Royal Rumble (2020)

Royal Rumble was a professional wrestling pay-per-view and WWE Network event produced by WWE for their Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. It took place on January 26, 2020 at the Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.[2][3][4] It was the thirty-third event under the Royal Rumble chronology.

Royal Rumble (2020)
Promotional poster featuring various WWE wrestlers
Promotion	WWE
Brand(s)	Raw SmackDown
Date	January 26, 2020
City	Houston, Texas
Venue	Minute Maid Park
Attendance	42,715[1]
WWE Network event chronology
← Previous Worlds Collide Next → NXT TakeOver: Portland
Royal Rumble chronology
← Previous 2019 Next → —

Eight matches were contested at the event, including two on the Kickoff pre-show. In the main event, Drew McIntyre won the men's Royal Rumble match, while Charlotte Flair won the women's. Other prominent matches saw "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt retain the Universal Championship against Daniel Bryan in a strap match, Roman Reigns defeated King Corbin in a Falls Count Anywhere match, and Becky Lynch defeated Asuka by submission to retain the Raw Women's Championship. The event also featured the in-ring return of Edge, who last wrestled in 2011 before retiring from a neck injury, as well as MVP, who last wrestled for the WWE in 2010.

Production

Background

The Royal Rumble is an annual gimmick pay-per-view, produced every January by WWE since 1988. It is one of the promotion's original four pay-per-views, along with WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, dubbed the "Big Four".[5] It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle royal in which the participants enter at timed intervals instead of all beginning in the ring at the same time. Both the men's and women's matches generally feature 30 wrestlers. Traditionally, the winner of the match earns a world championship match at that year's WrestleMania. In recent years, the men and women had their choice between the top championships of the Raw and SmackDown brands. For 2020, that was Raw's WWE Championship and SmackDown's Universal Championship, and the Raw Women's Championship and SmackDown Women's Championship. Additionally, and for the first time, NXT's top championships, the NXT Championship and NXT Women's Championship, became choices for the winner to challenge for at WrestleMania 36; this was confirmed after the event and was a result of NXT becoming WWE's third major brand in September 2019. The 2020 Royal Rumble was the 33rd event in the Royal Rumble chronology and featured wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brands, with NXT wrestlers and WWE veterans appearing in both the men's and women's Royal Rumble matches.[6][7]

Storylines

The event comprised eight matches, including two on the Kickoff pre-show. The matches resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands,[8][9] while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.[10]

Raw

While the WWE Championship is generally defended at every year's Royal Rumble pay-per-view, on the January 6 episode of Raw, it was revealed that there would not be a WWE Championship defense at 2020's event. Instead, as he felt that there was no one on any brand who deserved an opportunity, WWE Champion Brock Lesnar decided to enter himself into the Royal Rumble match as entrant number one. There were no changes to the rules of the match, despite Lesnar holding one of the two world championships that the winner could challenge for at WrestleMania 36.[11] On the January 20 episode, Lesnar's advocate Paul Heyman reminded the fans of the prize of the Royal Rumble match, but said that there was no one worthy enough to face Lesnar in the main event of WrestleMania, implying that if Lesnar won, he would abstain his prize.[12]

At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) defeated the team of Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match to retain the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship.[13] In a backstage interview on the following Raw, Lynch stated that she had not been herself the past few months and felt that management had been putting her into tag team matches to protect her from facing Asuka alone and losing. She also stated that she had never defeated Asuka and needed to change that.[14] The following week, Lynch challenged Asuka to a match with her Raw Women's Championship on the line which Asuka accepted.[15] The match was scheduled for the Royal Rumble and is essentially a rematch from last years event.[16]

On the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs Kickoff pre-show, Humberto Carrillo defeated Andrade.[17] On the following episode of Raw, both were scheduled to participate in a gauntlet match to determine the number one contender against Rey Mysterio for the United States Championship. Carrillo advanced to the final to face Andrade, who did not appear during his entrance. Andrade instead attacked Carrillo from behind and then performed a Hammerlock DDT on Carillo onto the exposed concrete floor. Due to this, the gauntlet match ended in a no-contest.[14] Andrade then won the US title from Mysterio at a WWE Live event in Madison Square Garden on December 26.[18] After Andrade retained the title against Mysterio in a ladder match on the January 20 episode of Raw, Andrade attempted to perform the Hammerlock DDT on Mysterio on the exposed concrete floor, only for Carrillo to appear to aid Mysterio and fought off Andrade, who retreated along with Zelina Vega.[12] Backstage, Carrillo issued a challenge to Andrade for the United States Championship at the Royal Rumble, which was made official for the Kickoff pre-show.[19]

