The Royal Rumble of 2004 was a Very passable Royal Rumble Indeed.My Ratings:1. Evolution (Batista and Ric Flair) defeated. The Dudley Boyz to retain World Tag Team Championships in a Tag Team Tables MatchThis match was okay opener but could have gone for longer time period.Rating: 4/10 ( D- )2. Rey Mysterio defeated. Jamie Noble w/Nidia to retain Cruiserweight ChampionshipI thought Cruiserweight Matches were a cool type of concept but this match bored me to death. And with the whole Nidia being blind thing was just stupid. Mysterio picks up the win in a very sloppy Cruiserweight match.Rating: 3/10 ( D- )3. Eddie Guerrero defeated. Nephew Chavo Guerrero Jr (with Eddie's Brothers , Chavo's Dad Chavo Classic) in a Family Feud which exploded at the Royal Rumble. The match had some good action in it with Eddie Picking up the win. Rating: 6/10 ( C+ )4. Brock Lesnar defeated. Hardcore Holly to retain the WWE Championship This was Hardcore's only shot at a major World Championship and this had been boiling in the pit ever since Lesnar injured Holly in 2002. A short boring, dull match, the hype did disappoint.Rating: 3/10 ( D- )5. Triple H fought Shawn Michaels in a Last Man Stadning Match to a Double Count- Out. This match was really well executed and I liked the fact that in the promo's or Video Packages they had the History of DX too and that this was a match in the ages.Rating: 7/10 ( B )6. Chris Benoit last Eliminated The Big Show to win the 2004 Royal Rumble. Benoit had lasted around 62 minutes and won the Royal Rumble. This was a very precious and proud moment for the WWE. Benoit going to Wrestlemania to Main Event it for the first time!Rating: 8/10 ( B+ )Overall: A Very Passable Royal Rumble to kick things of for 2004 year.Rating (Overall) : 5 out of 10 ( D )

This was a very great start for 2004 & was also the best Royal Rumble in my opinion that i have ever seen.First match-Dudley Boys vs. Batista & Ric Flair in a Tables match for the WWE Tag Team Championship This was the first match of the night, which was enjoyable. It was also fun to see Jonathan Coachman do commentary. Batista & Ric Flair retain their titles after Batista slammed D Von through a table. 5/10Second match-Jamie Noble w/ Nidia vs. Rey Mysterio for WWE Cruiserweight Championship This was also a enjoyable cruiser weight match, not the best but it's worth watching. Mysterio retains his Cruiserweight title after hitting the 619 on Jamie Noble. 5/10Third match-Eddie Guerrero vs. Chavo Guerrero This was a very personal match up, uncle vs. nephew. Eddie pulled out the victory after hitting a Frog Splash on Chavo. 4/10Fourth match-Brock Lesnar vs. Hardcore Holly for the WWE Championship Also great action between these two. Brock Lesnar retains his WWE Championship after hitting a F-5 on Hardcore Holly. 5/10Fifth match-Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels in a Last Man Standing match for the World Heavyweight Championship This was a bloody & brutal match between former friends. Both men bloodied & battered both got counted out which resulted in a no-contest. 6/10Sixth & final match of the night-The Royal Rumble match This was in my opinion the best Rumble match ever. Chris Benoit won the whole Rumble from 1st entry after eliminating Big Show. 10/10Overall: The first best pay-per view of 2004, as i'll give it 10/10 & A+ passable.

While not the greatest Rumble match, in my opinion (1992 will always top it for me), it is a definite #2, simply because Chris Benoit FINALLY won a big one, after years of coming up short. The '04 Rumble does have the best ending ever, with Benoit choking Big Show unconscious and tipping him over the top rope. The ending is perfect, as it works with both Benoit's character (vicious submission-style wrestler with a mean streak) and Big Show's character (clumsy big man with his own history of blowing big matches). And the way the Philly fans reacted to Benoit's win is tremendous.The rest of the card isn't so hot, but Benoit's virtuoso performance is a must-see. There are other highlights in that Rumble: Ernest Miller's soul-brother routine (SOMEONE CALL MY MOMMA!), Mick Foley making a surprise appearance and eliminating Intercontinental champion Randy Orton. But it's really Benoit's show, and he delivers with gusto.

*SPOILERS*The Royal Rumble has always been be a personal favourite of mine when it comes to WWE PPVs. Not so much for the card but the Rumble match itself. It is just an incredibly ingenious and suspenseful idea that results in some of the most entertaining moments of the year. While we do get some dud/predictable Rumbles, every once in a while we get an excellent one that remains the single memory of the event itself. The 1992 Rumble is still the best one; due to Flair, the work rate and the commentary work by Heenan and Monsoon. This Rumble gives that one a run for it's money though.The card for the Rumble PPV has traditionally been pretty weak, mostly due to the immense time the Rumble itself takes. This one was no exception with matches being duds, disappointments or booked with the "let's wrap this up as fast as we can to make more time for the Rumble" line of thinking.Dudley Boyz vs. Batista/Ric Flair was a 1/2* match, with little build-up and a poor finish.The Cruiserweight match with Jamie Noble/Rey Mysterio was something you can see for free on SmackDown, it was a ** match at best.Eddie Guerrero vs. Chavo Guerrero was the best non-Rumble match on the card, with the two providing a better-than-expected work rate with a *** performance.Brock Lesnar vs. Hardcore Holly for the WWE Championship had zero expectations from me, I mean this is a Championship match and they couldn't get someone better to face Brock for the title. The match lived up to those low expectations and gave a *1/2 performance.Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H was rushed, these two can work so damn well together recently with SummerSlam 2002 and the 12/29/2003 episode of RAW coming quickly to mind. The match was again shortened to make room for the Rumble, so we got a **1/2 performance from this match.The 2004 Rumble is one of the best Rumble matches I have ever seen with countless mark-out moments and a fantastic ending by the booking crew. Hearing Undertaker's 'Gong' during the match was an instant mark-out moment for me while seeing Benoit win it all is what I paid to see. This match gets a ***** from me, in terms of it being a Rumble.So, what does the Royal Rumble 2004 get overall? I think a 7.0/10 is in order as the card was weak but the Rumble was classic and since that has always been the focal point of the show, I think that tips the scales in favour of the show.