For the 2011 Rumble match, WWE announced that it'd be the biggest Royal Rumble in history and, for the first time ever, it would add ten more participants, going from 30 to 40 entrants. The though of more entrants makes you think that the match would probably be better and more exciting. But you'd be wrong. It started off well with CM Punk as entrant number one and, after an initial exchange with Daniel Bryan, the first half of the match could be thought of as the 'CM Punk show'. The Straight Edge Superstar, joined by his New Nexus comrades, was the highlight of the match. We got cameo appearances from the returning Booker T and Diesel, too, which drove the Boston crowd wild. However, as has been the case in a lot of the Rumble matches, it was the second half of the bout where the quality dipped and it struggled to keep pace with the exciting first half. Sure, you had the annual Kofi Kingston spot where he almost gets eliminated and has to find an inventive way to stay in the match, but in the end it came down to the newcomer Alberto Del Rio and fan favourite Randy Orton with the Mexican star getting the victory. Or so we thought. Just after it looked like Del Rio was the clear winner, Santino Marella re-entered the match and for a few seconds the fans thought Santino might actually throw Alberto over the top rope and win the match. Luckily, common sense prevailed and Del Rio chucked Santino out to conclusively win the match. The choice of Alberto Del Rio as the winner of the match just felt like it happened too soon. He had been on SmackDown for three months, but the fans hadn't truly accepted him as a top star yet and winning the Rumble was meant to solidify him as a top name, only fans didn't buy it. Del Rio would go on to be the first Rumble winner to have his title opportunity take place during the OPENING MATCH of WrestleMania. Ten more pretty nothing entrants, a comedy tease for the finish and a winner who went on to open the show instead of close it makes this Rumble match one of the weakest in the PPV's history.
Kenny is a successful podcast host with Inside The Ropes, promotes exciting Q&A events in the UK with the likes of Sting and DDP, has interviewed the big guns like Foley, Jericho, Bruno and Austin and enjoys cheese a great deal.
