WWE Royal Rumble 2016 ResultsBy Cassidy| January 25, 2016 WWE PPVs Previous Page Detailed Results The 29th installment of the Royal Rumble kicks off with gold on the line in one of the most extreme matches in WWE as Dean Ambrose would put his Intercontinental Championship on the line against the former champion Kevin Owens in a Last Man Standing Match, where the only way to win is to incapacitate your opponent to the point that he cannot answer the referee’s count of ten. The match starts off with the intensity that would be expected from Ambrose and Owens with both men trading right hands and it would not be long before the action spilled to the outside. Taking advantage of the lack of rules in a Last Man Standing Match, Ambrose was the first to gain an advantage in the match as he tosses Owens over the announce table, wiping out Michael Cole in the process! Shortly after this, Owens would fight back, beating Ambrose down in front of the ringside barricade before charging full-force at the champion, putting Ambrose through the barricade with his signature Cannonball maneuver! However, this would not keep Ambrose down for the count and it wouldn’t be long before both men were trading kendo stick shots with Owens gaining the advantage. With Ambrose down, Owens would take the time to throw several steel chairs in the ring, setting two of the chairs up in the ring. After failing to slam Dean Ambrose onto the two chairs, Kevin Owens would use a steel chair to weaken the champion before again trying for a slam on the two chairs. Owens would then try for a third time, but the challenger’s plan would backfire as Ambrose would backdrop Owens on the steel! Owens then rolls to the outside and Ambrose would go for a dive, but the challenger would catch Ambrose, sending the champion back-first into the ring apron and twice into the steel steps. After Ambrose makes it to his feet at the referee’s count of eight, Owens would set up Ambrose’s destruction by stacking two tables up on the outside. Owens would try to superplex the champion to the outside, but, luckily for Ambrose, the champion would fight back, tossing a chair at the head of Owens. With Owens wearing the chair, Ambrose would tee off on Owens, eventually knocking the chair off. The two competitors would then counter each other before Ambrose is able to score with Dirty Deeds, but Owens would barely make it to his feet in time. With Owens essentially out on his feet, Ambrose would hook Owens and deliver Dirty Deeds for a second time, this time on a steel chair! Barely conscious, the crafty Kevin Owens would manage to roll out of the ring onto his feet, stopping the count at nine. Dean Ambrose would follow Owens to the outside and the champion would set a table up at ringside, putting the challenger on the table before climbing to the top rope. The champion then dives off of the top rope with an elbow drop to Owens through the table! Somehow, both Superstars would barely make it to their feet before the ten count as the vicious title match continues. Ambrose would then set up another table in the ring, but it was Ambrose who would taste the table as Owens would hit an incredible package side slam off of the top rope right through the table! Somehow, the indestructible champion would make it to his feet at a count of nine and Owens would then hit the Pop-Up Powerbomb, but Ambrose was able to get up again! Frustrated, yet determined, Owens would set up four chairs in the ring before stacking two more folded chairs on top. Owens would then put the champion on the steel concoction, but when the challenger goes to the top rope, Ambrose would spot the opening he needed, shoving Owens off of the top rope and through the two tables stacked up at ringside! This would finally keep Owens down for the ten-count as Dean Ambrose survives an absolute war to retain the Intercontinental Championship. The WWE Tag Team Titles would then be defended at the Royal Rumble as The New Day’s Big E & Kofi Kingston, with Xavier Woods in their corner, would defend the tag titles against The Usos. At the end of a wild title match, it was Big E tagging into the match unbeknownst to Jey Uso as Jey would go for the Superfly Splash on Kofi Kingston, but Big E would catch Jey in mid-air, hitting the Big Ending and pinning Jey to pick up the win and retain the WWE Tag Team Titles for The New Day. After trading United States Championship victories a couple of weeks ago, the ‘rubber match’ would take place at the Royal Rumble as Alberto Del Rio would defend the United States Championship against Kalisto. Despite being overpowered by Alberto Del Rio throughout the match, Kalisto would use his speed advantage to stay in the match, countering the champion at every turn. Kalisto would even hit the Salida del Sol on Del Rio, but the champion would grab