Jim Ross Shares His Memories From Past Royal Rumbles In New FOX Sports Blog

The following is an excerpt from a new FOX Sports column by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross. In the following excerpt, “Good Ole’ JR” shares his memories from some of the WWE Royal Rumble matches. You can read his thoughts on additional Royal Rumble matches by reading the full blog at the link below:

2006: Rey Mysterio more than earned his pay in the Royal Rumble match by ducking, dodging, and darting his way to winning in an hour plus, 62:12 to be exact. That’s a record, by the way. I’d love to know how many “near-misses” Rey had because by the time he prevailed and had overcome the odds, the fans were digging the 6-1-9. This win propelled Rey to new heights, including being a headliner at WM 22 that year. Rey, the ultimate underdog, represented “hope,” with which most fans could easily identify. It was a memorable night for another future WWE HOFer.

2007: From the git-go, I felt that the Cena vs Umaga Last Man Standing match would outdeliver what some skeptics were whispering. “Cena vs. Umaga will be OK if it’s a short match.” Well, it wasn’t a short match and it was better than OK … it was a Slobberknocker. That says it all. I felt both men upped their respective games that night. The goal was to be physical and to tell a story. Both men did exactly that. Last Man Standing matches, especially in a PG world, aren’t the easiest in which to perform but these two pulled it off in a serious way.

2008: To broadcast from Madison Square Garden is, in homage to the late, Road Warrior Hawk,”What a Rush!” I call my life in wrestling … from the “farm” (in Oklahoma) to the “Garden.” However, few nights in my career was the crowd louder and became more unglued than when John Cena shocked WWE fans by returning from an injury to the Rumble as surprise entrant No. 30 and then winning by eliminating HHH. With Cena not in the Garden all day, who knew? John had been injured and the last that I had heard was that he was “getting better” so I left it at that. When Cena’s music hit it was, a “Monsoonism” is coming, pandemonium. The sold out crowd was so empowered that they almost forgot to boo the polarizing Cena,who eliminated HHH to get the win.

Check out the complete blog online at FOXSports.com.