WWE Royal Rumble 2015 PPV

What a difference a year makes. Last year's Royal Rumble was most memorable for WWE pushing Roman Reigns, a guy who the fans felt wasn't their guy (or whoever wasn't Daniel Bryan). The PPV's outcome was so poorly received that it angered wrestling fans, and it managed to draw negative attention on the product. This year's Royal Rumble was centered around Reigns again and the results were thankfully different, making the first WWE PPV of 2016 damn enjoyable. Also, AJ fucking Styles is in the WWE.

Here are the match results:

• Dean Ambrose defeated Kevin Owens and retained the IC title
• The New Day defeated The Usos and retained the Tag Team title
• Kalisto defeated Alberto Del Rio and won the US title
• Charlotte defeated Becky and retained the Divas title
• HHH eliminated Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose and won the WWE WH title

Ambrose and Owens kicked off the PPV with their Last Man Standing match, which went on for a solid 20 minutes. This was hands down the best match of the night and Owens and Ambrose did an awesome job in just brawling it out. There were great spots and close calls but in the end, Ambrose retained. This was the best result for both of them; Ambrose remains as a tough champ and Owens, who put up a good fight, is now free to move unto bigger feuds.

Charlotte and Becky's match was somewhat entertaining with Ric Flair shenanigans up until the ending. Sasha Banks (sans Team BAD) showed up and appeared to have formed some kind of alliance with Charlotte until she did the Bank Statement on her. While the focus was on Charlotte and Sasha (who now is gunning for the Divas title), the camera totally missed Becky, who was seen sobbing at the foot of the announcer's table. 

As for the Royal Rumble itself, it was actually well paced with some surprises:
 

• The biggest surprise was having AJ Styles making his WWE debut early at the Rumble at #3. This was absolutely mind-blowing, considering that he did a Bullet Club curtain call at a a ROH show just the night before. And he was PHENOMENAL. 
• Brock Lesnar and the Wyatt Family might have a feud developing.
• Another surprise was having Sami Zayn as an entrant. Zayn and Owens immediately started brawling, picking up where they left off 7 months ago after Zayn injured his shoulder. 
• And the biggest surprise came at the end, when HHH eliminated Reigns, leaving only he and Ambrose as the final two in the Rumble. The audience was 100% behind Ambrose, the true babyface underdog, against the Authority. 

The Rumble also had its share of disappointments, like not having Daniel Bryan or Randy Orton return and wasted spots with Mark Henry and Jack Swagger. The biggest disappointment of them all was Reigns himself, choosing to stay out of the ring after taking a brutal table spot from Rusev. Ambrose and Owens were practically limping their way to the ring and they stayed in until they were eliminated. Chris Jericho was in there for nearly 50 minutes straight. And then here's Reigns returning after 20 minutes to Superman Punch Sheamus. The only time Reigns got a pop was when HHH eliminated him.

I hope WWE took note of how the the audience reacted to Reigns. No matter how much they protected him, no matter how they make him to be the babyface underdog trying to overcome the odds, it's just not working for him. The problem with Reigns is that they're quickly booking him to be a legendary superstar like Steve Austin or HBK, and not allowing him to fully develop his character. Rollins and Ambrose went off to become different characters while Reigns is still the same SHIELD guy over 3 years after their debut. Something has to change with Reigns. The McMahons screwed him over and HHH took his title. Reigns should be absolutely furious on RAW.