WWE Royal Rumble: What Were The Most Exciting Moments Of The 2016 Royal Rumble?
The WWE Road to Wrestlemania has been officially kicked off as the 2016 edition of the Royal Rumble comes to a close. In the wake of all the mayhem from the evening, we are left with new champions and shocking debuts! From the WWE debut of AJ Styles to COO Triple H winning the biggest match of the evening, there was no lack of memorable moments!
*Honorable Mention: Welcome Back Sandow!*
-The Intellectual Savior of The Masses got the first pop of the night. When “Hallelujah” filled the Amway Arena, the Orlando crowd welcomed Damien Sandow with open arms. As he teamed with Darren Young in the pre-show match in a losing effort, it was great to see the always hilarious Damien Sandow get the recognition he deserves. Hope to see more of Sizzle A.K.A Sandow!
5. A Destructive Opener
–Tables. Barricades. Michael Cole’s Glasses. Dean Ambrose & his opponent Kevin Owens left nothing unbroken. From the moment the bell sounded, the two brawlers opened the Rumble with multiple “This Is Awesome” and “Holy Shit” chants from the crowd during their non-stop battle for the Intercontinental Championship. In the end, it was Kevin Owens who couldn’t make it to his feet before the ten count allowing Dean Ambrose to walk away with the win & a sore body.
4. Francesca 2 Brings The New Day A Victory!
-After a proper mourning for the beloved trombone of The New Day, Xavier Woods debuted a brand new trombone during their entrance because the power of positivity or whatever. After 150 days of dirty title defenses, The New Day once again retained the tag titles over The Usos. The ever so sneaky Xavier Woods played a major part in the outcome as usual but maybe it was the new trombone ‘Francesca 2‘ who brought the tag champs their luck this evening.
3. The 2-Time United States Champion: Kalisto!
-‘The Lucha Dragon‘ Kalisto reclaimed the US Championship from Alberto Del Rio in a hard-fought but slightly sloppy match at the Royal Rumble. While Sin Cara has been injured, Kalisto has found a place of his own as a singles competitor. He quickly started a feud with Del Rio and the two Mexican Superstars have traded the US belt over the past few weeks. After his most recent title win, let’s hope Kalisto can keep the belt for longer than one day and prove himself as a true star within the WWE.
2. Sasha Banks Is Next In Line For Diva’s Title
-“A Bold Statement With A Bank Statement“. Sasha Banks made it known that she is coming for Charlotte’s Divas title after she attacked Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair following their match. Charlotte retained against Becky with assistance from her father Ric Flair and while she thought Sasha was coming down to the ring to celebrate her victory, ‘The Boss‘ had another idea. Hitting her finisher “The Bank Statement“, Sasha Banks then lifted the title over her head telling the champion that it’s her time to shine.
1.A: “The Phenomenal One” AJ Styles Arrives In The WWE
-After being hyped and teased for weeks now, AJ Styles officially debuted as a member of the WWE roster by drawing Number 3 in this year’s Royal Rumble. If you had access to wrestling websites, you had some sort of idea that Styles would possibly show up at the event but it’s still no less of a shock seeing the international wrestler finally make his way to WWE. “The Phenomenal One” lasted about 28 minutes in the Rumble before getting thrown over by Kevin Owens. With the crowd loving everything Styles did, the newest WWE Superstar has an entire universe in the palm of his hands.
1.B: Sami Zayn Re-Debuts On The Main Roster
-Sami Zayn arrived in the Rumble with a score to settle as he made a B-Line for his arch-enemy Kevin Owens. After spending months on the shelf, Zayn recently returned to NXT and has now re-debuted on the main roster by entering at Number 20. Before he was eliminated by Braun Strowman during a Wyatt Family attack, Sami Zayn got the chance to take Kevin Owens out of the match. Will this be the early sign of an instant classic between Zayn & Owens at Wrestlemania?
1.C: Triple H Is The WWE World Heavyweight Champion!
-After all the dust settled, the returning HHH walked out of the Rumble as the champion by winning the “One Vs. All” 2016 Royal Rumble. The final 2 men in the match were surprisingly Dean Ambrose & Triple H after HHH eliminated Roman Reigns to guarantee a new champion would be crowned. In a Rumble match filled with Wyatt domination & Lesnar suplexing everyone, the 30th entrant Triple H ultimately reclaimed the nickname “The King of Kings” by eliminating 4 men with Ambrose being the final nail in the coffin. This will surely lead to a Reigns vs HHH main event at Mania but as for right now, the landscape of WWE has been changed dramatically…unless you look at a storyline from 1999.
What was the most exciting moment of the evening for you? Did WWE’s first Live Event of 2016 meet all the hype or did the expectations get thrown over the top rope quicker than Jack Swagger?
