7 Things You Should Know About WWE Royal Rumble 2004

1. Chris Benoit's Ending Battle With Big Show Told A Great Story

Chris Benoit started the match at #1 and was the focal point of the entire match. He eliminated six guys along the way, which isn't a big number, but it was still significant enough. His time of 61:30 is the second longest in Rumble history. At the time it was the longest, but Rey Mysterio beat it two years later. The highlight of the match, aside from Benoit's performance, was the way that Big Show was booked as a dominant heel. It was similar to Kane in 2001 when he dominated much of that match before putting over Steve Austin as the winner. There was a key spot in the match where a bunch of the guys in the ring all teamed up to try to eliminate Show. It actually looked like he was going to get tossed out, but then he managed to stay in there. That was a key element in the match because it made Show look unbeatable and it set up perfectly for the finish. Leading up to the finish, Benoit made Big Show tap out to the Crippler Crossface. It was actually the third time that happened, but it didn't matter in a Rumble match. Show came back and put Benoit in a press slam position. It looked like he was going to toss out Benoit. Instead, Benoit fought out of it and applied a very tight front facelock. Benoit was on the apron while Show was in the ring. Benoit literally dragged Show over the top rope before yanking him all the way out to the floor. It was a fantastic finish to a very good Rumble match that had a lot of talented people. With that said, it will be forever tainted because of Benoit's win. If you can still watch Benoit matches, it is worth checking out again. Most of the rest of the show is below average.