As everyone knows, the Road to WrestleMania has been very bumpy to say the least. The Roster has recently been depleted with the losses of major players like John Cena, Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Cesaro and Sting due to injuries. There are still questions about the WrestleMania Card itself. However, WWE found a way to call an audible while things have been breaking down around them heading into the Royal Rumble.
In the midst of their drought of talent, WWE signed NJPW Stars such as former TNA franchise player AJ Styles, Nakamura, Doc Gallows and Carl Anderson. The group was famously known as the Bullet Club in NJPW.
Another major twist for this year's Royal Rumble was that the title was on the line in the Rumble Match itself. This was the second time in WWE History where the title was on the line in the Royal Rumble. As we know, Ric Flair won the Vacated Title as the Rumble Winner in 1992. However, the difference between then and now is that the WWE Champion was involved in this year's Rumble.
This PPV exceeded expectations in many ways. Here is the breakdown.
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match (Last Man Standing): Dean Ambrose (c) def. Kevin Owens
The opening match of the night was for the IC Title. This could very well have been the match of the night outside of the Rumble itself. It was very intense and told a great story between two brutal rivals. Just when it looked dark, Dean Ambrose came through in the clutch. Kevin Owens set up 5 or 6 chairs in the ring to deliver his backward Splash on Ambrose. Dean pushed Kevin off the top rope and onto the tables set up outside. Ambrose retained the title as Owens did not answer the 10 Count.
WWE Tag Team Championship Match: New Day (c) def. The USO's
The New Day and the USO's are the teams that have carried the Tag Team Division from 2014-2015. On their way to the ring, the New Day introduced Francesca II since Chris Jericho killed the first trombone. The Orlando crowd gave New Day a nice reaction. Even though they were chanting "New Day Sucks", it sounded like there were many that were chanting "New Day Rocks". This goes to show how entertaining they are even as goofy heels. The USO's got next to no reaction from the crowd whatsoever.
In the end, the New Day squeaked out the win to remain champions.
WWE United States Championship Match: Kalisto def. Alberto Del Rio (c)
This match was a do-over from two weeks ago, when Kalisto defeated ADR for the title before it was hot-shotted back to Alberto. It was a decent match, but I am not a big fan of how WWE creates comparisons between Kalisto and Rey Mysterio. Kalisto is the Dollar Store version of Mysterio.
WWE Divas Championship Match: Charlotte (c) def. Becky Lynch
In typical Flair fashion, Charlotte used heel tricks and tactics to defeat Becky Lynch. This was a rather underwhelming Divas Title match because of how Charlotte did whatever she could to carry this match.
The real highlight came after the match when Sasha Banks made her return. Sasha kicked Becky out of the ring to confront Charlotte face to face. As Charlotte would make her exit, Sasha hit her with the Bank Statement and rolled her into the Crossface Submission. Expect this to be Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte for the Divas Title. With the Road to WrestleMania, hopefully this is their way of cleaning up the dirt of the Divas Revolution.
The Royal Rumble for the WWE Championship: Triple H wins the Rumble to become WWE Champion
- From the start, this Royal Rumble was strategically planned for Triple H and Roman Reigns to be the Central Figures. The Authority made Roman the first entrant into the Rumble to stack the deck. Rusev would be the next entrant. Things started off between them before the biggest surprise made his debut. TNA Cornerstone AJ Styles made his long awaited debut in the match to an ecstatic crowd at the Amway Center in Orlando, FL. I guess it was also natural because they were in Florida, home of TNA. I respect the way that WWE recognized him as AJ Styles instead of giving him a corny, generic name. AJ was able to keep his character original and the fans loved it. Styles was very impressive in his first Rumble ever. He remained in the match for more than 27 minutes to showcase his talent before being eliminated by Kevin Owens. This could be a sign of big things to come for Styles.
- Chris Jericho entered the Royal Rumble at number 5. I must honestly say that physically he has been letting himself go as of late. It felt like Jericho was in there for at least a day because he lasted for a very long time. Kofi Kingston avoided elimination as long as he possibly could like he always does in the Rumble. This time, he sat on the shoulders of Big E while drinking a fan's soda and eating popcorn. When it was time to get back in, Jericho was the one to eliminate him. It looks like the Y2J vs. New Day feud continues.
- Brock Lesnar came and dominated in true Beast form. He eliminated the Wyatt Family before standing face to face with Bray Wyatt. The rest of the Wyatt Family returned to eliminate Lesnar. This continues to set the stage for Brock Lesnar vs. Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania.
- Midway through the Rumble, Roman was attacked by the League of Foreign Losers (I mean League of Nations) outside of the ring. The assault was completed with Rusev running from two or three announcers tables to do a big splash on Roman through another announcers table.
- The comedy spot was R-Truth pulling out a ladder and placing it inside of the ring as if it were a ladder match. Silly comedy to say the least.
- Sami Zayn made his long awaited return as an entrant of the Rumble. Zayn immediately set his sights on long-time rival Kevin Owens. Sami would eventually eliminate Kevin from the Rumble match. Clearly, there is still unfinished business between them.
- Kevin's opponent from the first match was Dean Ambrose. Dean was very impressive in the Rumble as he came within an inch of winning the title. This was similar to when Roddy Piper was in the '92 Rumble as IC Champion. Things looked bright until the number 30 entrant joined the match:
- In the ultimate swerve, Triple H entered the Royal Rumble as the final entrant as Reigns was number 1. This goes to show how WWE made this entire Rumble revolve around Reigns vs. The Authority. Reigns returned in strong fashion as he knocked out Sheamus before wiping out the League of Nations. Roman would meet his end with an elimination from Triple H.
- When it was Ambrose vs. Triple H, it was only a matter of time before the Game would win.
Overall, I was satisfied with the Royal Rumble. The biggest surprise was the debut of AJ Styles and how impressive he was. Like many fans, I did not agree with Triple H winning, but it was "Best For Business". Considering the circumstances with the injuries to the major stars on the roster, Triple H is the only one that is truly capable of being the heel that could carry Roman Reigns and get him over with the fans. This is used to ultimately set up Roman's WrestleMania moment. Heading into WrestleMania, The Game is the best dance partner for Reigns, and it is time to take the ride. Remember, in the words of Mike Knoxxx (@MIKEKNOXXX) #WrestlingIsStoryline. This is simply for the purpose of strengthening a Storyline.
I give the Royal Rumble 4 WWF Winged Eagle Titles out of 5.
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