2005 was a year of transition for WWE. A lot of the established headliners like Triple H, Undertaker, Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels were starting to wind down a little while up-and-comers like Batista, Muhammad Hassan and John Cena were on their way to the top of the card. The 2005 Royal Rumble was certainly a memorable one, with the botched finish and Vince McMahon tearing both of his quads in the ensuing confusion. Final two Batista and Cena made a complete mess of the finish and a new one had to be improvised, in a surprising development. That Cena and Batista were the final two competitors in the match was less surprising as most people had figured that one or the other was going to win the thing. With Edge and Rey Mysteiro completing the final four, the result became even clearer. Batista had to be the favourite to win since he was involved in an excellent slow-build storyline with Triple H and was really starting to get over as a face. Batista tossed Cena out after the re-start to set him on the road to WrestleMania. It might have been predictable, but it was definitely the right move for the company as they prepared for the future.
