Royal Rumble 2009 Royal Rumble 2009 was the twenty - second annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay - per - view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) . It took place on January 25 , 2009 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit , Michigan and featured talent from the Raw , SmackDown and ECW brands . As has been customary since 1993 , the Royal Rumble match winner received a match at that year ' s WrestleMania , ( in this instance : WrestleMania XXV ) for his choice at either the WWE Championship , the World Heavyweight Championship and the ECW World Championship . Five 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 all three brands . Randy Orton , the eighth entrant , won the match by last eliminating Triple H , the seventh entrant . The featured match on the Raw brand was for the World Heavyweight Championship between reigning champion John Cena and John " Bradshaw " Layfield ( JBL ) , which Cena won by pinfall after performing an Attitude Adjustment . The primary match on the SmackDown brand was a No Disqualification match between Jeff Hardy and Edge for the WWE Championship , which Edge won by pinfall after Matt Hardy interfered in the match and hit Jeff with a steel chair . The predominant match on the ECW brand was between Jack Swagger and Matt Hardy for the ECW Championship , which Swagger won by pinfall after performing a gutwrench powerbomb . Background . Royal Rumble 2009 featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre - existing scripted feuds , plots , and storylines played out on " Raw " , " Friday Night SmackDown " , and " ECW on Sci Fi " - 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 , SmackDown , and ECW brands — a storyline division in which WWE employees were assigned to a television program of the same name . The prime match scripted into Royal Rumble 2009 , the annual Royal Rumble match , has featured at every Royal Rumble event since its inception . The match featured 30 male wrestlers from WWE ' s three brands ; WWE officially announced 23 participants . The match ends when one wrestler remains in the ring after the elimination of all the 29 other wrestlers . ( Participants eliminate opponents by tossing them over the top ring - rope and making both their feet touch the floor . ) The winner earned an opportunity to challenge for the WWE , World Heavyweight , or ECW Championship at WWE ' s April WrestleMania XXV pay - per - view . The main rivalry from the Raw brand played out between John Cena and John " Bradshaw " Layfield ( JBL ) over the World Heavyweight Championship . JBL earned his championship match against Cena after winning a Fatal Four - Way Elimination match — a standard match in which the last remaining competitor who has not been eliminated is declared the winner — on the December 29 , 2008 episode of " Raw " by defeating Chris Jericho , Randy Orton , and Shawn Michaels . Another rivalry from the Raw brand came with Melina challenging Beth Phoenix for her WWE Women ' s Championship in a singles match . Melina won the opportunity to face Phoenix on the December 29 , 2008 episode of " Raw " by winning a battle royal , a match similar to the Royal Rumble , though with fewer competitors . The main rivalry from the SmackDown brand incorporated into the Royal Rumble featured Jeff Hardy and Edge , with the two feuding over the WWE Championship . At WWE ' s previous pay - per - view event , Armageddon , Hardy had defeated defending champion Edge and Triple H in a Triple Threat match , a standard match involving three wrestlers , to win the WWE Championship . On the January 2 , 2009 episode of " SmackDown " , on - air authority figure Vickie Guerrero announced that Edge would face Hardy for the WWE title at the Royal Rumble . The ECW brand ' s main rivalry , that between Jack Swagger and Matt Hardy , had the two feuding over the ECW Championship . On the January 13 , 2009 edition of " ECW on Syfy " , Swagger defeated Hardy to capture the ECW Championship . On the January 16 episode of " Friday Night SmackDown " , WWE announced that Swagger would defend the ECW title against Hardy in a rematch at the Royal Rumble . Event . Preliminary matches . The first match of the evening saw Jack Swagger defend the ECW Championship against Matt Hardy . The match started with both wrestlers countering the other ' s moves until Swagger injured Hardy ' s left shoulder and then targeted it for the rest of the match . Swagger ultimately defeated Hardy by pinning him after slamming him to the mat with a gutwrench powerbomb . Swagger thus retained the ECW title . The second match on the card involved the WWE Women ' s Championship , where Beth Phoenix defended her title against Melina . The match ended as Phoenix attempted to perform the Glam Slam on Melina , but the latter countered it into a roll - up pin , giving her the win and the Women ' s Championship . Main event matches . The third match on the card pitted John Cena against JBL for the World Heavyweight Championship . JBL ' s employee Shawn Michaels accompanied him to the ring and first got involved