the bottom rope just before the three-count. Del Rio would then show his desperation by exposing the steel of the top turnbuckle. However, this tactic would backfire as Kalisto would send Del Rio face-first into the exposed steel before again hitting the Salida del Sol, this time keeping Del Rio down for the three-count as Kalisto wins the United States Championship for a second time! The Royal Rumble would then feature a clash between two former best friends as, after repeatedly using her Hall of Fame father Ric Flair to win their previous encounters, Charlotte, with her two-time Hall of Fame father Ric Flair in her corner, would defend the Divas Championship against Becky Lynch. Early on in the match, Charlotte and Becky Lynch would take their fight to the outside and, after a distraction from her father would fail Charlotte, Ric Flair would use a desperate maneuver as the Hall of Famer would actually plant a kiss on Becky! Disgusted, Becky would slap Flair, but the distraction would ultimately pay off as Charlotte would gain the advantage in the match. Later on in the match, Becky Lynch would manage to lock in an armbar on Charlotte, but the champion was able to power out, slamming Becky with a powerbomb to break the hold. Shortly after this, Charlotte would go for a baseball slide to Becky, but Becky would move out of the way and Charlotte would inadvertently knock her father down! Becky would then lock Charlotte in the Dis-Arm-Her, but that is when Ric Flair would get on the ring apron, throwing his jacket over the head of Becky. This would get Becky’s attention, as well as the attention of the referee, which would give Charlotte the opening she needed to deliver a thumb to the eye. Charlotte then follows this up with the Spear to Becky, keeping Becky down for the three-count to retain the Divas Championship. After the match, Charlotte would assault her former best friend, repeatedly slamming her face into the mat. The Divas Champion would then stand tall in the ring with her father, but that is when a potential new challenger would appear as “The Boss” Sasha Banks makes her way towards the ring. However, instead of attacking the Divas Champion, Sasha would attack Becky Lynch, kicking Becky out of the ring before telling Becky that it’s her “spotlight”. Sasha would then confront the Divas Champion, saying that Charlotte knows what she wants before “The Boss” would actually extend her hand to Charlotte and the two would slap hands, cementing an apparent alliance between the two. Charlotte would then help her father exit the ring and, as soon as Ric Flair was out of the ring, “The Boss” would strike as Sasha hits Charlotte with the Back Stabber, rolling into the Bank Statement! Sasha would make the champion tap out before letting the hold go. Sasha then grabs the Divas Title belt, holding the title belt high before laying the title belt on Charlotte and mocking Ric Flair’s signature strut as “The Boss” makes it very clear that she has her sights set on the Divas Championship. For the 29th year in a row, it was then time for the infamous, unpredictable, memorable, and career-changing 30-man melee known as the Royal Rumble Match, where two Superstars will start the match and, every 90 seconds, another Superstar will enter. This trend will continue until all 30 Superstars have entered the match with elimination occurring when a competitor is sent over the top rope with both feet touching the floor. However, what makes this year’s Royal Rumble Match the most unprecedented Rumble in history is that, this year, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship would be on the line in the Royal Rumble Match with the defending champion, Roman Reigns, having to enter the match as the #1 entrant! Stepping up to do what only two Superstars have done before him by winning the Royal Rumble Match having entered as the first entrant, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns would walk to the ring as the #1 entrant and the man who would join the champion in starting the match would be “The Bulgarian Brute” Rusev, who enters at #2. Both heavy-hitters would tee off on each other with Rusev tossing Reigns through the ropes and not over them and “The Bulgarian Brute” would make the mistake of thinking he eliminated the champion. However, Reigns would catch Rusev with the Drive-By before re-entering the ring, blasting Rusev with the Spear and tossing Rusev over the top rope to the outside, scoring his first elimination. It would not take long for the fans to be brought to their feet by the first huge surprise entrant of the night as the #3 entrant into the Royal Rumble Match was an internationally-praised independent performer who has been the talk of the wrestling world in recent weeks as none other than “The Phenomenal One” AJ Styles makes his