Roman Reigns to Defend World Championship in WWE Royal Rumble 2016 Match

Get the DeLorean ready for 1992. The WWE world heavyweight championship will be decided in the Royal Rumble match.

Roman Reigns defeated Sheamus on Monday Night Raw to retain the championship, despite Vince McMahon being the special guest referee. After the match, the chairman of the board announced Reigns would be one of the 30 participants in the Royal Rumble, and the title would be on the line.

WWE tweeted out the news once Raw went off the air:

The only other time the WWE championship was decided in the Royal Rumble match was back in 1992. The championship was vacated by then-WWF president Jack Tunney in 1991 after back-to-back title controversial finishes between Hulk Hogan and Undertaker.

Ric Flair went on to win the championship after eliminating Sid Justice.

This time, Reigns will defend the title in the prestigious match. There's a lot to like with this scenario. First, it adds unpredictability to who else will enter the Rumble. Chris Jericho announced on Raw that he'll be one of the 30 participants, but now there's much to wonder as to who else will enter. Someone like Brock Lesnar, for example, would surely have to be in the conversation.

However, this also puts an interesting twist on the Road to WrestleMania picture. The winner of the Royal Rumble usually gets a title opportunity at WrestleMania. But since this is to determine the champion, the Road to Dallas may go through Fastlane.

This is going to be an interesting next couple of months in the WWE.