WWE Royal Rumble 2016: Date, Start Time, Matches, Live Stream, PPV Info

Roman Reigns puts it all on the line as he prepares to stand face-to-face with the biggest names in WWE at this Sunday's Royal Rumble pay-per-view.

The WWE World Heavyweight Championship has the somewhat ominous task of not only entering the Royal Rumble match at No. 1, but knowing he'll have to survive to the end to keep hold of his title.

It's a show that often provides surprises and twists all over the card, but most notably in the Rumble match itself.

Will WWE pull off a huge swerve and have Reigns drop the title to someone we don't expect? Will we see some surprise entrants, perhaps from NXT?

There is intrigue and interest lower down on the card, too, as all the midcard championships are defended along with Charlotte's Divas Championship.

It is sure to be an explosive night as WWE kicks off its annual road to WrestleMania.

Live Stream, PPV Info

The pay-per-view will be preceded by the traditional pre-show, which will be anchored by Renee Young. Expect to see Corey Graves, Booker T and Byron Saxton on hand as they predict what is in store for the night's action.

It kicks off at 7 p.m. ET, and it will likely try to entice any fans still sitting on the fence about watching the Rumble to tune in.

It will be streamed on the WWE Network as well as the WWE app, WWE.com Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and various other platforms.

The pay-per-view will be on the WWE Network, too (with a subscription necessary). Apple TV, Xbox and PlayStation, and Amazon Fire TV are amongst the gadgets with which you can get the Network.

If you're unsure which devices you can get WWE Network on, there's a handy help page that provides the answers.

Match Card

• Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch (Divas Championship)
• Alberto Del Rio vs. Kalisto (United States Championship)
• Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens (Last Man Standing Match, Intercontinental Championship)
• The New Day vs. The Usos (Tag Team Championship)
• 30-man Royal Rumble match (WWE World Heavyweight Championship)

Becky Lynch Aims to Settle the Score

It's been somewhat of a surprise to see Becky Lynch charge to the head of the queue and challenge Charlotte for the Divas Championship.

However, her former best friend has become a compelling heel, and Lynch is equally an exciting and intriguing challenger in the opposing corner.

Their rivalry is built on their former friendship, which is a smart route for WWE to go down. The emphasis from the company in the Divas division lately has been on splits in the camps we saw erected at the start of this storyline, and it's right to continue to exploit that here.

Will Lynch avenge a number of controversial losses to Charlotte, or will Ric Flair once again play an important role in his daughter escaping Royal Rumble with the title still around her waist?

It promises to be an intriguing battle.

More Hot Potato with the U.S. Title?

Kalisto's reign with the United States Championship lasted little over a few days, which still seems like a strange decision.

With Alberto Del Rio entrenched in the League of Nations and going nowhere fast, pinning the belt on an exciting talent like Kalisto would have been a neat way of giving the title a shot in the arm.

Kalisto is exciting, entertaining and certainly seems ready for a bit of a push. Thankfully, this Sunday gives him the opportunity to take the belt from Del Rio again and break out as a champion in his own right.

It remains to be seen whether Del Rio will have some of his compatriots from the League of Nations in his corner, but Kalisto will give it a real go regardless of a numerical disadvantage.

Ambrose and Owens Battle to a Finish

Although the traditional Royal Rumble match is an exciting prospect for WWE fans, you can't overlook Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens as a potential match of the night.

At any other pay-per-view, this would have been guaranteed to steal the show, but with the Rumble match hogging most of the spotlight, Ambrose and Owens fade into the background a little here.

No matter, though, as anyone who is watching with interest will see two great wrestlers push each other to the very limit. So often in WWE these days, the storylines are based on what is said rather than what is done, but Ambrose and Owens defy that logic in this most personal of feuds.

It will be brutal, physical and compelling from start to finish. Will Owens regain the title he dropped to Ambrose, or will Dean continue along as champion, potentially leaving the door open for Owens to claim a shock victory in the Rumble and become WWE World Heavyweight Champion?

The End for the New Day?

Is the party almost over for The New Day?

The ceremonial funeral for Xavier Woods' trombone on Raw could be a significant marker of things to come this Sunday, as you feel New Day's reign as tag champions could be about to draw to a close, too.

The Usos have been breathing down their necks for quite some time now, and it seems like a matter of when, rather than if, the brothers become tag champs again.

The New Day are still providing compelling and exciting entertainment on the microphone, as they are in the ring.

But you wonder if freshening up is needed for the tag division. It could give things a real shot in the arm for WrestleMania.

History to Be Made 

Either Roman Reigns will secure another piece of history this weekend or another man will step out of his shadow and become the top dog in WWE.

For only the second time in history, the winner of the Royal Rumble match will leave that bout with the company's biggest championship in his possession, and for Reigns, the odds are stacked against him.

He will have to survive the entire field to retain, and it is a field that looks menacing, to say the least.

He will face challenges from the likes of Bray Wyatt, Brock Lesnar and perhaps even Triple H, but it's often the surprises the Rumble provides that get fans excited the most.

For example, will we see someone like Finn Balor step out as one of the 30 entrants in the match? Will we get a surprise return from injury, maybe even Daniel Bryan, at some point?

It's a match that has disappointed with the ending in the past couple of years. 2016 should be markedly different.