Royal Rumble 2004 Royal Rumble 2004 was the seventeenth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay - per - view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) . It was presented by Sony ' s PlayStation 2 , took place on January 25 , 2004 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania and featured talent from the Raw and SmackDown ! brands . As has been customary since 1993 , the Royal Rumble match winner received a match at that year ' s WrestleMania , in this instance Wrestlemania XX . Beginning with this Royal Rumble , the winner could challenge at WrestleMania his choice of either the WWE Championship or the World Heavyweight Championship . Six professional wrestling matches were featured on the event ' s supercard , a scheduling of more than one main event . The main event was the annual 30 - man Royal Rumble match , which featured wrestlers from both brands . Chris Benoit , the first entrant , won the match by last eliminating The Big Show , the twenty - fourth entrant . This win resulted in Benoit breaking the longevity record last held by Bob Backlund , staying in the match for over one hour . The primary match on the Raw brand was a Last Man Standing match between Triple H and Shawn Michaels for the World Heavyweight Championship , which ended in a draw . The predominant match on the SmackDown ! brand was Brock Lesnar versus Hardcore Holly for the WWE Championship , which Lesnar won to retain the championship . The featured match on the undercard was a Tables match for the World Tag Team Championship between Evolution ( Ric Flair and Batista ) and the Dudley Boyz ( Bubba Ray and D - Von ) , which Evolution won to retain the titles . Background . Royal Rumble featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre - existing scripted feuds , plots , and storylines that were played out on " Raw " and " SmackDown ! " – World Wrestling Entertainment ' s ( WWE ) primary television programs . Wrestlers portrayed a villain or a hero as they followed a series of events that built tension , and culminated into a wrestling match or series of matches . The event featured wrestlers from WWE ' s Raw and SmackDown ! brands – a storyline division in which WWE employees were assigned to a television program of the same name . The buildup to the Royal Rumble match started on January 1 , 2004 edition of " SmackDown " , when John Cena interrupted a promo of the SmackDown General Manager Paul Heyman about Tribute to the Troops in Iraq event . This angered Heyman and Heyman forced Cena to compete in a Handicap match with a partner and the two needed to win the match to gain entry in the Royal Rumble match . Cena ' s partner was revealed to be Chris Benoit and the two defeated Full Blooded Italians ( Nunzio , Chuck Palumbo and Johnny Stamboli ) in a Handicap match to qualify for the Royal Rumble match . As a result , all the three members of Full Blooded Italians lost their spots in the Royal Rumble match . If Cena and Benoit would have lost , neither would have been able to participate in the match . After the match , Kurt Angle announced that he would participate in the Royal Rumble match and would win it . Later that night , Benoit insulted Heyman and Heyman forced Benoit to compete at the # 1 spot in the Royal Rumble . On January 5 edition of " Raw " , Kane announced that he was going to win the Royal Rumble but was confronted by Booker T , who claimed that he would eliminate Kane from the match and win the match . On January 8 edition of " SmackDown " , Benoit defeated Full Blooded Italians in a Handicap Mini Royal Rumble to retain his spot in the Royal Rumble . On January 12 edition of " Raw " , Goldberg defeated Matt Hardy and announced that he would participate in the Royal Rumble match . On January 15 edition of " SmackDown " , several qualifying matches were held for the Royal Rumble , including a battle royal between Full Blooded Italians , which Nunzio won . On January 19 edition of " Raw " , Goldberg , Randy Orton , Rob Van Dam , Booker T , Mark Henry and Chris Jericho won matches to qualify for a Battle Royal to determine the # 30 entrant of the Royal Rumble match . Goldberg won the Battle Royal and earned the # 30 spot in the Royal Rumble . The main rivalry heading into the event from the SmackDown brand was between Brock Lesnar and Hardcore Holly over the WWE Championship . The rivalry could be dated back to September 12 , 2002 edition of " SmackDown " , when Lesnar defeated Holly in a non - title match and injured him by breaking his neck , putting him out of action for over a year . A year later , at Survivor Series , Holly returned to WWE from injury to take revenge from Lesnar . On November 20 edition of " SmackDown " , Holly was fired by the SmackDown General Manager Paul Heyman for attacking Lesnar . On December 18 edition of " SmackDown " , Heyman announced that Holly would team with Shannon Moore in a tag team match against A - Train and Matt Morgan , in which Holly could get a match of his choosing if he won but if he lost , his WWE contract would be terminated . Holly and Moore won the match , allowing Holly to wrestle a match of his choosing . On January 1 edition of " SmackDown " , Holly intentionally got disqualified in a match against Big Show by brutally assaulting him . On January 8 edition of " SmackDown " , Holly defeated Big Show in a Street Fight . As a result , Big Show placed a restraining order on Holly and Lesnar stayed with Big Show to protect himself from Holly . On January 22 edition of " SmackDown " , Holly attacked Lesnar during a Handicap match pitting Lesnar , Big Show , Matt Morgan and Rhyno against John Cena and Chris Benoit in a Handicap match . This led to a match between Lesnar and Holly for the WWE Championship at Royal Rumble . The main rivalry heading into the event from the Raw brand was between Triple H and Shawn Michaels over the World Heavyweight Championship . At Armageddon , Triple H defeated then - champion Goldberg and Kane in a No Disqualification Triple Threat match to win the World Heavyweight Championship . On December 15 edition of " Raw " , Michaels and Rob Van Dam defeated Evolution ( Triple H , Ric Flair and Batista in a Handicap match , when Michaels pinned Triple H . As a result of pinning Triple H , Michaels earned a World Championship match against Triple H on December 29 edition of " Raw " . Michaels seemingly pinned Triple H to win the title but the Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff declared the match a draw because both men ' s shoulders were down on the mat during the pinfall . As a result , Triple H retained the title . On January 5 edition of " Raw " , the self - proclaimed Sheriff of Raw Stone Cold Steve Austin announced that Triple H would defend the title against Michaels in a Last Man Standing match at Royal Rumble . A secondary rivalry heading into the event from the SmackDown brand was between Eddie Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero . At Survivor Series , Basham Brothers ( Doug and Danny ) defeated Los Guerreros ( Eddie and Chavo ) to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship . After the event , Los Guerreros started to break up as a team when Chavo began blaming Eddie for the team ' s recent failure . On November 20 edition of " SmackDown " , Los Guerreros defeated World ' s Greatest Tag Team ( Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin ) but after the match , Haas and Benjamin attacked Chavo and injured his leg . This caused Chavo to blame Eddie for the injury . On November 27 edition of " SmackDown " , Chavo was attacked again and he blamed Eddie again . This continued on December 4 edition of " SmackDown " , when Eddie helped Chavo in defeating Benjamin in a one - on - one match . Chavo blamed Eddie for stealing the spotlight that Chavo needed . On January 1 edition of " SmackDown " , Eddie and Chavo finally broke up the team after losing to World ' s Greatest Tag Team . However , on January 8 edition of " SmackDown " , Kurt Angle reunited Los Guerreros and earned them a Tag Team Championship match against Basham Brothers , which Los Guerreros lost . After the match , Los Guerreros finally ended when Chavo attacked Eddie and caused him to bleed . As a result , Chavo became a villain . On January 15 edition of " SmackDown " , Angle informed Eddie that the SmackDown General Manager Paul Heyman had made a match between Eddie and Chavo at Royal Rumble . Another secondary rivalry heading into the event from the SmackDown brand was between Rey Mysterio and Jamie Noble over the WWE Cruiserweight Championship . On January 1 edition of " SmackDown " , Mysterio defeated Tajiri to win the Cruiserweight Championship . On January 8 edition of " SmackDown " , Tajiri and Noble were scheduled to have a # 1 contender ' s match for the Cruiserweight Championship , but Noble was not present on the show . As a result , the SmackDown General Manager Paul Heyman ordered Noble ' s manager Nidia to replace Noble in the match . Tajiri easily defeated Nidia . After the match , Tajiri tried to assault Nidia , but Mysterio rescued her . This prompted Noble to come out and attack Mysterio as he thought that Mysterio was trying to harm Nidia . On January 15 edition of " SmackDown " , Noble defeated Tajiri to become the # 1 contender for the Cruiserweight Championship at Royal Rumble . The secondary rivalry heading into the event from the Raw brand was between