Matt with a running clothesline, then a bulldog/clothesline combo on both heels for a two count that the fans bought as a nearfall. Matt was on fire with punches, a back body drop to Nitro and an elbow drop to Mercury. Jeff hit a mule kick leading to Matt getting the hot tag. Nitro tried a running attack, but Jeff shoved Mercury into Nitro to knock both heels down. Morrison prevented Jeff from tagging out by grabbing a headlock, Jeff did a back body drop, Mercury distracted the referee and the referee never saw to Matt. MNM hit a double team slam on their knees where they worked over Jeff’s ribs some more. Jeff managed to get a cradle on Mercury for two, which was followed by Mercury punching Jeff in the ribs repeatedly. Nitro tagged in with a running knee to the ribs of Jeff since they working over Jeff’s ribs at this point in the match. JR called Mercury “Nitro” a few times so he got them confused for some reason. Mercury tagged back in as Jeff became the face in peril. The Hardys each went up top, Jeff went for a splash, Nitro got the knees up to block while Matt hit a leg drop on the throat of Nitro. The Hardys hit a double team suplex on Morrison. Matt with a belly to back suplex on Mercury. Jeff hit the Whisper in the Wind attack off the top onto Nitro for a two count because Mercury broke up the pin. Jeff tagged in against Nitro with a forearm followed by a front suplex for two. Mercury with a chinlock, then he slammed Matt down and Mercury took way too long on the turnbuckle, so Matt moved to avoid a dive. Nitro and Mercury drove Matt’s face into their knees followed by Mercury hitting a big clothesline. The heels continued working over Matt by attacking his injured jaw. Melina did her primal scream at ringside while Mercury punched Matt. Nitro with a punch to Matt’s jaw, so Matt went down since he was selling the jaw injury going into the match. Matt tagged in for some tandem offense taking down Nitro and Matt hit a suplex. Jeff hit a double leg drop to the inner thighs of Nitro to put him down. Mercury managed to drive Jeff into the heel corner leading to Nitro tagging in. Jeff tagged in with a dropkick on Mercury for a two count. Nitro and Mercury took control as they worked over Matt for about a minute. Jeff was the IC Champion from Raw, Nitro was a Raw guy too while Matt and Joey were Smackdown guys. Pre-match notes: The Hardys were the faces while MNM were heels. MNM (Johnny Nitro and Joey Mercury) w/Melina Two weeks earlier on Smackdown, MNM gave Matt Hardy a double DDT on the cement with the storyline being that Matt had a dislocated jaw. The Hardy Boyz entered as the opponents with Jeff as the Intercontinental Champion at this point. Melina’s entrance is one of my favorites ever. Mercury had a protective mask on his face after the brutal facial injury he suffered at the Armageddon 2006 PPV (read my review here) one month earlier.

The MNM team of Johnny Nitro, Joey Mercury and the lovely Melina entered for the opening tag team match. The Smackdown announce team of Michael Cole and John “Bradshaw” Layfield were also at ringside and the ECW announce team of Joey Styles and Tazz was there too.

The Raw announce team of Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler welcomed us to the show. There was a big pyro display in the arena, the WrestleMania 23 sign was in the building and the fans were ready to go. It highlighted the twenty years of past Royal Rumbles as well as the matches taking place on this show. The typical great video package started the show. I have added some thoughts in blue font because there’s always more to say. This was also the first Royal Rumble to feature three WWE brands because ECW began in the summer of 2006, so that meant there were superstars from Raw, Smackdown and ECW in this match.

Drill man rumble