Wrestling Roundup: Royal Rumble 2020 Edition

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Evan Gomes
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The Wrestling Roundup is here to bring you all the news and rumors you need to know in one place.

Last night was the Royal Rumble, so with that we have an All Royal Rumble Wrestling Roundup edition:

Royal Rumble Results

In this Roundup we’ll breakdown the key happenings from the Royal Rumble. Overall it was an incredible show with quality throughout, even if there were some blips. First, the full match results:

  • Sheamus def. Shorty G
  • Andrade (c) def. Humberto Carrillo to retain the United States Championship
  • Roman Reigns def. King Corbin in a Falls Count Anywhere match
  • Charlotte Flair wins the Women’s Royal Rumble
  • Bayley (c) def. Lacey Evans to retain the SmackDown Women’s Championship
  • Bray Wyatt (c) def. Daniel Bryan in a Strap match to retain the Universal Championship
  • Becky Lynch (c) def. Asuka to retain the Raw Women’s Championship
  • Drew McIntyre wins the Men’s Royal Rumble

Men’s Rumble Breakdown

The first half of the Men’s Rumble was dominated by Brock Lesnar. After entering at number one, Lesnar took everyone out who crossed his path. He racked up a record-tying 13 eliminations, including stars like Kofi Kingston, Big E, Rey Mysterio, Keith Lee, Braun Strowman, John Morrison, and a returning MVP. It was hard to get behind seeing Lesnar look so dominant. WWE needed to have someone save us from Lesnar’s reign of terror. That person was Drew McIntyre, with a dick-kicking assist from Ricochet.

One of the biggest returns in Royal Rumble history was Sunday night. The Rated R Superstar, Edge, made his return to the ring after nine years. Minute Maid Park was electric for his return.

Edge looked great, and lasted to the final three. There was a mini-Rated RKO reunion, which ended when Edge tossed out Randy Orton. It looks like we have a lot of Edge to look forward to, as WrestleVotes is reporting that Edge signed a new three-year deal with the company.

The final three were Edge, Roman Reigns, and Drew McIntyre. In the end, WWE capitalized on McIntyre eliminating Lesnar earlier by giving him the Royal Rumble win.

McIntyre has become an established main eventer with one Royal Rumble performance. He can legitimately be the one to end Brock Lesnar’s WWE Championship reign at Wrestlemania 36.

Seth Rollins got the #30 spot, and he and his cronies took out Samoa Joe, Aleister Black, and Kevin Owens. It looks like their issues will continue going forward.

Women’s Rumble Breakdown

The two MVPs of the Women’s Royal Rumble were numbers one and two, Alexa Bliss and Bianca Belair. Belair especially looked great through the rumble, setting a new record with eight eliminations. She was eventually eliminated by Charlotte, but was a dominating force for over half an hour. Bliss held her own as well, eliminating three before falling to Belair. The future is bright for Belair.

Otis is true love. He saved Mandy, and none of our partners can measure up.

Kofi Kingston never got his “saving himself from elimination spot”, but a returning Naomi did in the women’s match. She leapt to the barricade, and then used the top of the announce table to make a bridge to the ring. Great ingenuity, and also great to see Naomi back and crushing it.

Belair’s record wasn’t safe for long. Shayna Baszler came in at #30 and also eliminated eight people. She was a dominating force, and was one of the final two. A popular pick before the show, it would still make sense to find a spot for Baszler on the Wrestlemania card.

Santina Marella was in this match. Here’s a list of women who weren’t: Peyton Royce, Billie Kaye, Sasha Banks, Kay Lee Ray, Deonna Purrazzo, Piper Niven. Instead we got Sanita Marella.

In the end, it was Charlotte Flair who eliminated Baszler to go to Wrestlemania. It looks like Charlotte-Becky Lynch is in the cards for a second straight Wrestlemania, as WWE goes to the old reliable for their Show of Shows.

Rest of Royal Rumble Card Breakdown

While it wasn’t a traditional Strap Match, Fiend and Bryan put on an excellent show for the Universal Championship. Who Fiend targets next will be interesting to see, since it seems set that McIntyre will go after Lesnar. Roman Reigns seems to be the best bet, and they could have a solid Wrestlemania bout.

Becky Lynch has collected her last debt. She finally was able to take out Asuka and avenge her loss at the 2019 Royal Rumble. With Asuka out of the way, it appears Lynch is on a collision course with Charlotte once again. Will Ronda Rousey also make an appearance?

Lacey Evans and Bayley had one of the more disappointing matches on the card. Evans seems to struggle under the bright lights, which is unfortunate for someone with such a captivating character.

Matt Riddle & Brock Lesnar Have Verbal Altercation At Rumble

According to ProWrestlingSheet, Lesnar and Riddle had a “tense verbal altercation” backstage at the Royal Rumble. Things never got physical, with a source saying Lesnar wanted Riddle “to know the reality of the situation between them.” This isn’t the first time Riddle has had a backstage interaction with a legend of the business. At Summerslam, Riddle had a tense backstage altercation with Goldberg.

Tom Phillips Replaces Vic Joseph

On the Raw side of the broadcast booth, Tom Phillips was calling the action alongside Jerry Lawler. Conspicuous by his absence was Vic Joseph. According to the WrestleVotes Twitter account, Phillips will be replacing Joseph going forward. No reasoning was given by the account.

One for the Road:

Mighty Molly made her return!

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