in their first quarter (which included the Royal Rumble, No Way Out, and

) versus $17.1 million in 2006 for the same events, a $1.3 million difference. The

2006 Royal Rumble The 2006 Royal Rumble was the 19th annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. The ev ...

also resulted in 548,000 pay-per-view buys, 57,000 more than the 2007 Royal Rumble. Canadian Online Explorer's professional wrestling sub website, Slam! Wrestling, rated the entire event 7.5 out of 10 points, due to the event not lasting its entire three hours and many mishaps that occurred during the Royal Rumble match, which they also rated a 7.5. The last man standing match between

and Umaga was widely praised. The Royal Rumble 2007 was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

on February 27, 2007 and was distributed by WWE. The DVD debuted on '' Billboards Top DVD sales chart at #3 on March 24, 2007. The DVD remained on the chart for 13 consecutive weeks until June 16, 2007 when its final rank was at #10.

Aftermath

The shows following the Royal Rumble surrounded

's choice of which champion to face at

. The Undertaker appeared on all three

, and stared down the champions. Finally, on the February 5 episode of ''Raw'', The Undertaker chose to face

for the World Heavyweight Championship, and hit him with a

chokeslam A chokeslam is a type of body slam in professional wrestling, in which a wrestler grasps an opponent's neck, lifts them up, and slams them to the mat. It is common in televised wrestling because it is simple and relatively safe, yet looks power ...

, starting their rivalry. The Undertaker won the title at WrestleMania, and their feud continued until the May 11 episode of ''SmackDown!'', when The Undertaker lost the title to

, who cashed in the Money in the Bank, that he won from

, earlier that week on ''Raw''. After The Undertaker made his choice on February 5, Shawn Michaels, Edge, and Randy Orton all wanted to face Cena for his title at WrestleMania. A

was made between the three for the title shot, which Michaels won after pinning Orton. Cena successfully retained his title against Michaels at WrestleMania. They continued to feud over the title with the addition of Orton and Edge, but Cena remained champion. Soon after the Royal Rumble, Umaga and Bobby Lashley joined the feud between Mr. McMahon and

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

in the "Battle of the Billionaires" as their representatives respectively for the

Hair vs. Hair match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

at WrestleMania. His Royal Rumble match marked the start of

's Push (professional wrestling), push to main-event status. He went on to face

for the

at No Way Out, which he won via Professional wrestling#Disqualification, disqualification, thus failing to win the title. Kennedy won the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania, which gave him a world title shot at any time of his choosing for the year following. Kennedy sustained an injury at a house show, however, that would leave him sidelined for five to seven months, and was Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Book, booked to lose his title shot to Edge on the May 7 episode of ''Raw''. Later results showed the injury to be much less severe, but Kennedy had already lost his title shot. He returned to Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Mid-carder, mid-card status for the remainder of the year. This was the last Royal Rumble ever to be in 4:3 format until January 2008 when it went to High-definition television, high definition.

Results

Royal Rumble entrances and eliminations

: –

: – SmackDown! : – ECW : – Winner # Kane (wrestler), Glenn Jacobs (Kane) made his eleventh appearance in a Royal Rumble match, breaking his own and Solofa Fatu (Rikishi)'s record for most Royal Rumble appearances. It was also his ninth-consecutive appearance, also billed as a record for Kane. # This Royal Rumble set a new record for the most wrestlers involved in an elimination, taking 8 men to throw

over the top rope. This beat the previous record set in the Royal Rumble (1994), 1994 Royal Rumble when it took 7 men to eliminate Viscera (then known as Mabel). # The Undertaker was the first wrestler to win the Royal Rumble match at number 30. # King Booker was eliminated, but came back in and eliminated Kane.

Other on-screen personnel

References

External links

Official website
{{good article 2007 in Texas Royal Rumble, 2007 Events in San Antonio Professional wrestling in San Antonio 2007 WWE pay-per-view events January 2007 events in the United States