Royal Rumble 2010 Matches

January 31, 2010 marks the Royal Rumble Pay-Per-View for WWE, which will be held live in Atlanta, Georgia. The annual PPV event features the traditional 30 man Royal Rumble match, which is an over-the-top-rope battle royal. The winner of that receives the ultimate prize; a trip to Wrestlemania 26 to compete for the title of their choice, normally the WWE title or World Heavyweight title.

Here's a look at the matches for the 2010 Royal Rumble:

Ezekiel Jackson vs. Christian
ECW Championship Match

An interesting new tournament was unveiled by ECW General Manager Tiffany called "The ECW Homecoming" which featured 16 competitors squaring off in matches. These superstars consisted of former ECW stars and new talent within the ranks of ECW such as Vance Archer, Yoshi Tatsu and Ezekiel Jackson. Eight men were able to move on to the ECW Homecoming Finale battle royal: Matt Hardy, Kane, CM Punk, Yoshi Tatsu, Vance Archer, Evan Bourne, Shelton Benjamin and Ezekiel Jackson. Two behemoths wound up as the final 2 competitors, with Kane and Ezekiel Jackson squaring off. Jackson managed to eliminate Kane over the ropes with a clothesline after escaping a chokeslam. With that, Jackson's mental William Regal was in the ring to celebrate as his protege will get a shot at the ECW title that has eluded Regal. Now Christian must face one of his toughest and biggest challenges to date in Jackson. Will Christian be able to overcome Ezekiel Jackson's dominating performance, or will the book of Ezekiel reign supreme and become new ECW Champion?

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Mickie James vs. Michelle McCool

This divas feud has been going on ever since Mickie James arrived to Smackdown via Raw. The current Womens Champion felt the show wasn't "big enough" for both divas and the insults began to fly. Together with her gal pal Layla, Team LayCool began to insult Mickie's weight on a weekly basis. This included an Old MacDonald spoof video by McCool, and Layla wearing a fat suit and pig nose to pretend she was "Piggy James". But now, the WWE Womens title will be on the line at the Royal Rumble. A win for Mickie would put her back on top of the divas division, and also silence her biggest detractors: Michelle and Layla. Can Mickie reclaim the gold, or will McCool continue her ridiculing of Piggy James?

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Randy Orton vs. Sheamus
WWE Title match

It's rare that we see two heels competing in a high profile title match, but that's exactly what we'll see come the Royal Rumble. Sheamus has been the champion for several months now after defeating John Cena in a Tables match during the TLC PPV. In a rematch, Sheamus cheated his way out of things when he shoved the referee down causing a disqualification. Weeks later, Raw saw a Triple Threat match between Randy Orton, Kofi Kingston and John Cena. With the help of Legacy, Orton managed to win the match after delivering an RKO on Kofi Kingston. Now as #1 Contender, Randy Orton will attempt to regain the title he lost months ago. However, Sheamus has been a formidable champ who's tough to defeat. Will Randy Orton have what it takes to reclaim the WWE Title, or will the Celtic Warrior continue his dominant reign?

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Rey Mysterio vs. The Undertaker
World Heavyweight Title match

Rey Mysterio and Undertaker fought weeks ago in a title match, after Mysterio earned the #1 Contender status. However, The Animal Batista was not happy seeing his former friend competing for the World Heavyweight title, and decided to interfere. Batista's interference promptly ended the match, and at the time, ended Rey Mysterio's chance to reclaim the World title. In weeks after, Mysterio and Batista continued their feud, as a Beat the Clock challenge occurred on Smackdown. Rey Mysterio held the time to beat, as Batista had the final match. He toyed with his opponent, R-Truth for some time, watching Mysterio at ringside. Just as The Animal unleashed a finishing Batista Bomb and took the pinfall, Mysterio was ringside to yank the referee out of the ring as time expired. This enraged the Animal, and brought about a match between the two superstars a week later.

Again, Batista toyed with Mysterio throughout, and towards the end of the main event, the lights went out several times as Undertaker's bells sounded. Both men were left inexplicably layed out inside the ring. A week later saw Batista and Mysterio take the fight into a steel cage to ultimately decide #1 Contender. Batista continued to taunt and toy with Mysterio again, but this time Mysterio got the last laugh. After scaling the cage side wall, he was moving down for the victory. Batista went for the door, but Mysterio wisely kicked it into The Animal's face before dropping to the floor to win the match. Now as #1 Contender, Mysterio heads to Royal Rumble to face The Undertaker. Will Mysterio have enough left in him to overcome the Deadman? Or will Undertaker add to his list of souls?

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30 Man Royal Rumble Match

The ultimate spectacle of the Royal Rumble event is of course the Royal Rumble match. 30 men will enter in intervals throughout the event, with competitors attempting to toss one another over the top rope. Once a man is thrown over the ropes and hits the floor, he's eliminated. This goes on until we have just one competitor left, the Royal Rumble winner. The winner moves on to Wrestlemania 26 to headline the biggest PPV of the year and compete for the title of their choice. Shawn Michaels has already noted that he will win the Rumble and choose Undertaker, so he can get his second chance to end the streak. However, several other superstars have vowed to win as well, such as Straightedge superstar CM Punk, the Game Triple H, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, John Cena and The Animal Batista. Competitors from Raw, Smackdown and ECW will all be a part of the epic match, but which one superstar will become the 2010 Royal Rumble winner?

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The 2010 Royal Rumble kicks off on Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 8PM EST on Pay-Per-View. You'll find updated results throughout the Pay-Per-View event here at WWE Characters the Blog from 8PM to 11PM when the show ends. Enjoy the 2010 Royal Rumble!