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Welcome to a very exciting edition of WWE Royal Rumble 2020 Preview! We're thrilled that the road to WrestleMania begins and it all starts with the Royal Rumble. The show has eight matches announced (as of this writing) on the card, with the 2-hour Kickoff show festivities having nothing announced.
WrestleMania may be the biggest show of the year, but there's no denying that the Royal Rumble match is the most exciting one in all of WWE. The anticipation, the countdown, the entrances, the surprise returns, debuts and more make it the perfect way to start the first PPV of the year and 2020 will see us start the road to WrestleMania 36.
We have two Royal Rumble matches, four title matches, two non-title matches with grudge feuds set to culminate. Let's get right into it. Here's what to look forward to at the Royal Rumble.
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#8. The Fiend (c) vs Daniel Bryan - Strap match for the Universal Championship
"The Fiend" Bray Wyatt and Daniel Bryan have been going at it for a few months now. Bray Wyatt has once again taken Daniel Bryan down a dark road - one that saw his appearance change for the first time in over 7 years.
However, this is about far more than just appearance changes. It's the mental warfare and the pain that The Fiend plans to inflict. This will be a "strap match", which states that both men will have one wrist of theirs connected via a leather strap.
The Fiend is expected to win this contest and end their rivalry, which will bring out another WWE legend - Kane. We last saw The Big Red Monster play possum to allow Bryan to attack The Fiend over a week ago. We anticipate Kane confronting The Fiend and becoming his next opponent.
#7. Andrade (with Zelina Vega) (c) vs Humberto Carrillo - United States Championship
Andrade seemingly ended his rivalry with Rey Mysterio on RAW after he defeated him in a ladder match. The WWE legend was close to winning it, but Andrade's manager/business associate Zelina Vega stood on top of the ladder and prevented him from getting the ring.
Once again, it was the young Mexican who got one over Mysterio. As usual, a post-match attack ensued, but he was stopped by a returning Humberto Carrillo, who attacked Andrade and saved Mysterio.
The stage is now set for a big United States title match and we anticipate Carrillo to get his first title by beating Andrade at the PPV.
#6. Bayley (c) vs Lacey Evans - SmackDown Women's Championship
One of the lesser-hyped matches of the night will feature Bayley defending her SmackDown Women's Championship against Lacey Evans. It's been a story of Evans trying to be a role model and Bayley, along with Sasha Banks, being the one to put her down.
The Sassy Southern Belle has a victory over Bayley in a non-title match but will that mean she can beat her again? Probably not. We expect this rivalry to end at the Royal Rumble 2020.
#5. Becky Lynch (c) vs Asuka - RAW Women's Championship
This is the match we're most excited about on the show. The build to his has been phenomenal, with Becky Lynch revealing how much of a dark cloud Asuka has been over her head.
After all, The Empress is the only woman to have a clean win over Becky Lynch and never lose to her. It was at last year's Royal Rumble where Asuka successfully defended the SmackDown Women's Championship against Becky Lynch by making her tap out clean.
In this build, the roles are reversed and Asuka has gotten one over The Man on multiple occasions, blinding her with green mist. Will she be able to do the same at the Rumble? Or will Becky Lynch finally get one over Asuka?
#4. Shorty G vs Sheamus
This match will feature the in-ring return of Sheamus for the first time since WrestleMania 35. That was almost 9 months ago. There isn't much to be said about this match apart from the fact that Sheamus will look to make an impact upon his return at the expense of Shorty G.
We expect him to come out victorious in the contest.
#3. Women's Royal Rumble match
We're rather surprised at the lack of build to the Women's Royal Rumble this time. Until this past SmackDown, Charlotte Flair, Sarah Logan, and Natalya were the only women to announce their entry.
There are 8 women announced for the Rumble as a whole. However, the positive side of this is that it leaves room for a lot of surprise returns and appearances. Unlike the Men's Royal Rumble, we anticipate that there will be a lot of representation from NXT.
Names like Shayna Baszler, Io Shirai, Bianca Belair, Toni Storm, Dakota Kai, Tegan Nox, etc. will be a big boost to the Women's Royal Rumble this year.
#2. Roman Reigns vs King Corbin - Falls Count Anywhere match
King Corbin has gotten the better of Roman Reigns in almost all of their previous meetings. Lately, however, Reigns has gotten one up over Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, and Robert Roode thanks to some assistance from The Usos.
This Falls Count Anywhere match could open the show and the two Rumble competitors will be victims of chaos as four other men try to make an impact on the match. We anticipate that King Corbin will walk out victorious to end the feud. That might be one of the big surprise results of the night.
#1. Men's Royal Rumble match
Let's conclude this with the main event - the Men's Royal Rumble. This year's battlefield is stacked with top names. Interestingly enough, 27 men have officially been entered into the Royal Rumble 2020 match.
This is the first time we remember such a thing happening. We can't remember the last time so many entrants were announced in advance. The big headlines, however, is the fact that WWE Champion Brock Lesnar will be entering from #1.
If you count the fact that Cain Velasquez revealed he'll be entering the Royal Rumble, then that's 28 opponents. There's not much room for a surprise, but there is one big surprise that many are anticipating - that of a certain 11-time World Champion.
Whether or not it comes true, it's going to be a war inside the ring. Roman Reigns is pegged as one of the favorites to win the Royal Rumble and we can see a scenario where he enters around #21-#24 and ends up winning the entire match, setting up a possible showdown with The Fiend at WrestleMania 36.