SmackDown

At Survivor Series, "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt defeated Daniel Bryan to retain the Universal Championship.[20] On the following SmackDown, after Bryan accepted another rematch for the title at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, The Fiend appeared and attacked Bryan, ripping out his hair.[21] The Miz, who had been intertwined in the feud, appeared the following week and said that Bryan had not been seen since The Fiend's attack and in turn became Wyatt's opponent in a non-title match at TLC,[22] where Wyatt (as his Firefly Fun House character and not The Fiend) defeated Miz. Following the match, a hooded figure attacked Wyatt and then revealed himself as a returning Bryan, now with a buzz cut and shorter beard.[13] On the following SmackDown, both Bryan and Miz stated their desire to take the Universal Championship from Wyatt due to their respective personal issues with him. They were then interrupted by King Corbin, who felt that he deserved an opportunity for the title due to his victory over Roman Reigns at TLC.[23] On the December 27 episode, Bryan defeated Miz and Corbin in a triple threat match to earn another Universal Championship match against The Fiend at the Royal Rumble.[24] On the January 17 episode, Bryan delivered a running knee to The Fiend and attacked him, only for The Fiend to retreat. Frustrated, Bryan changed the stipulation of their match to a strap match so that The Fiend could not run away.[25]

During the triple threat match to determine the number one contender for the Universal Championship, Roman Reigns attacked King Corbin, costing him the title opportunity.[24] The following week, Reigns announced his participation in the Royal Rumble match. Later that night, Reigns teamed with Daniel Bryan to face Corbin and Dolph Ziggler which ended in a no-contest. Following the match, Corbin and Ziggler attacked Reigns only for The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) to return and aid Reigns by attacking both Corbin and Ziggler.[26] On the January 10 episode, Corbin announced his participation in the Royal Rumble match and stated that Reigns was scared to face him again, hence why Reigns was also competing in the match. In response, Reigns challenged Corbin to a rematch at the event which Corbin accepted.[27] The following week, Reigns defeated the returning Robert Roode in a tables match, allowing him to choose the stipulation for his match with Corbin, and he chose a Falls Count Anywhere match.[25]

On the SmackDown following Survivor Series, SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley and Team SmackDown women's captain Sasha Banks criticized their brand's women's division for letting them down at the event, as both Bayley and Team SmackDown lost their respective matches. Team member Lacey Evans interrupted and performed a Women's Right on Banks, with Evans turning face.[21] Evans questioned the leadership of both Bayley and Banks, having several confrontations with them over the following weeks.[22][28][23][24][26] On the January 10 episode, Evans was scheduled to face Banks, who no-showed and Bayley appeared on the TitanTron taunting Evans. In response, Evans went backstage where the two brawled.[27] The following week, Evans was once again scheduled to face Banks, however, Banks was unable to compete due to her injured ankle. Bayley took her place in the match, but lost to Evans. Due to Evans' win, she earned herself a title match at the Royal Rumble.[25]

After a seven-month hiatus, Sheamus appeared in a vignette on the November 29 episode of SmackDown, announcing that he would be returning to in-ring action.[21] Over the next several weeks, more vignettes aired, with Sheamus claiming that SmackDown had become soft in his absence. On the January 3 episode, as Shorty G was being attacked by The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder), Sheamus returned, seemingly to aid Shorty G. However, after The Revival cleared the ring, Sheamus delivered a Brogue Kick to Shorty G.[26] Sheamus claimed that Shorty G embodied everything wrong with SmackDown and continued to target him over the next few weeks, and a match between the two was scheduled for the Royal Rumble Kickoff pre-show.[25]

Event

Other on-screen personnel

Role:	Name:
English commentators	Michael Cole (SmackDown/Men's Royal Rumble match)
	Corey Graves (SmackDown/both Royal Rumble matches)
	Tom Phillips (Raw/Women's Royal Rumble match)
	Jerry Lawler (Raw/Women's Royal Rumble matches)
	Booker T (Men's Royal Rumble match)
Spanish commentators	Carlos Cabrera
	Marcelo Rodríguez
German commentators	Carsten Schaefer
	Tim Haber
	Calvin Knie
Ring announcers	Greg Hamilton (SmackDown/Men's Royal Rumble match)
	Mike Rome (Raw/Women's Royal Rumble match)
Referees	Danilo Anfibio
	Jason Ayers
	Shawn Bennett
	Jessika Carr
	John Cone
	Dan Engler
	Darrick Moore
	Eddie Orengo
	Darryl Sharma
	Chris Sharpe
	Ryan Tran
	Rod Zapata
Interviewers	Kayla Braxton
	Sarah Schreiber
Pre-show panel/correspondents	Jonathan Coachman
	Charly Caruso
	David Otunga
	Christian
	Renee Young
	Sam Roberts

