Bobby Lashley and Rusev had declared themselves to be in the 2020 Men's Royal Rumble, but were not involved in the match. WWE announced just ahead of the Rumble match that the two were not medically cleared to compete.
Michael Cole announced seconds before the match was about to begin that Rusev and Lashley were involved in a brawl in the parking lot earlier in the day. He reported that both were hurt and thus were out of the Rumble – leaving two spots open in the men's rumble match.
The two have been involved in a heated rivalry for the past 4 months now. Lashley is now married to Lana – Rusev's ex-wife – and that has for the two having a go at each other every single week.
They met in a one-on-one match at Tables, Ladders and Chairs at the end of 2019 and Lashley came out the winner that day. The feud did not end there and has more twists and turns these days.
Liv Morgan was added to the storyline on the last Monday Night RAW of 2019. Liv and Rusev teamed up to face Lashley and Lana in a mixed tag-team match last Monday but ended up losing.