portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters to build tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands, with storylines produced on their weekly television shows, Raw and SmackDown. The main feud heading into the Royal Rumble on the Raw brand was between Triple H and Randy Orton over the World Heavyweight Championship. Their feud started on the August 16 episode of Raw, when Orton was kicked out of Evolution by Triple H. At Unforgiven, Triple H defeated Orton to win the World Heavyweight Championship after interference from Evolution members Batista and Ric Flair. At Survivor Series, Team Orton (Orton, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, and Maven) defeated Team Triple H (Triple H, Edge, Batista, and Snitsky) in a traditional Survivor Series elimination match to earn control of Raw after Orton last eliminated Triple H. At New Year's Revolution, Triple H won an Elimination Chamber match to win the vacant World Heavyweight Championship by last eliminating Orton after interference from Batista and Flair. On the January 10 episode of Raw, Orton defeated Batista to become the number one contender for the title at the Royal Rumble. On the January 17 episode of Raw, after a verbal confrontation between the two in the arena, Triple H ambushed Orton backstage. They fought until Orton tried to use a steel chair, and Triple H fled. On the January 24 episode of Raw, Orton defeated Flair, despite interference from Triple H. The main feud on the SmackDown! brand was between John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL), The Big Show, and Kurt Angle, with the three feuding over the WWE Championship. On the December 16 episode of SmackDown!, Angle challenged JBL to a match for the WWE Championship. The Cabinet (Orlando Jordan, Doug, and Danny Basham) interfered and attacked Angle, causing the match to end via disqualification. They continued to attack Angle after the match until Big Show came out, beat down everyone, and signaled to JBL that he wanted the title. On the December 30 episode of SmackDown!, a triple threat match for the title between the three was booked for the Royal Rumble. Following this, JBL set up Angle to anger Big Show, but Angle angered JBL in response. After realizing this, on the January 20 episode of SmackDown!, JBL aligned himself with Big Show and confronted Angle; however, JBL turned on