10 Fascinating WWE Royal Rumble 2016 Facts

4. There Were Only Six First-Timers, But What A Six

The 2016 Royal Rumble match featured only a handful of part-timers and NXT performers, leaving the bulk of the match for the wrestlers that carry the shows on a regular basis. Surprises can be fun, but I like my Rumbles better with an established, modern core group. But that's just me.

Of the 30 participants, six of them were making their Rumble debuts, and it was quite a group. AJ Styles was the most notable, fresh from New Japan, and entering number three to rock-God-like adulation. His debut was clearly a bigger story than Triple H winning the belt.

The rest of the first-timers included Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn (as an NXT guest), Neville, Tyler Breeze, and a not-yet-awesome Braun Strowman. As far as Rumble rookies go, that's a helluva field. All of them would bear some relevance throughout 2017, even if Neville did quit the company, and Breeze was mostly used as comic fodder.