Pre-show

Two matches were contested on the Royal Rumble Kickoff pre-show. In the first match, Sheamus faced Shorty G. In the end, Sheamus performed a Brogue Kick on Shorty G to win the match.[29]

The second match saw Andrade (accompanied by Zelina Vega) defend the United States Championship against Humberto Carrillo. The end saw Carrillo attempt a hurricanrana on Andrade, who countered into a roll-up to retain the title.[29]

Preliminary matches

The actual pay-per-view opened with Roman Reigns facing King Corbin in a Falls Count Anywhere match. Mid-way through the match, Reigns fought with Corbin in the crowd where Reigns performed a Samoan Drop on Corbin through two separate tables. As Reigns was about to attack Corbin near some production equipment, Reigns was attacked by Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode. The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) then came out and attacked Ziggler and Roode with Jimmy performing a Samoan Drop on Jey, Roode, and Ziggler. Reigns then shoved Corbin into a portable toilet, tipped it over, and continued to attack Corbin throughout the crowd. In the end, Reigns performed a Superman Punch and Spear on Corbin atop a dugout to win the match.[30]

Backstage, Kevin Owens told Samoa Joe that he could not wait to eliminate Seth Rollins from the Royal Rumble match—as they had been feuding for weeks on Raw—and that he would go on to win. Joe stated that he also could not wait to do the same, but if Owens got in his way, he would eliminate him.[30]

Next was the women's Royal Rumble match, which began with SmackDown's Alexa Bliss as the first entrant and NXT's Bianca Belair as the second. During the match, Raw's Lana (the fifth entrant) was eliminated by Liv Morgan (the seventh entrant) due to her ongoing rivalry with Morgan, who was in turn eliminated by Lana after she was eliminated. As SmackDown's Mandy Rose (the eighth entrant) was seemingly eliminated, she landed on top of Otis, who was on the floor. Belair attempted to eliminate Rose again, only for Otis to catch Rose. As Belair eliminated Rose's tag team partner Sonya Deville (the tenth entrant), Deville fell onto Rose and Otis, knocking Otis down and unintentionally eliminating Rose along with herself. Belair would go on to break Michelle McCool and Charlotte Flair's tied record of five eliminations in a single women's Royal Rumble match (McCool set the record in 2018 and Flair tied it in 2019). Mighty Molly, Naomi, Beth Phoenix, Kelly Kelly, and Santina Marella (entrants 3, 18, 19, 21, and 29, respectively) were all surprise entrants. NXT's Shayna Baszler entered last and ended up tying Belair's record of eight eliminations. In the end, Raw's Charlotte Flair (#17) eliminated Baszler to win the match and earn herself a women's championship match of her choosing at WrestleMania 36.[30]

After that, Bayley defended the SmackDown Women's Championship against Lacey Evans. The climax saw Bayley perform a roll-up on Evans to retain the title.[30]

Next, "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt defended the Universal Championship against Daniel Bryan in a strap match. The Fiend dominated the first half of the match, whipping Bryan with the strap. Bryan eventually gained the offense, and applied the LeBell Lock, using the strap to crank back on The Fiend's head. As Bryan attempted a running knee, The Fiend caught Bryan and performed a Sister Abigail for a near fall. Bryan then performed a running knee on The Fiend for a nearfall. In the end, The Fiend applied The Mandible Claw, and as Bryan tried to escape, The Fiend picked him up and performed a chokeslam while still applying the Mandible Claw to win the match and retain the title. Following the match, medical personnel tended to Bryan.[30]

In the penultimate match, Becky Lynch defended the Raw Women's Championship against Asuka (accompanied by Kairi Sane). In the climax, as Asuka attempted to spit green mist in Lynch's face, Lynch kicked Asuka, causing her to spit the mist in the air and into her own face. Lynch then applied the Dis-arm-her on Asuka, forcing her to submit and retain the title.[30]

