A Phenomenal Rumble

I don't like saying the cliche best 'something' ever when I talk about wrestling events because a lot of what I feel is based on the circumstances at that time. There are many Royal Rumbles that I enjoyed at first but then when I re-watch them later, they don't have the same effect. I'm going to say this though; this was my favorite Royal Rumble ever. The PPV as a whole was great with all the title matches delivering. The table spot in the Last Man Standing was dangerous and a nice finish to their feud. New Day were able to retain thanks to underhanded tactics, nothing new there. As New Day continues to destroy the tag division, who's really left for them to face now? Kalisto was able to capture the US Title for the 2nd time, which means we'll hopefully get a new feud out of him now. Kalisto VS Neville, I'm just saying... Becky and Charlotte had a great match but it was what happened afterwards that had me buzzing. Sasha Banks made her return to TV and made her intention clear; she wants the Divas Title. FINALLY! Sasha has let to get a shot at the title and it looks like WWE will indeed be doing Charlotte/Banks down the road. I hope they let this build for the next 10 weeks. Let Sasha disband from Team Bad leading up to Fastlane then let the two Divas clash at Wrestlemania. It's the smart thing to do and exactly what the Divas division needs. 

The Royal Rumble was filled with a few surprises. Reigns and Rusev started off the match, making this one of the only times where the last two from the previous year's Royal Rumble were the first two in this year's Rumble. The last time was HBK and Undetaker in 2008. Reigns quickly eliminated Rusev and it was time for #3 to come out. 

IT'S AJ STYLES!!!! STYLES IS OFFICIALLY IN WWE! The greatest professional wrestler to NEVER sign with World Wrestling Entertainment finally made his much anticipated and expected arrival on Sunday. The crowd's reaction was deafening. I don't think I heard a pop like that in years. It was truly a great moment for AJ and for wrestling fans as Styles adds a whole new dimension to WWE's programming. Welcome to WWE Styles! Styles would last 28 minutes before being eliminated by Kevin Owens. Is that a sign of things to come? Will Styles and Owens clash at a PPV near you? Maybe, maybe not as Sami Zayn made a surprise appearance in the Rumble match and eliminated Owens. Those two obviously have unfinished business from their NXT days so a match between the two should be coming, definitely after that little meeting. Besides those two, there weren't really any other surprise entrants this year, mainly because the title was on the line and I guess WWE didn't see the point of old timers coming out trying to be champion again. It was nice to see WWE use the guys they had on their roster though, despite Wade Barrett not being in the match. Reigns would last until #30 came out and he was shocked to see who came out as Triple H made his return

The final four came down to Roman Reigns (#1), Dean Ambrose (#19), Sheamus (#29) and Triple H (#30). All guys had numbers with two victors from them so it's anyone's game odds wise. Sheamus was eliminated first by Reigns, thanks to a Superman Punch but as Reigns did that, Triple H came from behind and eliminated the reigning champion, guaranteeing that either Triple H or Dean Ambrose would be crowned champion. Ambrose already competed earlier in the night and it definitely effected him as Triple H was able to dump him over and become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion again. Triple H is now a 14 time World Champion. I never thought I'd see the day my favorite wrestler would win the title again but it happened. Triple H will now go on to headline Wrestlemania 32!

WWE did a great job in setting up the Road to Wrestlemania, like they do every year. The obvious main event of Wrestlemania is Roman Reigns VS Triple H, which is definitely the best thing they could do with all of their injuries and a match 2 years in the making. Other potential matches set up were Bray Wyatt VS Brock Lesnar, Dean Ambrose VS Chris Jericho and the earlier mentioned Owens/Styles or Zayn.. Lesnar eliminated Harper, Rowan and Strowman from the match, only to have those three guys eliminate him after being ordered to by Wyatt. This will be a showcase match for Lesnar, as he'll be able to throw around four guys all he wants with the crowd loving it. Wyatt is going to lose in the end and it's sad but hey, it's the business. Remember when Jericho joined Reigns and Ambrose to face The Wyatt Family at Night of Champions? Remember how they teased Ambrose and Jericho feuding but went nowhere with it? Well, Ambrose eliminated Jericho on Sunday, with Jericho lasting over 50 minutes into the match. I don't think he's going to just take that lightly. Jericho/Ambrose would be a great match with Jericho doing what he does best; push the young talent. Lastly, either Styles or Zayn would make for a good match with Owens at Mania. It doesn't really matter who. Add Sasha VS Charlotte and you already have another great Wrestlemania.

There's still the question if Undertaker will compete or not, what is The Rock doing and what the statuses are of some of the injured reserve list are but so far, WWE has set, at least if I booked it correctly, a Wrestlemania for the ages. It's now WWE's job to continue on doing the great job they did on Sunday night. 

Good to see Sasha on WWE TV again! 

AJ Styles is now a WWE Superstar! 

Congrats to Triple H on winning World Title #14.

Welcome to the Road to Wrestlemania!!!