Roman Reigns began his arduous quest to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by quickly ousting Rusev.

Soon, Chris Jericho, AJ Styles and Reigns all battled. Kane and Ryback entered, further crowding the ring. Titus O'Neil entered and proceeded to go on a short rampage. 

Vince McMahon ordered The League of Nations to pull Reigns out of the match and throttle him at ringside. Medical officials led Reigns to the back. 

Braun Strowman made an impact right away. He eliminated Kane for his first act. He followed up by tossing out Big Show.

Kevin Owens continued his rivalry with Dean Ambrose in the Rumble. When Sami Zayn then entered the fray, Owens scrapped with him, as well. 

Erick Rowan's arrival meant there were three Wyatt Family members in the match at the same time. The posse then cleaned house, eliminating Stardust, Neville and others. Brock Lesnar ended that run. 

The Beast Incarnate was his own one-man wrecking crew. He eliminated Jack Swagger, Erick Rowan and Luke Harper.

Despite being eliminated, Rowan, Harper and Strowman aided Bray Wyatt in beating down Lesnar. They ganged up on the powerhouse to end his chances at victory.

Reigns returned. Triple H entered as No. 30. Soon Ambrose and Reigns took on Sheamus and The Game as the final four men standing.

Triple H eliminated Reigns, leaving himself and The Lunatic Fringe to battle it out. Ambrose fought hard, but eventually fell to the COO.

Triple H wins the Royal Rumble and the WWE world title.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

Styles debuts, entering at No. 3.

R-Truth slides a ladder in the ring. He climbs it as he thought this was a Money in the Bank match.

Kingston lands on Big E's stories to avoid elimination.

Rusev splashes Reigns through an announce table.

Zayn is a surprise entrant at No. 20.

The Miz avoided getting in the ring by sitting on commentary instead of fighting.

Wyatt and Triple H share an intense faceoff.

The Battle Royal featured intrigue throughout. Drama and tension that was lacking last year came back in full force.

As predictable as it was, the play on the 1999 Rumble (when Steve Austin entered first and McMahon won) worked. Reigns gets to chase the championship leading up to WrestleMania. Triple H will no doubt make a great short-term champ to help put Reigns over.

The rest of the Rumble saw WWE make some smart moves.

Wyatt taking out Lesnar set up a feud between them. The timing of Styles' entrance avoided having fans wait around impatiently for him. And the bout featured a strong blend of comedy and intensity. 

WWE crafted a memorable, engaging Rumble that has the buzz for WrestleMania roaring at a high volume already.