Main event

The main event was the men's Royal Rumble match, which saw Raw's WWE Champion Brock Lesnar (accompanied by Paul Heyman) enter at number one. SmackDown's Elias entered second and sang a song during his entrance and taunted Lesnar until Lesnar ran out and chased Elias to the ring and quickly eliminated him. Lesnar would make quick work of the next few entrants, eliminating them almost as soon as they entered the match. SmackDown's Kofi Kingston, whom Lesnar defeated for the WWE Championship back in October, entered sixth followed by Rey Mysterio, who Lesnar recently feuded with, and then Kingston's New Day and SmackDown Tag Team Champion partner Big E. The three teamed up on Lesnar, only for Lesnar to eliminate all of them. After Lesnar had a brief reunion with his old training partner Shelton Benjamin (the tenth entrant) and embracing him, Lesnar eliminated Benjamin after tricking him into thinking they would team up for the rest of the match. The twelfth entrant saw the surprise return of Montel Vontavious Porter (who last wrestled in WWE in 2010), who was quickly eliminated by Lesnar. NXT's Keith Lee (the thirteenth entrant) and SmackDown's Braun Strowman (the fourteenth entrant) managed to subdue Lesnar and momentarily take him down. As Lee and Strowman attempted to eliminate each other, Lesnar managed to eliminate both at the same time, bringing Lesnar's total eliminations to 13, tying him with Strowman for the most eliminations in a single men's Royal Rumble match (a record Strowman set at 2018's Greatest Royal Rumble event).

Ricochet, who had a brief interaction with Lesnar on the previous episode of Raw, entered as the fifteenth entrant, followed by Drew McIntyre as the sixteenth entrant. With Lesnar's attention on McIntyre, Ricochet performed a low blow on Lesnar from behind (as Lesnar had done to him on Raw), and McIntyre performed a Claymore on Lesnar to eliminate him. Following Lesnar's elimination, McIntyre stared him down. McIntyre then eliminated Ricochet and then continued to stare down Lesnar, who was still laid out at ringside before staggering away into the crowd. WWE Hall of Famer Edge, who was forced to retire from wrestling in 2011 due to a neck injury, made a surprise return as the twenty-first entrant. Kevin Owens (the twenty-seventh entrant) and Samoa Joe (the twenty-ninth entrant) formed a small alliance against the other wrestlers, after which, they fought each other until Seth Rollins (accompanied by Buddy Murphy, Akam, and Rezar) entered last. Joe and Owens left the ring and brawled with the four. Rollins would eliminate Joe and Owens thanks to interference from Murphy, Akam, and Rezar. McIntyre, Edge, Randy Orton (the twenty-fifth entrant), and Roman Reigns (the twenty-sixth entrant) then performed their respective finishers on Rollins with McIntyre eliminating him. After a brief reunion of Rated-RKO between Edge and Orton, and after Orton teased an RKO on Edge, Edge quickly eliminated Orton. In the climax, after Edge was eliminated by Reigns, McIntyre performed a Claymore on Reigns and eliminated him to win the match and earn himself a world championship match of his choosing at WrestleMania 36.[30]

Aftermath

Drew McIntyre and Charlotte Flair were the winners of the men's and women's Royal Rumble matches, respectively.

Raw

The following night on Raw, Drew McIntyre announced that he would challenge Brock Lesnar, whom McIntyre eliminated during the men's Royal Rumble match, for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 36.[31] The following week, Ricochet, who aided in Lesnar's elimination, defeated Seth Rollins and Bobby Lashley in a triple threat match to also earn a WWE Championship match against Lesnar, taking place prior to WrestleMania at February's Super ShowDown event.[32]

Also on the following Raw, women's Royal Rumble winner Charlotte Flair teased that she would reveal which champion she would challenge at WrestleMania, but stated that she was still deciding.[31] The following week, she said she had held both the Raw and SmackDown Women's Championships multiple times and had defeated their current holders, Becky Lynch and Bayley, respectively. She was then interrupted by NXT Women's Champion Rhea Ripley, who said that Flair should challenge her as Flair had never beat her, but she had beaten Flair.[32] Flair held off on making her decision until after Ripley had defended the title at NXT TakeOver: Portland on February 16.[33][34] At the event, Ripley retained her title against Bianca Belair, after which, Flair attacked Ripley and Belair and accepted Ripley's WrestleMania challenge, marking the first time that the Royal Rumble winner chose an NXT title, which were previously ineligible.[35]

Edge made his return to Raw the following night, stating that he had questioned what if he could wrestle again, and explained that after a second neck surgery and hard work, he was able to make his return at the Royal Rumble and would be able to retire on his own terms. Randy Orton then came out to welcome Edge back and suggested reforming their tag team, Rated-RKO, only to turn on Edge and perform an RKO on him, thus turning heel in the process. Orton then attacked Edge's neck with a steel chair and smashed his head between two steel chairs in a manoeuvre known as the "Conchairto", which Edge made famous in the past.[31]

A United States Championship rematch between Humberto Carrillo and champion Andrade was scheduled for the next night on Raw, where Carrillo won by disqualification due to Zelina Vega's interference. Following the match, Carrillo performed a Hammerlock DDT on Andrade onto the exposed concrete, just as Andrade once did to Carrillo in the past.[31] Andrade was then suspended for 30 days due to violating WWE's wellness policy, though was not stripped of the title.[36]