arrival in WWE! In a surreal moment for the ages, AJ Styles would step into a WWE ring, coming face-to-face with Roman Reigns. Both Styles and Reigns would trade shots with Reigns ultimately taking Styles down with a Samoan Drop. The #4 entrant would then be Tyler Breeze as “Prince Pretty” quickly targets both Reigns and Styles, but AJ and the champion would briefly work together as, with Breeze on the shoulders of Styles, Roman would catch Breeze with an uppercut, sending Breeze over the top to the outside. With his Social Outcast cohorts by his side, the man who claims that he was never eliminated from last year’s Royal Rumble Match, Curtis Axel, enters the match at #5. The Social Outcasts would remain at ringside to try and lend a hand to Curtis Axel, but that would prove to be fruitless as AJ Styles and Roman Reigns would dispatch Heath Slater, Adam Rose, & Bo Dallas before AJ Styles eliminates Curtis Axel from the match, again leaving Styles and Reigns alone to square off in the ring. Business then picks up with the #6 entrant as Royal Rumble Match veteran and former six-time World Champion Chris Jericho enters the Rumble. After taking Roman down, Chris Jericho would set his sights on AJ Styles as the two veterans go hold-for-hold. One of the most dominant competitors in Royal Rumble history would enter at #7 as “The Big Red Machine” Kane enters the match. The veterans then kept on coming as “The Bizarre One” Goldust would enter the Royal Rumble Match at #8. “The Big Guy” would then enter the match as Ryback is the #9 entrant into the Royal Rumble Match. As the ring begins to fill up, the #10 entrant was a Royal Rumble highlight reel in recent years as WWE Tag Team Champion Kofi Kingston enters the fray with his New Day teammates Big E & Xavier Woods supporting Kofi from ringside. The #11 entrant would then make his way to the ring as Titus O’Neil enters the Rumble, managing to eliminate Goldust from the match. The always unpredictable and confused R-Truth would then enter the Royal Rumble Match at #12, but before entering the ring, R-Truth would grab a huge ladder out from under the ring. Apparently thinking the Royal Rumble Match was actually a Ladder Match for the championship, R-Truth would climb the ladder, but would find no title belt. Kane would then put an end to the madness by pulling Truth off of the ladder and eliminating Truth from the Rumble. Kane would then send Kofi Kingston over the top rope, but Big E would catch his teammate, prancing around the ring with Kofi on his shoulders! The first of The Wyatt Family members would then enter the Royal Rumble Match as Luke Harper walks to the ring as the #13 entrant. However, shortly after Harper’s entrance into the Rumble, chaos would ensue at ringside as WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon would appear, directing traffic as The League of Nations shows up, pulling Roman Reigns out of the ring under the bottom rope. The three-on-one beatdown would then see Reigns tossed into the barricade and into the steel steps before Rusev blasts the champion with a vicious kick. As The League of Nations continues their destruction of Roman Reigns, Chris Jericho would score his first elimination of the night, knocking Kofi Kingston off of the ring apron to the outside before Stardust would enter the Royal Rumble Match at #14. Meanwhile, on the outside, The League of Nations exposed all three announce tables and, at the instruction of Mr. McMahon, Rusev would run across two of the announce table before diving onto Roman Reigns on the third, sending the champion crashing through the table to the floor! Satisfied with their destruction of Roman Reigns, Mr. McMahon and The League of Nations would walk to the back as medical personnel tend to Reigns. The largest competitor in the Royal Rumble Match would then enter at #15 as “The World’s Largest Athlete” Big Show makes his way to the ring. Big Show immediately begins to dominate as the giant tosses out Titus O’Neil and Ryback as, on the outside, Roman Reigns refuses to be placed on a stretcher, opting to try and walk to the back. As Roman Reigns is being tended to in the entrance way, “The Man That Gravity Forgot” would enter the Royal Rumble as Neville would enter the fray at #16. Another member of The Wyatt Family would then enter the Royal Rumble Match as the dominant Braun Strowman would enter his first Rumble. Strowman would quickly find himself face-to-face with a familiar foe in Kane, but in a stunning display of strength, Strowman would send Kane over the top rope with ease, eliminating “The Big Red Machine”! Braun Strowman would then encounter the only Superstar larger than him in the ring as Strowman would trade blows with Big Show, but the mastodon was able to lock in his triangle choke on “The World’s Largest Athlete”, choking Big