Royal Rumble 2016

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 182 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: March 21 2016

(To read a full event review of WWE Royal Rumble 2016, click here.)

The 29th annual Royal Rumble's greatest achievement was arguably that the Rumble match itself was better and more well-received than the previous two Rumbles, the backlash to which bordered on riot-level after the omission of Daniel Bryan in 2014 and his early elimination in 2015, along with wins for Batista and Roman Reigns. That aside, there's still enough entertainment on offer that you should enjoy the Rumble '16 DVD.

After a short segment that shows The McMahons arriving at the arena (as brief as it is, Vince McMahon is nevertheless on comedy form here), the Rumble PPV kicks off with a very good Dean Ambrose-Kevin Owens Last Man Standing match, one of Ambrose's best WWE battles to date. Following that, The New Day vs. The Usos is decent, although the fan reaction to the then-heel New Day borders on ridiculously positive, given that John Cena or Roman Reigns (more on him later) would be booed out of the building if they behaved in the same fashion.

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WWE Royal Rumble 2016

Image Source: Wrestlezone

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Genre: Wrestling
Produced By: WWE
Format: Pay-Per-View
Date: January 24 2016
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida, USA
Attendance: 15,998

The 29th annual Royal Rumble event marked a first for the format. Instead of the match deciding who faces the WWE World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania, the title would actually be defended in the match by champion Roman Reigns (the 1992 Rumble was also for the same prize, but the title was vacant as opposed to being defended by, say Hulk Hogan). One vs. All, WWE called it, as the Rumble match was based on whether Roman could successfully defend his crown against 29 opponents. And with him entering as #1, he would have to battle through the entire field to retain the championship. Add to that some intriguing under-card matches, and whispers about certain wrestlers potentially appearing/debuting, and you have a Pay-Per-View that was eagerly anticipated by fans.

The Kick-Off Show was notable for the panel appearance of Jerry Lawler, who appears to have been downgraded from commentating on PPV events after doing so for over 20 years, save for his nine-month absence from WWE in 2001. The King isn't as good as he used to be at announcing, but he is still more entertaining than Byron Saxton or JBL, and his recent heel turn has re-energised his commentary, so it was a bit sad to see what is actually the end of an era; the legendary Jim Ross-Jerry Lawler announce team has now completely disappeared from Pay-Per-View.

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