Following the animosity between Lana and Liv Morgan, which caused Lana to eliminate Morgan after she herself was eliminated by Morgan, a match between the two was scheduled the next night on Raw, with Bobby Lashley and Rusev banned from ringside. Morgan would defeat Lana.[31] After defeating Lana in a rematch the next week, Morgan was confronted by former Riott Squad stablemate Ruby Riott, making her return from injury. Riott went to embrace Morgan, after which she then attacked Morgan.[32]

After making a surprise return at the Royal Rumble, Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) had a match with Rey Mysterio on Raw, which he lost.[30] Afterwards, MVP announced that although he still had a few matches left on the independent circuit, his match on Raw was his final in WWE.[37] This proved to be false, however, as after hosting a segment of the "VIP Lounge" in which he insulted Rumble winner Drew McIntyre,[34] MVP faced McIntyre in a match on the February 17 episode that McIntyre won.[38]

Seth Rollins and Buddy Murphy defended the Raw Tag Team Championship against Samoa Joe and Kevin Owens. Joe was legitimately injured during the match and was taken backstage, leaving Owens to fend for himself, however, Rollins and Murphy retained the title after Murphy pinned Owens with a roll-up.[31] On February 7, Buddy Murphy's ring name was shortened to Murphy.[39][40] Joe's injury proved to be minor, as he returned on the February 10 episode of Raw to aid Owens and The Viking Raiders (Erik and Ivar) against Rollins' stable.[34]

On the February 3 episode of Raw, Asuka challenged Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch to a rematch, and Lynch accepted for the following week.[32] After Lynch retained the title, she was attacked by NXT's Shayna Baszler.[34]

SmackDown

A six-man tag team rematch from the previous week between the team of Roman Reigns and The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) and the team of King Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, and Robert Roode was scheduled for the following SmackDown in which the losers ate dog food. Reigns and The Usos won, and they dumped dog food over Corbin.[41] The following week, Corbin challenged Reigns to one more match, and Reigns accepted as a steel cage match at Super ShowDown.[42]

Sheamus faced Shorty G in a rematch on the following SmackDown, where Sheamus was again victorious.[41]

Mandy Rose thanked Otis for helping her in the women's Royal Rumble match. With encouragement from his Heavy Machinery tag team partner Tucker, Otis asked Rose out on a date and Rose accepted for Valentine's Day.[41]

On the following SmackDown, Bayley addressed her victory over Lacey Evans, as well as Charlotte Flair's Royal Rumble win. She was interrupted by Naomi, who took exception to Bayley's claim that she had beaten everyone as she had never beaten Naomi. Bayley then attacked Naomi, who retaliated and got the upper hand. This marked Naomi's return to the SmackDown brand as prior to her six-month hiatus, she had been drafted to Raw in April 2019's Superstar Shake-up, but went undrafted during the WWE Draft in October.[41] The following week, Naomi participated in a fatal four-way match to determine Bayley's next challenger, but it was won by Carmella.[42]

Results

No.	Results	Stipulations	Times[29][30]
1^P	Sheamus defeated Shorty G	Singles match[43]	12:35
2^P	Andrade (c) (with Zelina Vega) defeated Humberto Carrillo	Singles match for the WWE United States Championship[44]	14:20
3	Roman Reigns defeated King Corbin	Falls Count Anywhere match[45]	21:20
4	Charlotte Flair won by last eliminating Shayna Baszler	30-woman Royal Rumble match for a women's championship match at WrestleMania 36[46]	54:20
5	Bayley (c) defeated Lacey Evans	Singles match for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship[47]	9:20
6	"The Fiend" Bray Wyatt (c) defeated Daniel Bryan	Strap match for the WWE Universal Championship[48]	17:35
7	Becky Lynch (c) defeated Asuka (with Kairi Sane) by submission	Singles match for the WWE Raw Women's Championship[49]	16:25
8	Drew McIntyre won by last eliminating Roman Reigns	30-man Royal Rumble match for a world championship match at WrestleMania 36[50]	1:00:50
(c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match P – indicates the match took place on the pre-show