Show out before tipping the giant over the top rope to the outside! After failing to regain the Intercontinental Championship in an intense Last Man Standing Match against Dean Ambrose earlier in the night, Kevin Owens would limp his way to the ring as the #18 entrant. However, Owens would find himself revitalized upon seeing a familiar foe in AJ Styles as the two independent veterans tee off on each other. Neville would then insert himself in the fight, trying to surprise AJ Styles, but AJ would avoid elimination. AJ would then go for the Styles Clash on Neville, but Owens would kick AJ in the face before tossing Styles over the top rope to the outside, eliminating AJ much to the chagrin of the crowd. The #19 entrant would then make his way to the ring as Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose enters the Royal Rumble Match. Kevin Owens would then be faced with another familiar rival as Sami Zayn would make his surprise entry at #20. Owens would then try to eliminate Zayn, but Zayn would counter, eliminating Owens from the Royal Rumble Match! With two of his fellow Wyatt Family members already in the Royal Rumble Match, Erick Rowan would enter the Rumble at #21. The Wyatt Family would then begin their takeover of the Royal Rumble Match as a vicious clothesline from Luke Harper would eliminate Neville, followed by a super kick that would eliminate Stardust. After earning a spot in the Royal Rumble Match on the Kickoff show earlier in the night, “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry would enter the Rumble at #22. The unparalleled strength of Braun Strowman would again be on display as Strowman would single-handedly slam Mark Henry before all three Wyatt Family members work together to eliminate Mark Henry. The Wyatt Family then set their sights on Sami Zayn, beating Zayn down before Strowman tosses Zayn out of the Rumble. The Wyatt Family then target Chris Jericho and Dean Ambrose, but just when it looked like The Wyatt Family might be unstoppable in the Royal Rumble Match, all that would change with the #23 entrant as “The Beast” Brock Lesnar marches to the ring. “The Beast” would set his sights on The Wyatt Family as Brock Lesnar would take down the three Wyatt Family members before eliminating Erick Rowan! Having taken over the Rumble in an instant, Lesnar would collide with Braun Strowman with Lesnar being able to take the mastodon down. With Brock Lesnar the only man standing in the ring, Jack Swagger would enter the Royal Rumble at #24. However, as soon as “The Real American” enters the ring, he is caught by Brock Lesnar, who delivers an F-5 to Swagger before tossing Swagger out of the Rumble. As Lesnar continues to methodically pick apart everyone in the ring, The Miz enters the Royal Rumble Match at #25. However, instead of entering the ring, The Miz would walk around to ringside, opting to put on a headset and provide some guest commentary. Lesnar then targets Luke Harper, delivering a suplex to Harper before eliminating The Wyatt Family from the Rumble. The #26 entrant into the Royal Rumble Match was a Superstar who lost the United States Title to Kalisto earlier in the night as League of Nations member Alberto Del Rio enters the match. After chipping away at the gargantuan for much of his time in the match, Brock Lesnar would effectively remove The Wyatt Family as a threat in the Royal Rumble Match by eliminating Braun Strowman! With all of his backup eliminated from the Royal Rumble Match, the leader of The Wyatt Family would make his way to the ring as Bray Wyatt enters the Rumble at #27. However, with Brock Lesnar staring him down, Bray would pause in the entrance as Luke Harper, Erick Rowan, & Braun Strowman re-enter the ring, followed by Bray Wyatt, as The Wyatt Family begins a four-on-one beatdown of “The Beast”. Lesnar was up for the challenge as Brock would send Harper, Rowan, & Strowman packing before setting his sights on Bray Wyatt, but just when Lesnar has Bray up for the F-5, his followers would jump back in the fray. Bray then hits Brock with the Sister Abigail before Wyatt instructs Harper, Rowan, & Strowman to eliminate “The Beast” with The Wyatt Family doing just that as the four-on-one odds prove too much for even Brock Lesnar. As a disappointed Brock Lesnar makes his way to the back, the #28 entrant makes his way to the ring as “The Show Off” Dolph Ziggler enters the Royal Rumble Match. Opting to pick this moment to enter the Royal Rumble Match, The Miz would finally enter the ring, hitting Dolph with the Skull Crushing Finale, but failing to eliminate Ziggler. With six competitors in the ring, the #29 entrant would be League of Nations member Sheamus. However, “The Celtic Warrior” would not make it to the ring before he is blindsided by the returning Roman Reigns as, after never officially