7 Things You Should Know About WWE Royal Rumble 2005

1. The Botched Finish Leading To Batista's Win Over Cena

Batista and John Cena were the last two guys in the Rumble match as expected. Both of them were going to be main event players going into WrestleMania 21, so it made sense that they would battle it out at the end. The winner didn't really matter just because both guys were going to be big stars, but Batista seemed like the better choice just because Cena was more charismatic and had more star power. In other words, Batista needed it more. Batista was the 28th entrant that lasted 10:54 in the match while Cena was #25 and lasted for 15:28. It was treated like a big deal when they had their big faceoff at the end of the Rumble. During their final battle, Cena went for the FU, but Batista fought out of it. He went for the Batista Bomb, Cena's momentum took them both into the ropes, Cena flipped over and Batista went over as well. They fell out at the exact same time.

The Raw ref Jack Doan said Batista wins, but Smackdown ref Jimmy Korderas said John Cena won. That led to Vince coming out, which was already covered. Batista threw Cena out and then Cena threw Batista out. None of it counted. Howard Finkel said on the microphone that the match will restart per orders from the seated WWE Chairman. They went for their finishers, but neither guy gets it, Batista hit the Spinebuster and then he threw Cena out. What was supposed to happen? During the Powerbomb spot, Batista was supposed to hang onto the ropes. He wasn't able to, so he fell out. Everything that followed was improvised and was done quickly so they could get off the air in time. It was still a good Rumble match with a lot of fun moments, but the finish is what people will always remember just because it didn't go like it was supposed to.