My Thoughts on WWE Royal Rumble 2016

Kickoff Match

Mark Henry & Jack Swagger won a Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Match that also featured The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray & D-Von), Damien Sandow & Darren Young and The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor); Henry & Swagger advanced to the Royal Rumble WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match

This Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Match determined which team would earn spots in the Royal Rumble Match later on in the main event. There were two teams that the WWE Universe were familiar with, one team that has only been teaming together for a short time and one team that was teaming together for the first time. In the end, it was Henry & Swagger who pulled off the victory. I was hoping that The Dudleys would win, but as long as The Ascension did not win, I am satisfied.

Pay-Per-View Matches

Last Man Standing Intercontinental Championship Match

Dean Ambrose def. Kevin Owens to retain the IC Championship

This is the match that arguably stole the show. This match can be described as chaos, bedlam and even a scene from a car wreck. There were tables, there were chairs, there were stairs, pretty much everything but the kitchen sink. After many back-and-forth close calls between these two combatants, in the end, it was Ambrose who prevailed after knocking Owens off the top rope, out of the ring and through two stacked tables. Owens was unable to stand before the referee’s 10-count; therefore, the winner and still IC Champion, Dean Ambrose. Despite being banged up, both men would later go on to compete in the Royal Rumble Match.

WWE Tag Team Championship Match

The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Big E (w/ Xavier Woods) def. The Usos (Jimmy & Jey) to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship

Prior to the match, Xavier Woods introduced a brand new trombone dubbed “Francesca II”. After back-and-forth action between both teams, in the end, it was The New Day’s intelligence that would help them retain their championship when Big E tagged himself into the match unbeknownst to Jey. This allowed Big E to catch Jey mid-air just as Jey was about to finish off Kofi, who was no longer the legal man in the match. Big E then hit Jey with the Big Ending to get the 1-2-3 and retain the championship for his team. Not only can I not wait for The New Day to lose the Tag Team Championship, but after that happens, I also hope that Kofi leaves The New Day and turns back into a face because that is the role that Kofi belongs in. He is supposed to be a fan favorite who is a great and fearless high-flying superstar, defies the odds, inspires people and gets closer to becoming WWE World Heavyweight Champion and WWE ruined all that by turning him into this spineless, obnoxious, unbearable and quirky comic of a joke heel that he is not fit for. Xavier Woods definitely belongs in that role, Big E does to a certain extent, but Kofi on the other hand, this role just does not work for him.

United States Championship Match

Kalisto def. Alberto Del Rio to become the new U.S. Champion

A couple of weeks ago on Monday Night Raw, Kalisto pulled off one of the biggest upsets in history when he beat Del Rio for the U.S. Championship. Unfortunately, three days later on Thursday Night Smackdown, Kalisto got screwed out of the championship when Del Rio’s fellow League of Nations cohort Bad News Barrett assisted him in regaining the championship. At the Royal Rumble event, without the other three members of The League of Nations (Sheamus, Bad News Barrett & Rusev) at ringside, Kalisto got some sweet revenge when he once again upset Del Rio to become a 2-time U.S. Champion. This just goes to prove that Del Rio cannot beat Kalisto by himself.

WWE Divas Championship Match

Charlotte (w/ her father and 2-time WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair) def. Becky Lynch to retain the Divas Championship

The last few times that Becky and Charlotte have faced one another, Charlotte’s Hall of Fame father played a pivotal role in Charlotte getting the victories and unfortunately, the Royal Rumble was no different. Just when Becky had Charlotte locked in the Dis-Arm-Her submission hold, Ric Flair threw his jacket in Becky’s face allowing Charlotte to capitalize and hit Becky with a Spear and get the pin and the win to retain her championship. Afterwards, Charlotte gave a post-match attack to Becky. Then, Sasha Banks’ theme music hit the arena and Sasha made her way to the ring. Once she got there, she literally kicked Becky out of the ring. Then, just when it appeared that Charlotte and Sasha were on the same page, once Charlotte turned her back, Sasha hit her with a Backstabber and locked her in the Bank Statement submission hold. Sasha then held Charlotte’s championship belt up high, sending a clear message that she is coming for the championship. There is this backstage faction (as opposed to a storyline faction) called The Four Horsewomen and it consists of current WWE Divas Champion Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch & current NXT Women’s Champion Bayley. Thus far, three of these women are on the main roster while Bayley is still on the NXT roster. We are now seeing three of The Four Horsewomen in the Divas Championship picture. Could Bayley be joining them soon? I certainly hope so.

WWE Chief Operating Officer Triple H won the Royal Rumble Match to become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion and will go on to the main event of WrestleMania 32

This year’s Royal Rumble Match was definitely one of a kind. For the first time ever, the WWE World Heavyweight Champion was forced to defend his championship in the Royal Rumble Match. While the championship was on the line one other year in the Royal Rumble Match, the only difference was that the championship was vacant at the time. Defending Champion Roman Reigns was fixed to have the #1 entry by The McMahon Family (WWE Chairman & CEO Vincent K. McMahon, his daughter and WWE Principal Owner Stephanie & his son-in-law and Stephanie’s husband Triple H). The match also marked the WWE debut of “The Phenomenal One” AJ Styles, the main roster debut of NXT Alum Sami Zayn and the surprise return of Triple H at entry #30, which was later revealed to be fixed as well. At one point during the match, Mr. McMahon instructed The League of Nations to beat down Roman so severely that he would not be able to continue the match and therefore, lose his championship in the process. While Reigns was taken to the back for medical evaluation, fortunately, he came back out towards the end of the match. In the end, the final four came down to Reigns, Ambrose, Sheamus and Triple H. Shortly after Reigns eliminated Sheamus, Triple H came up from behind and eliminated Reigns; therefore, there was going to be a guaranteed new Champion. While Ambrose came so close to pulling it off, in the end, it was Triple H who would prevail and win his 14^th World Championship in his career. While it definitely sucks that The McMahon Family succeeded in getting the championship off of Reigns, I am picturing that the main event of WrestleMania will be Triple H defending against Reigns. I think that there is a very great chance that this will happen. Below is the full list of the 30 participants from this year’s Royal Rumble Match:

*The Wyatt Family eliminated Lesnar after being eliminated from the match themselves.