A lot of major developments took place during last night’s Royal Rumble, with the PPV largely righting the wrongs of the past two Rumbles and, aside from giving a 46-year-old man his 14th World Heavyweight Championship reign, doing a lot to elevate current stars in the company and establish a number of interesting feuds as we begin the journey to WrestleMania.
But while the Royal Rumble was a good PPV, and was certainly a lot better than the Rumbles we were subjected to in 2014 and 2015, it still wasn’t a complete success despite there being a number of highlights.
Here are the 7 things we learned after watching the Royal Rumble 2016:
1. It’s the most predictable event in the WWE’s calendar
“Anything can happen” – that’s the phrase the WWE most typically associates with the Royal Rumble, informing viewers that each Superstar to enter the ring has just as much chance of winning the match as the last. We know that to not be true, of course, because the winner of the Royal Rumble typically goes on to headline WrestleMania, and there’s no chance that the WWE would hand over the main event slot for their biggest PPV of the year to Jack Swagger.
However, since 2012 (and many times before that) the Royal Rumble has become so predictable that we all correctly guess the winner long before the match has even started. That was the case this year, too, with the vast majority of fingers pointing to Triple H even though he wasn’t even announced to be in the damn thing. It could be argued that Triple H’s victory made the most sense in terms of the storyline WWE is trying to sell to us, with Roman continuing to be posited as the underdog fighting back against the villainous Authority. With the Authority having done everything in their power to keep Roman from the top spot (and by “everything” I mean give him more title shots than anyone else have him main event almost every PPV and episode of RAW in recent memory), eventually Triple H decides that if you want a job doing well, you’re better off doing it yourself.
The problem is that few are actually on board with this storyline, as evidenced by the Orlando crowd’s intense booing of Reigns (I’ll get to that later), and so many felt a little deflated that Triple H was embarking upon his 14th World Heavyweight championship run in order to continue with a story that we’re long past caring about. Considering that the Royal Rumble contains 30 guys, all apparently possessing the same chance of winning, you’d think that we wouldn’t be able to successfully guess the victor year-in, year-out.
2. WWE remembered what makes Royal Rumbles fun
Questionable ending aside, this Royal Rumble was one of the best in years. The past few Royal Rumble matches have suffered from a lack of storytelling, with wrestlers thrown into the match without given anything of significance to do, no new feuds being established and everyone aside from the victor leaving the match with their careers remaining virtually unchanged. However, this year’s Royal Rumble set up a number of potentially exciting rivalries, and made the Road to WrestleMania infinitely more interesting as a result. Just the way it should be.
AJ Styles’ elimination at the hands of Kevin Owens was a shocker, and while it would’ve certainly been more enjoyable to see The Phenomenal One go the distance (perhaps taking the place of Chris Jericho, who remained in the match for far too long despite looking significantly out of shape), it was a good move on WWE’s behalf to have Owens eliminate and therefore set the pair up for his first WWE feud against one of the company’s most respected talents.
Then there was the whole angle involving The Wyatt Family and Brock Lesnar, which managed to both keep Lesnar looking strong while also making Bray Wyatt seem like a credible threat once again. Many predicted that the pair would go toe-to-toe at WrestleMania, and with the WWE currently suffering from a lack of credible heels, a high-profile victory for Bray against the company’s most dominant Superstar could rectify this issue. Or, y’know, Lesnar could destroy him and the rest of his Family. Either way, it’s an exciting new feud made possible by smart Royal Rumble booking, and we hope the WWE continues this trend from here on out so we’re never forced to endure another Royal Rumble 2015 ever again.
3. The only loser was Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns was the focus of this year’s Royal Rumble, but the events of the PPV have arguably done him more harm than good.
The first entrant in the match, Reigns made his way to the ring accompanied by a chorus of boos from the Orlando crowd, and it didn’t get much better for the burgeoning “Face of the WWE” from there. The main issue with Reigns’ push to the top is not that he isn’t a talented performer (he is), but that the angle WWE is using in order to try to get fans behind him is completely unbelievable – even for a show which has an old undead man, an MMA fighter and a jort-wearing superhero among its ranks.
The WWE continues to pedal this idea that Reigns is somehow an underdog, despite everyone being fully aware that Vince McMahon & co. are pushing him to the moon and back. This underdog story worked with the likes of Daniel Bryan, mainly because it actually seemed like the WWE were holding him back despite him being very over with the fans, but the company’s creative team trying to reenact this same storyline with a chiseled, tall, conventionally attractive motherfucker like Reigns doesn’t ring true. The company must have thought they struck gold when the Philly crowd actually cheered him following his World Heavyweight Championship win against Sheamus, but they undid their good work in this regard by yet again forcing him down fans’ throats.
Reigns cannot continue to be the focal point of all WWE programming if the WWE wants him to actually start being consistently cheered. Him entering the Royal Rumble at number one, then being taken out by League of Nations and spending much of the match sitting backstage, only sought to rile the crowd up even more, and as he was unceremoniously eliminated before Dean Ambrose and Triple H squared up to one another, it solicited one of the biggest pops of the entire night. The WWE seems to acknowledge that Reigns isn’t as over with fans as they would like, not putting him in the final two likely due to a realization that the Orlando crowd would boo him out of the building and cheer for the heel Triple H. If that’s the case, then why on Earth do they continue to book him in ways that they seemingly know won’t sit well with fans? In the end we just got a sad-looking Reigns enduring a hailstorm of boos, watching on with dejected puppy dog eyes while Ambrose took his spot as the Rumble runner-up.
