2004 was a good year for PPVs. Royal Rumble is usually one of the best, if not the best, for the year. But in 2004, it manages to be okay but not much more.

We'll start with the Rumble. If we were reviewing that alone, we'd give it a 4. Because it's a good Rumble, it does what it says on the tin. Actually, it's a little less predictable than other years, as Big Show, Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle are all possibles to win it - better than years when you can predict who it's gonna be. But when you have the last two in the ring, the problem is you *do* know who it's going to be, and that kind of ruins the Rumble for me, so... I still say I want to see a Rumble where a jobber or someone unexpected wins. Please! Restore the unpredictability!

Achem, back on to the DVD. Before I mention the undercard, I have to point to one of the extras - a completely undervalued women's match between Victoria and Molly Holly is included. It's an utterly brilliant match (and the crowd get into it soon enough). It's just very, very good, and makes you wonder what happened to the women's division after this. You want a reason to buy the DVD, there's your reason - the extras! Because they're interesting enough.

What keeps the score average is an average, slightly predictable undercard. I didn't really care for HHH vs. HBK because blade-fest gore matches bore the heck out of me. And I think in retrospect, I've seen a lot of matches with these guys. Their Armageddon compromise was much much better. The best bit of the match is the seriously awesome 'it only takes one second' promo lead up, which is actually a very very good one. Brock vs. Hardcore is decent enough, except it's utterly and completely pedestrian and predictable. I'm not spoiling anything to give away who wins, and the fact is, if Hardcore had won the title here, this would have been great. As it is, it's a filler match to give Holly a bit of a rub from his real life injury, but a good PPV match this does not make.

The Tag Match was boring. Flair alone = Great. Flair + Batista = Snore. Eddie vs. Chavo is as good and as volatile as you'd expect. Eddie is on a roll, and this is indeed his best year and the one that made a fan out of me. Chavo is as good and steps up to the plate. A good match, deserving it's place. Rey Mysterio vs. Jamie Noble is also a good match. The Nidia subplot is amusing, if a little hammy. But it works decent enough. These four cruiserweights (and diva!) boost a predictable undercard with a bit of flash, and redeem the disk.

Buy or drive by? Buy, yeah, because the Rumble is good enough and until the last ten minutes, the unpredictability is indeed there, until you figure out just then who's definitely going to win - you just have to find out how. The Cruiserweight undercard is healthy and nice, but every other match is pedestrian, boring or not-as-interesting as other match rematches. The extras are very good, with interviews and an excellent women's match that could have been on the undercard instead of Evolution / Dudleys, and could have been longer to work even better. But ah bien, if you're looking for gaps in your collection or want a Rumble rumble, here you are.

a great rumble match...full of some great spots that sets up the rest of the road to wrestlemania XX. the last man standing match is another superb outing for Triple H and shawn michaels in their rivalry.

I loved this Rumble PPV. The last man standing match with Triple H and Shawn Michales was amazing. I was dissapointed with the ending but it was still great. Also was a surprise to see Hardcore Holly challenge for the WWE Championship against Lesnar. The Royal Rumble match itself was superb with a great conclusion. This event is definitley reccomended!