Triple H wins 2016 Royal Rumble, WWE championship

Ryan Songalia

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Triple H wins 2016 Royal Rumble, WWE championship
Triple H enters at number 30, eliminates Roman Reigns and then Dean Ambrose to win the WWE World Heavyweight championship

MANILA, Philippines – The crowd had booed incumbent WWE World Heavyweight champion Roman Reigns from the moment he walked through the crowd as the number one entrant at the 2016 Royal Rumble.

They got what they wanted when Triple H eliminated Reigns as the third-to-last man remaining. What they settled for was Triple H standing tall after eliminating Dean Ambrose to win the 30-man Royal Rumble to win the title.


Triple H entered at number 30 and repeated his 2002 Rumble victory as The Authority stands tallest at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida on Sunday, June 24 (Monday Manila time).

Triple H, who is the real life husband of WWE chairman Vince McMahon’s daughter Stephanie McMahon, is now a 14-time champion and an almost certain lock to headline WrestleMania 33 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on April 3. 

The nature of Roman Reigns’ elimination – he left the match for much of it after being attacked by the League of Nations at Vince’s order – would seem to set up a Triple H vs Roman Reigns main event at Mania.

Reigns, whose heat with WWE fans at the Rumble event lingered on from his unpopular Rumble win in 2015, lasted nearly the entirety of the match after having been designated the opening spot – alongside League of Nations’ strongman Rusev – in an attempt to “stack the odds” for the enigmatic “face of the company” to-be.

The 2016 Rumble was the first one since 1992 in which the WWE championship would be on the line. Triple H becomes just the third participant to win as the last entrant, after The Undertaker and John Cena managed that feat in 2007 and 2008, respectively.

There were a few surprises along the way, notably the debut of newly acquired indy star AJ Styles at number 3. 

WWE Royal Rumble: AJ Styles enters the Royal Rumble Match

Entrant No. 3 in the #RoyalRumble Match is simply PHENOMENAL! AJ Styles has arrived in WWE! Watch WWE Royal Rumble LIVE NOW on WWE Network: WWENetwork.com

Posted by WWE on Sunday, January 24, 2016

There were also a few laughs, like when R-Truth entered at number 12, pulled a ladder from under the ring, and proceeded to try and retrieve an imaginary briefcase, believing he was in the Money in the Bank match. There was also Kofi Kingston continuing his yearly tradition of defying elimination, landing on the shoulders of his New Day teammate Big E, being marched around the ring pretending to be a unicorn and drinking a fan’s soda.

The Final Four was comprised of Triple H, Ambrose, Reigns and Sheamus.

An Ambrose win would’ve earned him a rare position in WWE history as he would’ve joined The Ultimate Warrior as only the second man to hold both the WWE (then WWF) and Intercontinental titles simultaneously.

Ambrose kicked off the pay-per-view portion of the show with a victory over Kevin Owens in a Last Man Standing match, setting the tempo for an overall satisfactory event.

Charlotte retained the Divas Championship with distraction help from her father Ric Flair, pinning Becky Lynch after hitting a spear.

The New Day retained their tag team titles with the Usos while Kalisto became a two-time United States champion after pinning Alberto Del Rio. – Rappler.com

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