Evolution ( Ric Flair and Batista ) and Dudley Boyz ( Bubba Ray and D - Von ) over the World Tag Team Championship . At Armageddon , Flair and Batista defeated Dudley Boyz in a Tag Team Turmoil match to win the Tag Team Championship . On December 29 edition of " Raw " , Flair served as the special referee during a match pitting Dudley Boyz against two enhancement talents . Flair awarded the victory to enhancement talents by disqualifying Dudley Boyz . Batista then came out and attacked Dudley Boyz from behind . On January 5 edition of " Raw " , Flair and Batista defeated Dudley Boyz to retain the Tag Team Championship . On January 12 edition of " Raw " , Batista defeated D - Von in a one - on - one match . After the match , Flair tossed a table into the ring and Batista set it up but Bubba Ray entered the ring and chased Flair and Batista . On January 19 edition of " Raw " , Evolution member Randy Orton defeated The Hurricane in a match . After the match , Flair and Batista came out to congratulate Orton . Hurricane ' s tag team partner Rosey came out to check on him but was attacked by Batista . It led to Dudley Boyz coming out to deliver a 3 - D on Flair through the table but Jonathan Coachman ran down to stop them and was hit with a 3D on the table by Dudley Boyz . This led to a Tables match between Dudley Boyz and Evolution for the Tag Team Championship at Royal Rumble . Event . Before the event aired live on pay - per - view ( PPV ) , Victoria defeated Molly Holly by pinning her after a Gory Neckbreaker , which Victoria calls " Widow ' s Peak " . The match aired live on " Heat " . Preliminary matches . As the event concluded , the first match that aired was a Tables match for the World Tag Team Championship . Evolution ( Batista and Ric Flair ) defended the titles against Dudley Boyz ( Bubba Ray and D - Von ) . The object of the match was to knock any member of the opposing team through a table . Batista had a mic in his hand when he was making his entrance with Flair . He started insulting Dudley Boyz , causing Dudley Boyz to attack Flair and Batista in the aisle . They brawled at ringside . Bubba Ray grabbed a table from under the ring and slid it into the ring . Dudley Boyz set up the table and suplexed Flair on it but Batista moved the table out of the way first . As a result , Dudley Boyz began double - teaming Batista until D - Von clotheslined Batista over the top rope to the floor . Flair started attacking Bubba Ray by chopping him into the table in the corner . Bubba Ray fought back and rammed Flair ’ s head into the table . Flair eventually climbed the top rope but Bubba Ray slammed him to the mat . Jonathan Coachman interfered in the match as he distracted Dudley Boyz . Dudley Boyz tried to perform a Diving Headbutt Low Blow , which they call " Whassup " but Flair threw D - Von out of the way . D - Von clotheslined Flair , allowing Batista to perform a Spinebuster on D - Von through the table to retain the Tag Team Championship . The next match featured Rey Mysterio defending the WWE Cruiserweight Championship against Jamie Noble . In a match pitting cruiserweight action , Noble dominated Mysterio in the earlier match until Mysterio started gaining momentum in the match by using his high - flying maneuvers such as a Hurricanrana and quick speed . At one point , Noble ran through the ropes but his manager Nidia caught his legs , thinking that it was Mysterio . As a result , Noble was distracted . Mysterio took advantage and performed a Tiger Feint Kick , which he calls " 619 " on Noble and followed it with a Springboard Legdrop , which he calls " Droppin Da ' Dime " to win the match and thus retained the Cruiserweight Championship . The third match was between Eddie Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero . Chavo ' s real - life father Chavo Guerrero , Sr . managed him in the match . Eddie was dominating the match until Chavo Sr . began interfering in the match and continuously interfered and attacked Eddie throughout the match . However , Eddie started gaining momentum by applying an Armbar on Chavo . Chavo escaped by performing a Belly to Back Suplex and got a near - fall . Chavo started dominating the match until Eddie regained his momentum and performed three consecutive Vertical Suplexes , which he called " Three Amigos " on Chavo and followed it with a Frog Splash to win the match . After the match , Eddie punished both Chavo and Chavo Sr . by continuously attacking them and made Chavo bleed from his mouth . Main event matches . The SmackDown brand main event was between Brock Lesnar and Hardcore Holly for the WWE Championship . Lesnar and Holly started fighting at ringside until they returned to the ring where Lesnar