Triple H Wins Royal Rumble 2016

Triple H won his second Royal Rumble last night. In the process, he won his 14th World Championship. It came down to him and Dean Ambrose, who had retained his Intercontinental Championship earlier in the night. Since Triple H was one of the likely candidates to win this match, this outcome is not shocking, even though he was not announced for the match prior to Sunday. People just saw it coming.

The feud they will be going with for Wrestlemania is obvious. Triple H and Roman Reigns have had issues for a while now. That branched into Vince McMahon specifically targeting Roman Reigns. His son-in-law is the man that takes the title off him. You can talk about the WWE being predictable, but would you want an obvious feud to sit right there and for them not to do it? The only other feud that was there for Roman Reigns was Brock Lesnar, and that one is not going to happen. Any other option would likely not have had the seeds already planted like Triple H vs. Roman Reigns.

I have seen some mixed reactions from fans about Triple H winning. It's 2016 and this guy is WWE Champion again? On the other side of that, there are fans glad that it was anyone but Roman Reigns. The WWE is going to use other top stars to work with Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania as they continue his centerpiece push. You are going to see him work with the likes of Triple H, John Cena, and Brock Lesnar. Cena is injured. Reigns worked with Lesnar last year and will likely do it again down the line. Triple H is the guy this year. If you dislike Triple H winning the title, just realize that it is mainly for the benefit of Roman Reigns in the end. Not much of a comfort for some fans.

How about Roman Reigns in the Royal Rumble? Something I brought up when previewing the Royal Rumble match last week was how the WWE might handle Roman Reigns during this long match. He wasn't the last guy tossed out of the ring, but he was just as close to being the last guy. How did he handle being in the match that long? Well, he didn't. They ran an injury angle to take him out for much of the match and had him return later. It is not surprising that they would take him out for a while.

I do not think they handled the situation right. I said that I might go the route of Reigns doing something like chasing after Vince to the back. It would still serve the same purpose, but it would be handled differently. This guy won over his haters last month by being violent and intense and attacking authority figures fans disliked. He's not the guy that overcomes odds. Reigns obviously has not solidified an A+ connection with the fans. And a trick like what the WWE pulled last night will not help. Casual fans might buy that Roman Reigns is a fighter for being taken out of the match and refusing to quit. But smarks are going to read it as a lame attempt to keep Roman Reigns fresh because he can't handle being out there for the entire match. I am not saying my way of doing it would have won fans over, but it would at least fit what first got him cheered by those that were against him. Luckily, he didn't actually win. If he had, this Royal Rumble might have been another mess, despite a certain someone making his WWE debut last night.