being eliminated from the Royal Rumble Match, the WWE World Heavyweight Champion would re-enter the ring with a vengeance, immediately tossing The Miz to the outside. Reigns would then eliminate League of Nations member Alberto Del Rio before Dolph Ziggler would try to eliminate the champion. The champion then takes down Dolph Ziggler and Bray Wyatt, leaving Reigns as the only Superstar standing in the ring as the very last entrant comes out. Of all the competitors Roman Reigns expected to face in the Royal Rumble Match, there was one man who the champion seemingly forgot about and that man would enter the Rumble at #30 as WWE COO and thirteen-time former World Champion Triple H enters the fray with revenge on his mind. “The Game” would not take his eyes off of Roman Reigns as Triple H enters the ring, quickly putting Dolph Ziggler down with the Pedigree before resuming his face-off with the champion. Bray Wyatt then tries to blindside Roman Reigns, but Roman takes “The Eater of Worlds” down with the Spear before the confrontation turns into a brawl as Triple H and Roman Reigns trade shots. Sheamus then finally enters the ring with Ambrose trying to eliminate Triple H while Sheamus tries to eliminate Reigns with neither man succeeding. Sheamus then catches Ambrose with the Brogue Kick before Bray slams Sheamus and Jericho hits the Lionsault on Bray. Dolph then hits Jericho with the Zig Zag before “The Show Off” catches Triple H with a super kick, nearly eliminating “The Game”. Dolph then goes for a second super kick, but Triple H moves out of the way and Dolph gets hung up in the ropes, narrowly staying in the match. Ziggler then hits the Famouser on Triple H in the ring, but when Dolph tries to eliminate Triple H, the veteran counters and Dolph is sent over the top rope to the outside. Triple H would then come face-to-face with Bray Wyatt and, while “The Cerebral Assassin” would try to strike a deal, Bray wanted no part of it as Wyatt tees off on Triple H, avoiding the Pedigree, but just as Bray was about to hit the COO with Sister Abigail, Sheamus intervenes with the Brogue Kick to Wyatt. Sheamus and Triple H then work together to eliminate Bray Wyatt, leaving Triple H, Sheamus, Chris Jericho, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns in the Royal Rumble Match. Roman Reigns then tries, but fails, to eliminate both Triple H and Sheamus before Chris Jericho takes Reigns down. Dean Ambrose then gets involved, trying to eliminate Chris Jericho before Sheamus tries to eliminate Ambrose. Ambrose would get the better of Sheamus before Jericho dives off of the top rope to take down the Intercontinental Champion. Jericho then turns right around into Triple H, countering out of the Pedigree before hitting the Codebreaker on his former rival. However, Dean Ambrose would then come from behind, tossing Jericho over the top rope to eliminate “Y2J” from the Rumble. It then comes down to the final four Superstars as Triple H, Sheamus, Dean Ambrose, & Roman Reigns remain. Ambrose would try his hand at eliminating Sheamus, but Sheamus would blast Ambrose with the Brogue Kick. Sheamus would then go for a second Brogue Kick, but Ambrose would move out of the way and “The Celtic Warrior” would find himself on the ring apron. This is when Reigns would spot the opening, hitting Sheamus with the Superman Punch to eliminate Sheamus. However, as soon as Reigns eliminates Sheamus, Triple H is quick to capitalize, blindsiding Roman and sending Reigns over the top rope to the outside, eliminating Reigns, guaranteeing that either Triple H or Dean Ambrose would be the new champion! As the crowd erupts in overwhelming approval of Roman Reigns getting eliminated, it all comes down to Triple H and Dean Ambrose in the Royal Rumble Match. “The Game” and the Intercontinental Champion would trade blows with both men hitting big moves. Ambrose would then avoid the Pedigree before trying to eliminate Triple H, but Triple H would hang on. “The Lunatic Fringe” would then charge at Triple H, nearly eliminating Triple H again, but when Ambrose tries a third time, “The Game” catches Ambrose with a knee to the face. Triple H then lifts Ambrose up and over the top rope to the floor, eliminating the Intercontinental Champion and winning the 2016 Royal Rumble Match to become the brand new WWE World Heavyweight Champion, winning his fourteenth World Title! In an unreal moment, Triple H holds the WWE World Heavyweight Title belt high as his wife, Stephanie, and his father-in-law Mr. McMahon congratulate the new champion. Triple H then celebrates an unprecedented championship victory as pyro erupts in the arena with The Authority once again proving that, whether anyone likes it or not, The Authority always wins. What did you think of the 2016 Royal Rumble? Post your comments in the box below.
