10 Terrible WWE Royal Rumbles With One INCREDIBLE Moment

2. AJ Styles Arrives (2016)

5 AJ Styles Royal Rumble Phenomenal Forearm
WWE.com

WWE was undergoing something of a philosophical shift in 2015, and though none of it would really last into the next decade, the crystallisation of the changing landscape appeared to occur on the first supercard of 2016.

In a match steering into the relentless abuse Roman Reigns constantly received as WWE Champion, 'The Big Dog' was forced to enter first and take out everybody in his path. After despatching Rusev in a continuation of 2015's closing moments, the company unveiled a blockbuster signing for the first massive pop of the year.

Entering at #3 to maximise his WWE debut as the massive moment it was and give the audience just a brief taste of what AJ Styles Vs Roman Reigns might one day look like as a pay-per-view main event, the inspired presentation of the unannounced, hugely well known and 'Phenomenal' newcomer might be one of the best new signing arrivals ever.

Avoiding the NXT system entirely, the familiar face with the same name, identical look and all the prestige he'd built elsewhere came in at the very top and has hung around there ever since. This WWE felt like a one that had finally caught up to how to do all this again.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett