Ranking every WWE Royal Rumble match in history

11. Royal Rumble 2016 – Triple H

Okay, I’ll go ahead and admit that I wasn’t a huge fan of how this match finished up but just about everything else leading up to the finish left me satisfied.

The 2016 Royal Rumble was only the second time in history that the WWE title was up for grabs, and while the circumstances were a little different than in 1992, it still gave the match a different feel to it and it was pretty awesome. Or should I say…PHENOMENAL? This match is going to be remembered for a lot of different things but the biggest thing to happen that night was the WWE debut of AJ Styles, who stunned the crowd in Orlando with his entrance at number three. It had been rumored that the former TNA, ROH and NJPW star would be entering the Rumble but it had to be seen to be believed and it was everything that it should have been. He came in early so there was no big expectations that he would win the whole thing and then he went on to have a really great showing before being eliminated by Kevin Owens following his “Welcome to WWE” scream. Great stuff.

And more great stuff followed as the Owens and Sami Zayn feud made its way to the main stage as the two friends battled for a few minutes. But this night was all about Roman Reigns and the “One vs. All” thing, which I really was okay with until he spent half the match in the back after being taken out by The League of Nations. Luckily, the other superstars in the match were able to keep the match entertaining until he returned to watch Triple H enter the match at number 30, which was a bit predictable. Reigns was always going to be battling Triple H at WrestleMania and this was a way to get there. It wasn’t the greatest booking in the world but it wasn’t as bad as everyone made it out to be. Triple H’s yelling after he threw Reigns out was pretty awesome and the finish between he and Ambrose was solid as well. This one had a lot of different things going on but it worked.