in the match when the referee became incapacitated ; he came into the ring and performed his Sweet Chin Music finisher both on JBL and Cena . He then left ringside , leaving JBL ' s arm on top of Cena . Cena however managed to get a shoulder up and performed an Attitude Adjustment to retain his World Championship . The fourth match on the card involved the WWE Championship , as Jeff Hardy defended his title against Edge . Before the match began Vickie Guerrero came out and announced it as a No Disqualification match . Edge then revealed that Chavo Guerrero would be in his corner . During the match Hardy brought a ladder out and set it up near the Spanish announce table . When Chavo tried to interfere , Hardy put him on the table and jumped off the ladder , connecting with Chavo and breaking the table . Hardy then had the match won when he performed the Swanton on Edge after kicking Vickie off the apron when she tried to interfere . When Hardy went for the pin , Vickie stopped referee Scott Armstrong from making a three count . Jeff ' s brother Matt then made his way to the ring , placing a chair under Edge ' s face . Grabbing another chair , Matt at first appeared to be setting Edge up for his own version of Edge ' s con - chair - to maneuver . He instead hit Jeff in the head with the chair , allowing Edge to then pin Jeff and become the new WWE Champion . The main event consisted of the Royal Rumble match . Rey Mysterio and John Morrison started the Rumble . The final six participants left in the match were The Big Show , The Undertaker , Triple H and The Legacy ( Cody Rhodes , Ted DiBiase and Randy Orton ) . While the Undertaker and Big Show brawled on the outside apron ( both went over the top rope , but had not hit the floor ) , Orton eliminated Big Show with an RKO , causing him to fall off the apron . Big Show eliminated The Undertaker shortly thereafter when he pulled his opponent off the apron by his leg . Despite being at a disadvantage against the Legacy , Triple H eliminated both DiBiase and Rhodes . With Triple H by the ropes , Orton quickly clotheslined him from behind to send him over the top rope and become the winner of the Royal Rumble match . Aftermath . On the January 26 episode of " Raw " , The Legacy came out with two lawyers and a therapist . Randy Orton then revealed that he suffers from IED , which causes him to experience violent outbursts when provoked , losing all control of his emotions and actions . According to Orton and his lawyers , Orton had told Stephanie McMahon that if fired , he would not only take DiBiase and Rhodes with him but the whole locker room , as he would bring in a lawsuit against the company . The Raw brand started the qualifying matches for the brand ' s upcoming Elimination Chamber match at WWE ' s next pay - per - view event , No Way Out . Three of the qualifying matches saw Kofi Kingston defeat Kane , Rey Mysterio defeat William Regal and Chris Jericho defeat CM Punk to qualify . In a fourth qualification match , Shawn Michaels failed to win a match against John Cena that would have made JBL eligible to participate in the Elimination Chamber . The ECW Championship feud between Jack Swagger and Matt Hardy had officially finished when ECW ' s on - air authority figure Theodore Long announced on the January 27 episode of " ECW " that Hardy had requested a move to the SmackDown brand . Swagger had other problems as his ECW title belt was stolen by Hornswoggle . When Hornswoggle ' s storyline father , Finlay , urged Hornswoggle to give the title back to Swagger , Swagger shoved Hornswoggle to the ground , which caused Finlay to knock down Swagger with his own title . On the January 30 episode of " SmackDown " , Matt Hardy proclaimed that he had no remorse about smashing his brother Jeff in the head at the Royal Rumble and costing him the WWE Championship . He then told the universe that he no longer considered Jeff a partner or a sibling . There were three Elimination Chamber qualifiers for No Way Out . The first match being The Undertaker versus Mark Henry , which Undertaker won via submission with the Hell ' s Gate . The second qualifier match was The Big Show defeating Festus with a K . O . Punch . The last qualifier was a triple threat match featuring Triple H , The Great Khali and Vladimir Kozlov . Triple H won the match after he delivered a Pedigree to Khali to pick up the victory . Melina would successfully retain her Women ' s Championship against Beth Phoenix on two occasions before she was drafted to the " Smackdown " brand . Melina later engaged in a feud with the villainous Michelle McCool , which would lead to Melina losing the title to McCool at The Bash . Reception . The event was well received by critics . " The Sun " noted the high quality of the matches , the surprising results , Matt Hardy ' s heel turn , and a superior - quality Royal Rumble match . Randy Orton ' s victory was also well praised as it set up an intriguing story for WrestleMania XXV , however , the win was also seen as obvious and predictable . " The Sun " ended its review with a high 9 - out - of - 10 score .