applied a Bearhug on Holly . Lesnar followed up by stomping away at Holly and then suplex ed him . Lesnar continued to dominate the match until Holly started making a comeback in the match by performing a Clothesline on Lesnar and dropkick ing him . Holly followed it by performing his finisher , a Flapjack Spinebuster , which he calls " Alabama Slam " . Holly then applied a Full nelson . Lesnar tried to get out of the hold but could not get released until he rolled out of the ring . Holly rolled out to the ring with Lesnar and continued to apply the hold until Holly returned to the ring and pulled Lesnar on the ring apron . Lesnar broke the hold by jumping to the floor and snapping Holly ' s neck over the top rope . This allowed Lesnar to perform a fireman ' s carry facebuster , which he called " F - 5 " on Holly to retain the WWE Championship . The Raw brand main event was also the final match on the undercard . It was a Last Man Standing match between Triple H and Shawn Michaels for the World Heavyweight Championship . The match went back and forth with Triple H and Michaels battling each other and in a brutal action , both men started bleeding . Triple H made the first attempt at performing a Double Underhook Facebuster , which he calls " Pedigree " on Michaels onto a steel chair . However , Michaels countered and dropped Triple H onto the steel chair . Michaels proceedd to beat Triple H and made his first attempt at performing a Superkick , which he called " Sweet Chin Music " on Triple H , but Triple H low blowed Michaels . Triple H eventually performed a DDT before performing a Pedigree on Michaels and waited for the 10 count but Michaels got up at 9 count . Triple H was shocked . Michaels took advantage and performed a Sweet Chin Music on Triple H , knocking him down . However , Michaels fell down himself and both of them were unable to answer the referee ' s 10 count . As a result , the match ended in a draw and Triple H retained the World Championship . The main event was the annual 30 - man Royal Rumble match , where the winner would get to wrestle the world champion of his brand at WrestleMania XX . Chris Benoit and the WWE Intercontinental Champion Randy Orton were the first two entrants . As the match started , Benoit and Orton battled each other until Mark Henry entered at # 3 and began attacking both Benoit and Orton . Tajiri entered at # 4 and performed a Handspring Back Elbow on Orton . Orton battled Henry and Benoit battled Tajiri until Bradshaw entered at # 5 and began dominating all the participants by finishing off Orton , then Henry , then Tajiri , with three consecutive Lariats , which he called " Clothesline from Hell " . Bradshaw attempted to perform a Clothesline from Hell on Benoit but Benoit countered it into a Crossface , which he called " Crippler Crossface " . Bradshaw got out of the hold by picking Benoit up and tossing him over the top rope . However , Benoit jumped on the apron and eliminated Bradshaw instead . Rhyno entered at # 6 and attacked Orton , before focusing on Benoit . Tajiri battled Henry and applied a Rope Hung Boston Crab , which he calls " Tarantula " on Henry . Rhyno performed a Spinebuster on Benoit and attempted to perform a Striking Spear , which he calls " Gore " , on Benoit but Benoit avoided the move and Rhyno instead crashed a rope hung Tajiri . This caused Tajiri to get eliminated from the match . Benoit then tossed Henry over the top rope , eliminating him . Matt Hardy entered at # 7 but was quickly tossed over the top rope by Benoit but Hardy landed on the apron . Rhyno tried to eliminate Hardy but Hardy stayed in the ring . Scott Steiner entered at # 8 and started dominating all of the participants of the match . Hardy and Orton battled in the corner , where Hardy had nearly eliminated Orton until Benoit attacked Hardy and Orton was saved from being eliminated . Matt Morgan entered at # 9 and he performed a Sitout Powerbomb on Benoit and a Big Boot on Hardy . The Hurricane entered at # 10 and performed a Diving Crossbody on Hardy . Hurricane then began fighting Morgan , who dominated Hurricane and eliminated him by tossing him over the top rope . Morgan then tried to eliminate Hardy in the same way , but Hardy landed on the apron and stayed in the ring . Benoit began fighting Rhyno , Steiner battled Orton and Hardy battled Morgan until Booker T entered at # 11 . Booker attacked Steiner and then performed a Scissors Kick on Orton . Booker then eliminated Steiner from the match . Kane entered at # 12 . Morgan started attacking Kane but Kane performed a Chokeslam on Morgan . Kane performed a Big Boot on Rhyno and then Kane chokeslammed Orton . Eventually , The Undertaker ' s entrance theme music began playing in the arena and the lights went out . When the lights came back , Kane was distracted and Booker eliminated Kane from behind . Following Kane ' s elimination , Spike Dudley entered at # 13 . Kane was angered at it and he thought that it was Dudley , who played Undertaker ' s gong . An enraged Kane performed a Chokeslam on Dudley on the ramp and Dudley was knocked out which meant that he was unable to participate in the Royal Rumble . Rikishi entered at # 14 . Along with Rikishi ' s entrance , Benoit backdropped Rhyno over the top rope , eliminating him . Rikishi started attacking Hardy and performed a Stink Face on Morgan . René Duprée entered at # 15 and started battling Hardy before dropkick ing him over the top rope to eliminate him . However , after eliminating Hardy , Duprée was eliminated himself by Rikishi when Rikishi performed a Savate Kick on Duprée , causing him to fall over the top rope . A - Train entered at # 16 and began attacking Rikishi . Benoit eventually eliminated Morgan . Orton began dominating the match as he eliminated Rikishi and then backdropped Booker over the top rope to eliminate him . Benoit battled A - Train , while Shelton Benjamin entered at # 17 . Benoit eliminated A - Train and Benjamin tried to perform a Superkick on Orton , but Orton ducked the move and eliminated Benjamin . The first two entrants of the match , Benoit and Orton were left remaining . Ernest Miller entered at # 18 , along with his manager Lamont . Instead of using the opportunity of eliminating the knocked out Benoit and Orton , Miller and his manager Lamont danced to Miller ' s entrance theme . However , Benoit and Orton recovered and ruined the dance as Benoit tossed Lamont over the top rope and Orton eliminated Miller from the match . Following Miller ' s elimination , Benoit and Orton continued to battle each other . Kurt Angle entered at # 19 and began fighting Benoit while Orton recovered in the corner . Rico entered at # 20 and began battling Orton . Rico performed a Roundhouse Kick on Orton while Benoit performed three consecutive German Suplexes on Angle in a row . Orton recovered and backdropped Rico over the top rope , eliminating him . Test ' s music began playing at # 21 but Test did not appear , as he was found knocked out at backstage by some doctors and the Raw Sheriff Stone Cold Steve Austin . Austin ordered someone to replace Test and gave him the # 21 entry number . This person was revealed to be Mick Foley who immediately started attacking Orton . Foley performed a Flying Clothesline on Orton , eliminating Orton and himself in the process . Foley and Orton continued to fight each other after their eliminations . Christian entered at # 22 and started battling Benoit and Angle . Foley and Orton numerously attacked each other , where Foley was about to perform a Mandible Claw on Orton until Nunzio entered at # 23 and Foley turned his focus on Nunzio and performed a Mandible Claw on Nunzio , knocking him down . Orton attacked Foley and then retreated to the backstage . Angle battled Christian and Benoit in the ring while Nunzio sat in the ringside , instead of entering the ring . The WWE United States Champion Big Show entered at # 24 and began dominating the participants in the match . Chris Jericho entered at # 25 and started fighting Angle . Big Show knocked the heads of Jericho and Christian together before battling Jericho . Christian started attacking Big Show . Benoit , Angle , Christian and Jericho tried to eliminate Big Show but failed . Charlie Haas entered at # 26 and was double - teamed by Jericho and Christian . Jericho eventually eliminated Christian . Billy Gunn entered at # 27 and performed a Legdrop Bulldog , which he called " Fameasser " on Angle . Gunn then performed a Fameasser on Jericho and fought Big Show and Haas . John Cena entered at # 28 but instead of entering the ring , he focused on Nunzio , who was sitting in the ringside . Cena tossed Nunzio into the ring and began attacking him until Big Show started attacking Cena . Big Show and Nunzio double - teamed Cena until Nunzio attempted to eliminate Big Show but failed . Cena started attacking Big Show and tried to eliminate him while Nunzio tried to eliminate Benoit . Rob Van Dam entered at # 29 and started dominating all the participants of the match . Nunzio tried to eliminate RVD but Haas battled Nunzio . Big Show battled Gunn and Cena performed a Fireman ' s Carry Takeover , which he called " F - U " , on Angle . Goldberg entered at # 30 and performed a Spear on Big Show and then speared Gunn . Goldberg punched several wrestlers including Angle , Jericho , RVD , Cena and Haas . Nunzio jumped on Goldberg ' s back while Goldberg eliminated Haas