WWE Royal Rumble winners who didn't officially declare their entry 

#2 Triple H (WWE Royal Rumble 2016)

Remember the Rumble #RoyalRumble #4daysawayTriple H won the 2016 Royal Rumble Match pic.twitter.com/hX2cX8ZU1c

— Lucio Rodrigues (@LuRodriguesP1) January 26, 2017

While many proclaim this to be WWE's desperate attempt to get Roman Reigns cheered, Triple H's appearance at Royal Rumble 2016 was nonetheless quite shocking and received warmly by the fans.

Forced to defend his WWE Championship in the Royal Rumble match, Reigns was the first entry and lasted for nearly an hour, before being eliminated by Triple H.

The Game would win after spending just 9 minutes in the match, last eliminating Dean Ambrose. The main reason why HHH was so wildly cheered was that the fans didn't want the current WWE Champion to succeed. In total, Triple H accumulated four eliminations in the match.

Becoming the WWE Champion for the 14th time in his career, Triple H would go on to face Roman Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania 32. The match was negatively received by fans and critics alike, as it was apparent the whole rivalry was a way to get Reigns over as a fighting, babyface champion.