Royal Rumble thrills from start to finish as Triple H leaves as WWE champion
It had been more than a month since the WWE Universe had last seen Triple H after he was beaten from pillar to post by Roman Reigns. But you knew he would be back to enact his revenge sooner than later.
He made quite the return on Sunday night at the Royal Rumble event in Orlando, Fla., where he was not only the last man to enter the Rumble match, but also the last man standing. With the win, Triple H captured the WWE championship for the 14th time in his illustrious career.
Even though Triple H was never announced for the match, many fans expected him to be in it. Most of those same fans thought he would be victorious come the end of the night. While that was predictable, it didn't take away from the excitement of the match and the entire show, which was excellent from top to bottom.
Now, the "Road to WrestleMania" is officially underway, with The Authority -- including Triple H, Vince and Stephanie McMahon -- standing tall leading into WrestleMania 32, which takes place on April 3 at AT&T Stadium in Dallas.
The story was that The Authority would do whatever it took to make sure Reigns was no longer the champion at the end of the night. He had to enter the 30-man, over-the-top-rope competition as the No. 1 entrant. Vince McMahon even had the League of Nations attack him mid-match, sending him through the Spanish announcer's table.
When it was down to the final four, there was Reigns with plenty of fight left in him, only to be eliminated by Triple H. Moments later, the King of Kings won the match and the championship after dumping Dean Ambrose over the top rope to the floor.
It looks like the main event for WrestleMania is set between Triple H and Reigns, who will once again have to overcome the odds to become champion. WWE has been trying for the past year to get the audience behind Reigns, who it has chosen as its next top babyface star. After a rough start in 2015, he had finally won over the fans lately, garnering huge cheers.
That wasn't the case on Sunday night, when he was routinely serenaded with loud boos from the live audience. WWE still has its work cut out in making Reigns likable to a fickle audience that loves to hate him.
One of the staples of the annual Royal Rumble match is the potential for surprises -- you never know who may come out when the clock hits zero, signaling for the next person to enter. There weren't many shockers this year as the WWE decided to mainly utilize its current roster rather than a blast-from-the-past.
But there was one big one as A.J. Styles -- which had been wildly rumored for weeks -- made his WWE debut in the Rumble. There was speculation for weeks that the former New Japan and TNA Wrestling star was WWE-bound and could debut here, which he did to thunderous applause.
Entrant No. 3 in the #RoyalRumble Match is simply #PHENOMENAL! @AJStylesOrg has arrived in @WWE! https://t.co/fjpnn7f6kd
— WWE (@WWE) January 25, 2016
Styles entered at No. 3 and remained for more than half of the match before being eliminated by Kevin Owens, possibly setting up a feud between the two.
The other surprise, outside of Triple H, was NXT star Sami Zayn, who mixed it up with his old nemesis Owens and knocked him out of the match.
Brock Lesnar left an imprint on the Rumble but surprisingly wasn't there at the very end. He had his hands full with the Wyatt Family, sending them to Suplex City over and over again and eliminating three of them before he began mixing it up with their leader Bray Wyatt. It wasn't long before the group once again attacked Lesnar and tossed him over the top rope. Don't be surprised to see this continue with Lesnar facing Bray Wyatt come WrestleMania.
Here are some quick results from the rest of the show:
Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose in a Last Man Standing match
An incredible match between the two to start the show with Ambrose winning to retain the Intercontinental championship. These two pulled out plenty of weapons from chairs to tables to kendo sticks. Owens was about to splash Ambrose through four chairs off the top rope but Ambrose stood up at the last second and shoved Owens, who went crashing through two tables on the floor. Guaranteed that both of them will be sporting some nasty marks and getting around gingerly for a few days.
The New Day vs. The Usos
Despite being the heels, the crowd loved the always-entertaining New Day, who retained the WWE tag team titles. A fantastic finish as Big E slipped into the ring and caught a diving Jey Uso off the top rope and hit the Big Ending for the pin.
Alberto Del Rio vs. Kalisto
A good match, but not up to the level of their recent ones on television. After exchanging the United States championship back and forth in those contests, Kalisto won it back after hitting the Salida del Sol.
Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch
The crowd was hot for this one and squarely behind Lynch as she tried to capture the Divas championship. The match delivered as Charlotte nearly tapped out before her dad Ric Flair got involved, tossing his suit jacket on Lynch. She let go of the Disarmer hold to go after the Nature Boy, but was poked in the eye by Charlotte and speared for the loss.
There was more. After the match, Sasha Banks made her way out to a huge ovation. She kicked Lynch out of the ring and seemed to be in cahoots with Charlotte, but that wasn't the case with Banks attacking the Divas champion from behind. She then slapped on her Bank Statement submission move, forcing Charlotte to tap out and setting up the next feud for the title.
Brian Fritz can be reached at btrfritz@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrianFritz and check out his website www.BetweenTheRopes.com.