4. The New Day really need some new competition
Despite being a heel faction, The New Day are the most popular stable in WWE right now (ignore The Slammy Awards). However, a major problem they’re facing is a lack of competent competition, with no other tag team in the WWE possessing even a fraction of the personality of the trio.
The New Day are currently stuck in a never-ending feud with The Usos, and while the Samoans certainly have their admirers (particularly with the WWE’s younger audience), when placed against The New Day it’s clear they’re out of their league. The Usos are good performers, sure, but The New Day ooze charisma, something which The Usos continue to struggle with. If The New Day are the modern equivalent of Edge & Christian, then they need their very own The Hardy Boyz to feud with.
The lack of factions in the WWE means that The New Day run the risk of over-exposure. With people more invested in them than they are their matches, the Orlando crowd were significantly quieter when their match against The Usos began than they were for their pre-match promo, in which Xavier Woods unveiled his brand new trombone, “Francesca II.” But there are only so many promos The New Day can cut without engaging in meaningful feuds, and despite being the most over stable in the company, they’ve yet to have a compelling rivalry with another tag team. The New Day are succeeding on the strength of their respective personalities, but even they will eventually come undone if the WWE doesn’t find anything interesting to do with them.
5. It’s probably the end of Becky Lynch’s push (for now)
After the massive disappointment that was the so-called “Divas Revolution,” Becky Lynch and Charlotte have done a good job of emerging from the ashes of that shit-show to pull out one of the more entertaining feuds of the month. Charlotte’s work as a heel far surpassed her unconvincing positioning as a babyface, while Becky managed to step out on her own two feet after spending most of the time following Charlotte around like a lapdog.
The pair put on a good match at the Royal Rumble, though it wasn’t helped in the slightest by an ending that saw Ric Flair interrupt Becky’s armbar submission by throwing his jacket over her head. Cue Becky awkwardly wrestling with the jacket, before Charlotte hit her with an eye-poke (that wasn’t caught by WWE’s cameras because Kevin Dunn), and one of her weak-looking spears for the pin. With Charlotte conducting a post-match beatdown on the lass kicker, Sasha Banks made her way to the ring (accompanied by a massive pop from the crowd), dumped Becky out of the ring and then proceeded to lock Charlotte in the Bank Statement. The crowd went wild, but a fan-taken photo showing Becky crying on the floor following the outcome of the match serves as a disappointing reminder that the Lass Kicker is now probably going to play third-wheel in a feud between Sasha and Charlotte, which is a shame considering the good work she’s put in during this feud.
(Via Imgur)
With the crowd very much behind Sasha, even if she still continues to play the heel it’s likely that WWE will put the Divas belt on her in order to appease the fans. While Becky will more than likely be a part of a potential triple threat match for the title either at Fastlane or WrestleMania, it’s less likely that she’ll be wearing that butterfly belt any time soon.
6. The Royal Rumble isn’t the best place to make your debut
AJ Styles’ debut was an historic moment, and the Orlando crowd’s reaction was deafening. Though it had been suspected that he’d be making an appearance in the Rumble, many speculated how WWE was going to handle the first appearance of one of the world’s most celebrated pro wrestlers, considering anything else other than him being crowned champion would mean that he’d lost his first match (outside of his little-known initial run as a jobber) in the company.
While Styles’ appearance was arguably the highlight of the entire match, the nature of the Rumble meant that he didn’t really get the chance to pull out many offensive maneuvers before being unceremoniously dumped over the top rope by Kevin Owens. While those who pegged Styles to win the match were being optimistic, many would have preferred him to go the distance or make his debut in a setting that could have allowed him to showcase his talent. There’s still plenty of time for AJ Styles to make his mark in the WWE, but in hindsight the Royal Rumble match was perhaps not the best event for him to debut in.
7. Kevin Owens and Dean Ambrose were the stars of the show
From their opening show-stealing Last Man Standing match, to Kevin Owens’ elimination of AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose managing to make it to the final two, the pair were unquestionably the stars of this year’s Rumble. Though Owens was on the losing end of the Intercontinental Championship match, he didn’t look any worse for it, taking a huge bump through two tables and getting in a massive amount of offence prior to Ambrose retaining. Him eliminating Styles was a risky move, too, considering the crowd could have easily turned on the entire match as a result, but it was evidence that the WWE knows they can place such a major event in Owens’ hands.
While Ambrose being part of the final two pretty much confirmed that Triple H was going to win the World Heavyweight Championship, it still managed to draw a hugely positive crowd response, and helped to move him further out of Roman’s shadow. While I’m personally still a little indifferent to Ambrose (the whole “Lunatic Fringe” shtick doesn’t particularly ring true considering his thoroughly predictable move set), fans are definitely on board with him getting a push and it was good to see a Royal Rumble final two in which the guy assuming the role of the babyface was actually cheered.
Though Owens is potentially set to embark on a feud with either AJ Styles or Sami Zayn that he’ll more than likely wind up losing, and with Ambrose not really having a rivalry in his sights, it remains to be seen where these two are headed, but either way the Royal Rumble was evidence that they’re definitely earmarked for success by the powers that be.
