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| By Atlee Greene |
The 29th annual WWE Royal Rumble emanated from the Amway Center in Orlando, FL with a jam packed card full of great matches, good storytelling, and some major surprises. Traditionally, the 30 man over the top rope Royal Rumble match grants the winner a world title main event at WrestleMania. This year, however, things were quite different.
Roman Reigns spent the majority of 2015 being screwed out of becoming WWE World Heavyweight champion in front of the camera while behind the scenes, WWE has been working tirelessly to have him supplant John Cena as the face of the company.
On December 14th, due to a plethora of injuries that has plagued the roster, the decision was made to expedite Roman Reigns’ coronation as the top guy, and booking him to win the championship.
In front of the camera, The Authority comprised of Vince McMahon and Stephanie McMahon made the unprecedented move to force Roman Reigns to defend his title in the Royal Rumble match against 29 other wrestlers, while making Reigns the first entrant into the contest, essentially making it a one vs. all affair.
Royal Rumble Rules: The match starts with entrants one and two, and every two minutes after, another wrestler enters the Rumble, according to the number they drew.
Roman Reigns made short work of Bulgarian brute, Rusev, who drew #2. The next entrant was the surprise of the night as AJ MOTHER&^%$#@ STYLES made his way to the ring.
If you’re a wrestling fan who’s only experience with the genre is what occurs on WWE television, the name AJ Styles might be foreign to you. The Gainesville, Georgia native, at 38 years old, is arguably the best wrestler on the planet today. He is an 18 year veteran who has been tearing it up in Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling for the past two years.
Much to WWE’s credit, they didn’t change a thing about his character. They went out of their way to promote him as a big deal based on his illustrious past, and even made reference to the Internet rumors of his pending arrival. This is something WWE rarely does today.
Styles made a great showing for himself, lasting 28 minutes until he was thrown out by French Canadian braggart Kevin Owens, which was booed more than any other elimination.
Roman Reigns looked to have things well in hand until he was blindsided by the League of Nations with Vince McMahon watching on in approval. Reigns was escorted by medical personal to the locker room, and it appeared that his night was over.
The Wyatt Family made their backwoods cult like presence felt as stable monster Braun Strowman eliminated wrestler after wrestler, making him the Rumble’s biggest obstacle.
Then Brock Lesnar arrived, and dished out his violence fused onslaught christened Suplex City. Lesnar eliminated Luke Harper, Erick Rowan, and Brawn Storwman, thus ruining plans to ensure victory for their leader, Bray Wyatt, who hadn’t entered the match until after the fact.
Later on the eliminated Wyatt Family members interfered and threw out Lesnar, which appears to set the stage for a Brock Lesnar vs. Bray Wyatt showdown at WrestleMania.
NXT standout Sami Zayn was another surprise entrant in the Rumble. He made a b-line for Kevin Owens and eliminated him, which hopefully rekindles their feud from last year.
Roman Reigns returned to the match, delivering Superman punches to everyone in sight. Triple H was the 30th entrant into the Rumble, which many predicted, and fell in line with Vince McMahon’s promise that Reigns will never see Triple H coming.
Triple H eliminated Roman Reigns, leaving him and Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose as the final two wrestlers. The Amway Center was electric as the prospect of Ambrose becoming champion excited the sold out crowd. In the end, Triple H eliminated the Lunatic Fringe, winning his second Royal Rumble while capturing his 14th WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Earlier action saw Dean Ambrose beat Kevin Owens in a Last Man Standing match to retain the IC belt. The comedic trio of The New Day bested the Usos to retain the tag team titles. Kalisto beat Alberto Del Rio to earn a second, and hopefully more fruitful run as United States champion.
Charlotte defeated Becky Lynch in a great match to hold on to the Divas title. Post-match activity saw the return of Sasha Banks, the most popular female wrestler on the roster. She applied her Bank Statement submission hold onto Charlotte, sending a message to the champ that she is next in line.
This was one of the best booked Royal Rumble events in quite some time. Even though Triple H’s involvement and his title win could be seen coming from a mile away, it made sense with the plight of Roman Reigns story that WWE is telling.
Roman Reigns vs. Triple H appears to be the featured attraction for WrestleMania on April 3. Some question whether this match will draw a record crowd to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
With John Cena, Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, and Cesaro being legitimately injured and missing the big event, Reigns/Hunter is probably the safest option since the hero’s chase of the title is always more compelling story.