Women's Royal Rumble match entrances and eliminations

Brand

     – Raw

     – SmackDown

     – NXT

     – NXT UK

     – Free agent

     – Winner

Draw	Entrant	Brand/Status	Order	Eliminated by	Time[46]	Elimination(s)
1	Alexa Bliss	SmackDown	15	Bianca Belair	26:34	3
2	Bianca Belair	NXT	16	Charlotte Flair	33:20	7
3	Mighty Molly	Free agent	3	Bianca Belair	10:21	0
4	Nikki Cross	SmackDown	5	Bianca Belair	15:08	0
5	Lana	Raw	1	Liv Morgan	02:29	0
6	Mercedes Martinez	NXT	4	Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville	08:14	0
7	Liv Morgan	Raw	2	Lana	00:44	1
8	Mandy Rose	SmackDown	6	Sonya Deville	08:49	1
9	Candice LeRae	NXT	8	Bianca Belair	09:01	0
10	Sonya Deville	SmackDown	7	Bianca Belair	05:31	2
11	Kairi Sane	Raw	9	Alexa Bliss	05:22	0
12	Mia Yim	NXT	11	Alexa Bliss	06:30	0
13	Dana Brooke	SmackDown	14	Bianca Belair	05:26	0
14	Tamina	SmackDown	10		00:39	0
15	Dakota Kai	NXT	12	Chelsea Green	01:32	0
16	Chelsea Green	NXT	13	Alexa Bliss	00:12	1
17	Charlotte Flair	Raw	–	Winner	27:19	4
18	Naomi	Raw	26	Shayna Baszler	22:01	0
19	Beth Phoenix	NXT	28	Shayna Baszler	23:05	1
20	Toni Storm	NXT UK	25	Shayna Baszler	18:40	0
21	Kelly Kelly	Free agent	18	Charlotte Flair	02:29	0
22	Sarah Logan	Raw	17	Charlotte Flair	00:28	0
23	Natalya	Raw	27	Beth Phoenix	14:43	0
24	Xia Li	NXT	20	Shayna Baszler	10:49	0
25	Zelina Vega	Raw	22	Shayna Baszler	09:31	0
26	Shotzi Blackheart	NXT	23	Shayna Baszler	07:57	0
27	Carmella	SmackDown	24	Shayna Baszler	06:36	0
28	Tegan Nox	NXT	21	Shayna Baszler	03:50	0
29	Santina Marella	Free agent	19	Self	01:01	0
30	Shayna Baszler	NXT	29	Charlotte Flair	04:27	8

^1 Lana was already eliminated when she eliminated Liv Morgan.

Men's Royal Rumble match entrances and eliminations

Brand

     – Raw

     – SmackDown

     – NXT

     – Free agent

     – Winner

Draw	Entrant	Brand/Status	Order	Eliminated by	Time[50]	Elimination(s)
1	Brock Lesnar	Raw	14	Drew McIntyre	26:24	13
2	Elias	SmackDown	1	Brock Lesnar	01:00	0
3	Erick Rowan	Raw	2	Brock Lesnar	00:08	0
4	Robert Roode	SmackDown	3	Brock Lesnar	00:41	0
5	John Morrison	SmackDown	4		00:09	0
6	Kofi Kingston	SmackDown	7		05:06	0
7	Rey Mysterio	Raw	5	Brock Lesnar	02:54	0
8	Big E	SmackDown	6	Brock Lesnar	00:53	0
9	Cesaro	SmackDown	8		00:18	0
10	Shelton Benjamin	Raw	9	Brock Lesnar	00:37	0
11	Shinsuke Nakamura	SmackDown	10	Brock Lesnar	00:20	0
12	Montel Vontavious Porter	Free agent	11	Brock Lesnar	00:24	0
13	Keith Lee	NXT	12	Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman	03:32	1
14	Braun Strowman	SmackDown	13	Brock Lesnar and Keith Lee	01:48	1
15	Ricochet	Raw	15	Drew McIntyre	03:09	0
16	Drew McIntyre	Raw	–	Winner	34:11	6
17	The Miz	SmackDown	16	Drew McIntyre	00:30	0
18	AJ Styles	Raw	17	Edge	07:49	0
19	Dolph Ziggler	SmackDown	22	Roman Reigns	12:20	0
20	Karl Anderson	Raw	21	Randy Orton	09:46	0
21	Edge	Free agent	28	Roman Reigns	23:43	3
22	King Corbin	SmackDown	19	Drew McIntyre	04:06	1
23	Matt Riddle	NXT	18	King Corbin	00:41	0
24	Luke Gallows	Raw	20	Edge	02:00	0
25	Randy Orton	Raw	27		14:37	1
26	Roman Reigns	SmackDown	29	Drew McIntyre	16:01	2
27	Kevin Owens	Raw	24	Seth Rollins, Akam, and Rezar	06:59	0
28	Aleister Black	Raw	23	Seth Rollins	05:06	0
29	Samoa Joe	Raw	25		04:25	0
30	Seth Rollins	Raw	26	Drew McIntyre	04:01	3

^2 Akam and Rezar were not official participants in the match.