from the match . RVD kicked Goldberg . Goldberg speared Nunzio and then clotheslined Gunn over the top rope , eliminating him . Goldberg picked up Nunzio in a Military Press and threw him over the top rope , eliminating him from the match . Goldberg started attacking Big Show , until Brock Lesnar interfered in the match and performed a F5 on Goldberg and left the ring . Goldberg was distracted and when he recovered , Angle eliminated him from behind . Benoit , Angle , Jericho , Cena and RVD all teamed up against Big Show when Big Show picked up Cena and Angle performed a Chop Block on Big Show . RVD performed a Slingshot Legdrop and followed it with a Five - Star Frog Splash on Big Show . All the five participants tried to eliminate Big Show , but Big Show shoved all of them and eliminated Cena . RVD attempted to perform a Monkey Flip on Big Show , but Big Show tossed him over the top rope , eliminating RVD . Big Show backdropped Jericho over the top rope but Jericho landed on the apron and entered the ring . Jericho applied an Elevated Boston Crab , which he calls " Walls of Jericho " on Big Show . Angle attacked Jericho and Big Show picked up Jericho and eliminated him . Big Show chokeslammed Benoit and fought Angle . Angle performed an Olympic Slam , which he calls " Angle Slam " on Big Show and then performed an Angle Slam on Benoit . Big Show eventually tried to perform a Chokeslam on Angle but Angle rolled it into an Ankle Lock . Big Show was near the ropes , and he flipped out of the Ankle Lock , causing Angle to get eliminated . Big Show landed on the apron . Benoit climbed the top rope and performed a Flying Forearm on the back of Big Show ' s neck , sending Big Show back into the ring . Big Show tried to perform a Chokeslam on Benoit , but Benoit countered it into a Crippler Crossface . Benoit eventually landed on the apron while applying a front headlock on Big Show . He dragged Big Show over the top rope , who flipped over and got tossed on the floor over the top rope , getting eliminated . As a result , Benoit won the Royal Rumble match and became the second person in history to win the match from the # 1 spot ( after Shawn Michaels in 1995 ) . He also broke Bob Backlund ' s longevity record in 1993 by staying in the match for 1 : 01 : 30 . Aftermath . On the following night ' s edition of " Raw " , during a confrontation at the beginning of the program between Triple H and Shawn Michaels , the Raw Sheriff Stone Cold Steve Austin intervened and announced that even though he could not make a match between the two ( Austin having lost his General Manager powers in November 2003 ) , he would " uphold the law " and announced that Michaels would not get the next shot at Triple H because he did not win the Royal Rumble . Austin revealed that the Royal Rumble winner face " the champion " at WrestleMania , but that there was no specification as to which champion — thus , creating a loophole that Chris Benoit , who was then property of " SmackDown " , exploited to announce that he would instead chase the World Heavyweight Championship due in part to bad feelings between himself and his general manager , Paul Heyman . On the February 9 edition of " Raw " Benoit and Triple H were to have their contract signing for the WrestleMania match , but Michaels interfered and hit Sweet Chin Music on Benoit then signed the contract himself . The following week , Austin announced that Triple H would defend the title against Benoit and Michaels in a Triple Threat match at WrestleMania . At WrestleMania XX , Benoit defeated Michaels and Triple H in a Triple Threat match to win the World Heavyweight Championship . Benoit ' s defection led to a rule change for the Rumble winner , where he could now choose which world champion he would face at WrestleMania . Meanwhile , on " SmackDown " , in order to make up for Benoit ' s defection , Heyman announced that a second Royal Rumble match featuring fifteen of " SmackDown ' s " wrestlers competing for a shot at Brock Lesnar ' s WWE Championship at No Way Out in February . The thirteen " SmackDown " wrestlers ( Kurt Angle , Rhyno , Charlie Haas , Shelton Benjamin , Bradshaw , Ernest Miller , Tajiri , Billy Gunn , Big Show , John Cena , Nunzio , A - Train , and Rikishi ) who competed in the original Royal Rumble match were given entries in the match as were Hardcore Holly and Eddie Guerrero ( Holly , who replaced an injured Matt Morgan , wrestled and lost to Lesnar at the Rumble and Guerrero , who replaced Benoit , was continuing his feud with his nephew Chavo and his brother Chavo Sr . at the Rumble ) . Guerrero won the match and earned the title opportunity . At No Way Out , Guerrero defeated Lesnar to win the WWE Championship .