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Because if Flair's going to be retired, it's going to be in the opener of the Royal Rumble. The gravity of such a situation played out in, of all things, the opening match of a major pay-per-view. In a rather bizarre and forgettable angle, Ric Flair had to continue winning matches, or else he would be forced into retirement. Would it have been as bad had he debuted on a taped show instead of the live Rumble, before an unforgiving New York crowd? Eh, maybe. His entire WWE tenure would be marked by foul-ups, to the point where "well-meaning loose cannon" became his persona before long. The Rumble marked the night that Adamle debuted on the job, and boy did it go south quickly once he said "Jeff Harvey" in front of the live crowd. Adamle seemed like a good choice to lend a bit of gravitas and credibility to a part of the show that had been neglected in favour of shallow window-dressing.
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Given WWE's propensity for (mostly) hiring lifeless Kens and Barbies to play the role of backstage interviewer, it was pretty cool to see legendary sportscaster (and American Gladiators host!) Mike Adamle pop up as the roving on-site reporter at the Royal Rumble. But as far as leaving a lasting impression goes, the surprise of seeing John Cena in those closing stages gives the event the only memorable moment that it needed, really. Without that finish, the 2008 Rumble probably rolls into that median groove when looking at every Rumble historically, not memorable for any good reasons, nor for any bad ones. Sorry, New York, WWE heard you, no take-backsies.
Said returnee had a tendency to get booed out of the building in matches against ruthless dictators and white-collar criminals, and yet the Garden crowd was so stunned by his unexpected comeback that they temporarily cheered. There were only three actual surprises on the night - the debut of a confused reporter, two geriatric icons brawling mid-Rumble to New York's delight, and a genuinely-shocking return of a main event star.
#Wwe royal rumble 2008 movie
Kind of like an Expendables movie with a few less explosions. By no means was the 20th anniversary of the Rumble a bad show, but rather it was one of those paint-by-numbers events where you can pretty much figure how it's going to go, and you're not at all bummed that you were right. The term "bland competence" comes to mind when I think of the 2008 Royal Rumble.