References

1. Tedesco, Mike (January 26, 2020). "WWE Royal Rumble Results – 1/26/20 (Men's and Women's Royal Rumble Matches)". WrestleView. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
2. Barron, David (2019-02-16). "WWE's Royal Rumble coming to Minute Maid Park in 2020". Houston Chron. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
3. "WWE Royal Rumble coming to Minute Maid Park in 2020". KHOU. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
4. "Minute Maid Park to host WWE's Royal Rumble event in 2020". ABC13 Houston. February 18, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
5. Hamilton, Ian (2006). Wrestling's Sinking Ship: What Happens to an Industry Without Competition. Lulu Press. p. 160. ISBN 9781411612105.
6. "Specialty Matches: Royal Rumble". WWE. Archived from the original on February 18, 2010. Retrieved December 3, 2007.
7. Waldman, Jon (February 2, 2005). "Statistical survival – breaking down the Royal Rumble". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved December 9, 2007.
8. Grabianowski, Ed (2006-01-13). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
9. "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
10. Steinberg, Brian (May 25, 2016). "WWE's 'Smackdown' Will Move To Live Broadcast On USA (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on May 26, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
11. Powell, Jason (January 6, 2020). "01/06 WWE Raw Results: Powell's review of Brock Lesnar's return, Andrade vs. Rey Mysterio for the U.S. Championship, The Viking Raiders vs. The Street Profits vs. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in a Triple Threat for the Raw Tag Titles, first show of 2020". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
12. Powell, Jason (January 20, 2020). "01/20 WWE Raw Results: Powell's review of Andrade vs. Rey Mysterio in a ladder match for the U.S. Championship, Rusev and Liv Morgan vs. Bobby Lashley and Lana, WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, Royal Rumble developments". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
13. Powell, Jason (2019-12-15). "Powell's WWE TLC live review: The Kabuki Warriors vs. Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair vs Asuka in a TLC match for the Smackdown Tag Titles, Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin in a TLC match, Bray Wyatt vs. The Miz, Rusev vs. Bobby Lashley in a tables match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
14. Powell, Jason (December 16, 2019). "12/16 WWE Raw Results: Powell's review of Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles, Seth Rollins and AOP alliance follow-up, the night after WWE TLC". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
15. Powell, Jason (December 24, 2019). "12/23 WWE Raw Results: Powell's review of Rey Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins for the U.S. Championship, Randy Orton and The Viking Raiders vs. AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson, Kevin Owens vs. Mojo Rawley in a No DQ match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
16. Powell, Jason (December 30, 2019). "12/30 WWE Raw Results: Powell's review of the Bobby Lashley and Lana wedding, Aleister Black vs. Buddy Murphy, the final Raw of 2019". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
17. Powell, Jason (2019-12-15). "Powell's WWE TLC Kickoff Show results: Powell's live review of the TLC pre-show featuring Andrade vs. Humberto Carrillo". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
18. Wilen, Jerome (December 26, 2019). "Andrade captures the US Title during WWE Live Event at Madison Square Garden". WrestleView. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
19. Rueter, Sean (January 21, 2020). "Royal Rumble adds another title match". Cageside Seats. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
20. Powell, Jason (November 24, 2019). "WWE Survivor Series results: Powell's live review of Brock Lesnar vs. Rey Mysterio in a No Holds Barred match for the WWE Championship, "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan for the WWE Universal Championship, Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Bayley in a non-title match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
21. Powell, Jason (November 29, 2019). "11/29 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of a new face in Bray Wyatt's Firefly Funhouse, New Day's open challenge for a Smackdown Tag Title match, Roman Reigns opening the show". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
22. Powell, Jason (December 6, 2019). "12/6 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review Roman Reigns vs. Dolph Ziggler, four-way for a shot at the Smackdown Tag Titles, Bray Wyatt toys with The Miz". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
23. Powell, Jason (December 20, 2019). "12/20 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review Big E and Kofi Kingston vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro in a non-title match, Bayley vs. Dana Brooke in a non-title match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
24. Powell, Jason (December 27, 2019). "12/27 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review Daniel Bryan vs. King Corbin vs. The Miz for a WWE Universal Championship match at the Royal Rumble, Lacey Evans on Alexa Bliss's talkshow". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
25. Powell, Jason (January 17, 2020). "1/17 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of Roman Reigns vs. Robert Roode in a tables match, Bayley vs. Lacey Evans in a non-title match, Big E vs. John Morrison, Kane appearance". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
