10 Fascinating Facts About WWE In 2016
Triple H gave Cody Rhodes bad advice and Brock Lesnar nearly started a WWE riot in 2016.
Vince McMahon was bashing his head against a brick wall with Roman Reigns heading into 2016. It was obvious to anyone with two working eyes that fans didn't want another serving of John Cena-esque superhero babyface, but WWE wouldn't listen. So, WrestleMania 32 ended with falling confetti and sagging hopes McMahon would ever book a likeable version of Reigns.
It wasn't all bad. In-ring, WWE produced a number of scorchers, and the NXT brand was still a hot topic. Yeah, about that: Triple H was busy lighting up the third brand (at the expense of the first and second) in between telling other wrestlers they should probably knock out arrogant creative team members.
Wrestler confusion almost led to other brawls behind the curtain too. Meanwhile, a popular newcomer was wandering around asking anyone who'd lend an ear what he was supposed to be doing that week. WWE kept one of your favourites in the dark!
The women's division made history throughout the year, Brock Lesnar was called out for being "lazy", and injuries stopped someone unlikely from becoming the new face of Raw. Yep, 2016 was action-packed.
Here's your snapshot of fascinating facts.
10. Roman Reigns Broke A 26 Year Streak
It's easy to forget that the Royal Rumble had no WrestleMania ties until 1993, or that winners didn't actually get anything of tangible value until 1992. In 2016, WWE decided to stick then-champ Roman Reigns in the match as a punishment from The Authority. That broke a 26 year long streak for the show.
Roman became the first reigning WWE Champion to compete in the Rumble since Hulk Hogan in 1990. Ric Flair in '92 doesn’t count, because he wasn’t WWF Champ until winning the match. 2016 was also, however, the first time since Flair's year that the top title was up for grabs in the titular match.
Twenty six years. Wow.
WWE settled into a groove from '93 onwards of using the Rumble as a vehicle to set up who'd challenge for the top prize come 'Mania. 2016 bucked that longstanding trend by putting Reigns out there to defend the belt against 29 other wrestlers. He'd end up losing out to heel kingpin Triple H on the night.