Royal Rumble weekend could be full of surprises
By Mike Pankow
January 23, 2020
The most exciting time of the wrestling calendar is approaching, starting with this Sunday’s Royal Rumble event in Houston.
It’s the traditional beginning to WrestleMania season where the biggest pro wrestling event of the year starts to take shape. The road to Tampa starts with the Royal Rumble.
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar is participating in the men’s Rumble and will come out as the No. 1 entrant. How WWE books this match should go a long way to reveal what Lesnar’s duty will be at WrestleMania.
The Royal Rumble is known most years for its surprises. What wrestlers from years past will return in the match? Any wrestlers from NXT who ready to be shot to the moon? Wrestlers who have been injured and not seen for a long time?
Could former World Heavyweight Champion Edge, pictured on Dec. 26, 2010 in Rosemont, Ill., make a return at the 2020 Royal Rumble? (Photo by Mike Pankow)
The men’s Rumble has several intriguing surprise possibilities.
Rumors say Edge, who had to retire from WWE in 2011 following a neck injury after retaining the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 27, has been cleared. It has been nearly nine years since Edge wrestled in WWE. He was one of the most popular wrestlers created in the Attitude Era and became one of wrestling’s hottest heels toward the end of his career. If we hear Alter Bridge at Minute Park this Sunday, the roof could explode.
One of the hottest names in all of wrestling is Keith Lee. The 6-foot-2, 320-pound former football player is an absolute beast. He is one guy that can enter the Rumble and be a credible threat to anyone in the ring, including Lesnar. Pinning Seth Rollins at Survivor Series and winning the NXT North American Championship from Roderick Strong over the last several weeks demonstrates that WWE obviously likes Lee’s potential. As his nickname suggests, Lee is “limitless.”
Other names that have been floated around include Hall of Famers such as Undertaker, Goldberg and Sting. Could something happen Sunday that leads to a long-overdue Undertaker vs. Sting match at WrestleMania?
Kane is another possibility given his recent appearance on SmackDown. He is a legend in Royal Rumbles over the years, racking up dozens of eliminations. Or maybe Kane will be involved somehow in old friend and tag team partner Daniel Bryan’s strap match against “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt for the WWE Universal Championship.
The other name that people have clamoring for is Chicago’s own CM Punk. Once thought as a total impossibility, Punk’s name has been bandied about recently because of his ties to the new Fox Sports 1 talk show, “WWE Backstage.” Apparently, Punk’s deal is with Fox and not WWE, but there’s always a chance (remote or not) that Punk and WWE quashed their acrimony toward each other and came to a deal for a mega-return of the multi-time WWE Champion. A CM Punk-Brock Lesnar match would be a surefire main event for a WrestleMania.
As for those who have been announced, Lesnar, Rollins, Roman Reigns, Drew McIntyre, Braun Strowman, AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe and even King Corbin seem like strong candidates to win the men’s Rumble. If Lesnar wins, it will be interesting to see where WWE chooses to go. Will Lesnar challenge the Universal Champion at WrestleMania?
There are so many questions, and speaking of questions, the Women’s Rumble is loaded with them. As of press time, there are only five competitors announced, including Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss. The possibilities are endless here with Shayna Baszler toward the top of the list. Baszler, a two-time NXT Women’s Champion, is a credible and believable as a potential main event superstar on the main-roster level.
Nia Jax, who has been missing since last year’s WrestleMania after having double knee surgery, also could make a comeback here. Jax and Becky Lynch could have a score to settle. Naomi, who has been off television for a bit, may also be a surprise, especially with her husband, Jimmy Uso, recently returning to action on SmackDown!
Of course, Ronda Rousey’s name usually on the tip of many fans’ tongues. Rousey, other than Total Divas, hasn’t been seen on WWE television since WrestleMania 35 after she took the pinfall in the three-way main event with Lynch and Charlotte. A Rousey return and victory would open the door for a one-on-one match between Rousey and Lynch, which easily can be the main event at WrestleMania 36.
Mustache Mountain’s Tyler Bate, along with his tag team partner Trent Seven (not pictured) will take on Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano during Saturday night’s Worlds Collide event. (Photo by Mike Pankow)
Several non-Rumble matches look to be appealing, including the WWE Universal Championship strap match. Lynch’s Raw Women’s Championship defense against Asuka has seen a great deal of quality build, feeding off Asuka’s submission victory from last year’s Royal Rumble event. The SmackDown Women’s Championship match between Bayley and challenger Lacey Evans has the potential of being a solid performance as well.
WWE action in Houston will begin on Saturday evening with Worlds Collide with a card loaded with NXT vs. NXT UK action.
The main event features Imperium (with NXT UK Champion Walter, Fabian Aichner, Marcel Barthel and Alexander Wolfe) against the Undisputed Era (with NXT Champion Adam Cole, NXT Tag Team Champions Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong), which should be a red-hot affair.
The show-stealer of the entire weekend could well be tag team match of Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano reuniting as DIY against the duo of Tyler Bate and Trent Seven, known collectively as Mustache Mountain.
It all shapes to be a weekend of fun and potential surprises, which could pave the way to a WrestleMania to remember.
WORLDS COLLIDE CARD (SATURDAY)
8-man tag team match: Imperium (Walter, Fabian Aichner, Marcel Barthel & Alexander Wolfe) vs. The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong)
NXT Women’s Championship: Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Toni Storm
Finn Balor vs. Ilja Dragunov
NXT Cruiserweight Championship (4-way): Angel Garza (c) vs. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott vs. Jordan Devlin vs. Travis Banks
Tag team match: DIY (Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano) vs. Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven)
Mia Yim vs. Kay Lee Ray (kickoff show)
WWE ROYAL RUMBLE CARD (SUNDAY)
Men’s Royal Rumble: Announced entrants include WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, WWE Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura, Roman Reigns, AJ Styles, Erick Rowan, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, Ricochet, Drew McIntyre, Elias, King Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, Otis, Tucker, Rusev, Bobby Lashley, Aleister Black, Buddy Murphy, Braun Strowman, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe, Kofi Kingston, Big E, R-Truth, five TBD.
Women’s Royal Rumble: Announced entrants include Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, Nikki Cross, Sarah Logan, Natalya, 25 TBD
WWE Universal Championship (strap match): “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt (c) vs. Daniel Bryan
WWE Raw Women’s Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs. Asuka
WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship: Bayley (c) vs. Lacey Evans
Falls Count Anywhere: Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin
WWE United States Championship: Andrade (c) vs. Humberto Carrillo
Shorty G vs. Sheamus
(Matches/Rumble entrants updated as of Thursday evening 1/23)
Catch Windy City Slam editor Mike Pankow talking local and national pro wrestling every week on The Windy City Slam Podcast, available wherever you download podcasts or at https://windycityslam.podbean.com/.
We are looking for guests to appear on the Windy City Slam Podcast! Please contact Mike at mikepankow@windycityslam.com, message him on Facebook or DM him on Twitter.