26. Powell, Jason (January 3, 2020). "1/3 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin and Dolph Ziggler, Sasha Banks and Bayley vs. Lacey Evans and Dana Brooke vs. Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
27. Barnett, Jake (January 10, 2020). "1/10 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Barnett's review of The Usos vs. King Corbin and Dolph Ziggler, John Morrison on Miz TV, Sasha Banks vs. Lacey Evans". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
28. Barnett, Jake (December 13, 2019). "12/13 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Barnett's review of the WWE TLC go-home show". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
29. Powell, Jason (January 26, 2020). "WWE Royal Rumble Kickoff Show results: Powell's live review of Andrade vs. Humberto Carrillo for the U.S. Title, Sheamus vs. Shorty G". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
30. Powell, Jason (January 26, 2020). "WWE Royal Rumble results: Powell's live review of the Royal Rumble matches, "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan in a strap match for the WWE Universal Championship, Becky Lynch vs. Asuka for the Raw Women's Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
31. Powell, Jason (January 27, 2020). "01/27 WWE Raw Results: Powell's review of Edge's return, Royal Rumble winners Drew McIntyre and Charlotte Flair, Seth Rollins and Buddy Murphy vs. Samoa Joe and Kevin Owens for the Raw Tag Titles, Liv Morgan vs. Lana". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
32. Powell, Jason (February 3, 2020). "2/3 WWE Raw Results: Powell's review of Seth Rollins vs. Ricochet vs. Bobby Lashley in a Triple Threat for a shot at the WWE Championship at WWE Super ShowDown, Randy Orton addresses his attack on Edge, Liv Morgan vs. Lana rematch". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
33. Moore, John (February 5, 2020). "2/5 NXT TV results: Moore's review of Charlotte Flair responding to Rhea Ripley's WrestleMania challenge, Ripley and Bianca Belair meeting face to face going into their title match at NXT Takeover: Portland, new NXT Cruiserweight Champion Jordan Devlin's appearance". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
34. Powell, Jason (February 10, 2020). "2/10 WWE Raw Results: Powell's review of Becky Lynch vs. Asuka for the Raw Women's Championship, Seth Rollins, Murphy, and AOP vs. Samoa Joe, Kevin Owens, and The Viking Raiders in an eight-man tag match, the build to WWE Super ShowDown continues". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
35. Moore, John (February 16, 2020). "2/16 NXT Takeover: Portland results – Moore's live review of Adam Cole vs. Tommaso Ciampa for the NXT Championship, Rhea Ripley vs. Bianca Belair for the NXT Women's Championship, Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly vs. Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne for the NXT Tag Titles, Finn Balor vs. Johnny Gargano". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
36. WWE.com Staff (January 28, 2020). "Andrade suspended under the rules of WWE Wellness Policy". WWE. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
37. Benigno, Anthony (January 30, 2020). "MVP reacts to final WWE match on Instagram". WWE. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
38. Powell, Jason (February 17, 2020). "2/17 WWE Raw Results: Powell's review of Randy Orton vs. Matt Hardy in a No Holds Barred match, Aleister Black vs. Erick Rowan, Humberto Carrillo and Rusev vs. Angel Garza and Bobby Lashley, Seth Rollins delivers a sermon". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
39. "WWE now billing Buddy Murphy as 'Murphy'". f4wonline.com. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
40. "Buddy Murphy Drops First Name Again, Now Just 'Murphy'". fightful.com. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
41. Powell, Jason (January 31, 2020). "1/31 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of Roman Reigns and The Usos vs. King Corbin, Robert Roode, and Dolph Ziggler, Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Braun Strowman for the Intercontinental Championship, four-way for a shot at the Smackdown Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
42. Powell, Jason (February 7, 2020). "2/7 WWE Friday Night Smackdown results: Powell's review of Goldberg's return, Alexa Bliss vs. Naomi vs. Carmella vs. Dana Brooke in a four-way for a future championship match, Bray Wyatt's Firefly Funhouse, The Dirt Sheet with The Miz and John Morrison". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
43. Garretson, Jordan (January 26, 2020). "Sheamus def. Shorty G". WWE. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
44. Powers, Kevin (January 26, 2020). "United States Champion Andrade def. Humberto Carrillo". WWE. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
45. Clapp, John (January 26, 2020). "Roman Reigns def. King Corbin (Falls Count Anywhere Match)". WWE. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
46. Garretson, Jordan (January 26, 2020). "Charlotte Flair won the 30-Woman Royal Rumble Match". WWE. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
47. Clapp, John (January 26, 2020). "SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley def. Lacey Evans". WWE. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
48. Powers, Kevin (January 26, 2020). "Universal Champion "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt def. Daniel Bryan". WWE. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
49. Clapp, John (January 26, 2020). "Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch def. Asuka". WWE. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
50. Garretson, Jordan (January 26, 2020). "Drew McIntyre won the 30-man Royal Rumble Match". WWE. Retrieved January 26, 2020.

External links

• Royal Rumble official website