Royal Rumble 2020 Review

Sunday, January 26th, 2020
Minute Maid Park
Houston, Texas

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Falls Count Anywhere Match
Roman Reigns vs. Baron Corbin

Reigns goes right after Corbin before he even gets off this throne. Michael Cole reminds us of how long this feud has been going on. They slowed this one down a little bit quicker than I thought. I expected a big brawl through the crowd to start. Reigns goes for the Superman Punch, but Corbin hits Deep Six. Corbin then hits Reigns in the weirdest way I can remember with the steps. They now make their way through the crowd. Corbin throws Reigns on the announcers table and gets a 2 count. Corbin counters another Superman Punch attempt, this time with a chokeslam through the Spanish announce table and gets another 2 count. They make their way through the crowd again and it feels like forever before they do anything. Reigns hits a Samoan Drop through a table. They would have been smarter to have ended this by now. Reigns hits another Samoan Drop through another table. Corbin crawls his way up some steps, while Reigns is about to hit him with a chair but Robert Roode and Dolph Ziggler attack him from behind. The Usos are now out to even the odds. They are about to throw Jimmy Uso onto a guard rail until Jey Uso comes out of nowhere and saves him. Corbin comes out and interrupts, but then Reigns hits him with two Superman Punches. Reigns throws Corbin into a porta potty and tips it over. They work their way over to the dugout area, which still claims the Astros are the World Series champs. Yeah, about that. Corbin hits Reigns with one of the weaker looking chair shots you will ever see. Reigns battles back with a Superman Punch again and then a Spear on top of the dugout and gets the victory. Who thought that this match should have gone over 20 minutes on a show where two matches are pretty much guaranteed to go 2 hours? They could have had a really good match if you shaved off 5-10 minutes there. Both guys worked hard and it was entertaining enough, but them walking through the crowd took up a lot of the time.

Match Rating: **1/4 (out of 5)

Kevin Owens is in the back with Samoa Joe. Owens says Houston is where he won both the Intercontinental Championship and the Universal Championship. They then of course go over the not being able to work together schtick.

Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville are now here to talk about working together. Sonya says that if they are the last two in the Rumble match that she would throw herself over the rope to let Mandy win and then walks away.

Michael Cole offers the WWE's condolences to Kobe Bryant and his family.

Women's Royal Rumble Match

The first entrants are Alexa Bliss and Bianca Belair, which I think are both solid choices here. Belair gets a few close calls on Alexa and then Mighty Molly Holly is #3. I have to say I wouldn't have predicted that one, but from what I have seen of her, she seems to be one of the genuinely nicest people in the business. Holly hits a crossbody from the top rope on both ladies. Up next is Nikki Cross to help out her BFF. They all hit moves on one another and are all laying down when #5 comes out and it's Lana. She comes down on the mic and says she is going to win for her hot husband, Lashley. Next up is Mercedes Martinez making her official WWE debut. She comes in and suplexes the majority of those in the ring. No one has been eliminated as of yet. #7 is Liv Morgan and she naturally eliminates Lana. Martinez stalks Morgan from behind and almost eliminates her. Liv goes up top and Lana grabs her and throws her off and out, causing them to brawl on the outside. #8 is Mandy Rose. Nikki Cross revs up, but Mandy knocks her right down and slaps her for good measure. Nikki takes off her jacket and hits Mandy with a crossbody and hits her with right hands as #9 Candice LeRae is out and hits a missile dropkick on Martinez. She then hits a moonsault on Nikki. Belair tosses Molly over the top rope. Mandy Rose is thrown over the top rope, but Otis is there and catches her on the floor, saving her. That was amazing and the crowd loves it. #10 is Sonya Deville. Sonya has added a nice spark here and has picked up the pace a little bit. Fire & Desire hit a combo move on Martinez and eliminate her. Up next is Kairi Sane, umbrella and all. She hits a double clothesline on Alexa and Nikki. #12 is Mia Yim. This match has been pretty light on eliminations so far. Someone needs to get that Diesel spot soon. Belair body presses Alexa, but Nikki makes the save. Belair almost eliminates Nikki, but Alexa saves her, but not for long. She picks up Alexa and uses her to knock Nikki off the apron. Alexa is almost eliminated but she grabs Belair's hair. Sonya turns on Mandy and throws her out, but Otis catches her and Sonya is in shock. But then Sonya gets eliminated, which also causes Otis to drop Mandy. Nice storytelling there. #13 is Dana Brooke. Belair body presses LeRae and eliminates her. Boo! There is no woman that is utilized more poorly than LeRae. Sane goes up top, but Alexa knocks her off and eliminates her. #14 is Tamina. Wow, my two favorite wrestlers back to back here. Belair drops one of her kicks and they start swinging at each other. Tamina charges at her, but Belair ducks and eliminates Tamina. Now we have Dakota Kai. #16 is Chelsea Green and she immediately eliminates Dakota Kai, but then she is immediately eliminated. Dana Brooke is eliminated next and we are back to Alexa and Belair again. Alexa goes for Twisted Bliss, but Belair gets her knees up. They are battling up on the apron and Bliss grabs her hair again. Belair pulls her and rams Alexa into the ring post and Belair is by herself after eliminating her 8th competitor. This of course sets up Charlotte Flair to set up. The best part of the Rumble match is that it's a great time to have some teases to fresh matchups and this is a good example. Naomi makes her return here next. Her and Charlotte both go for a dropkick and the hit a double nip up and decide to go after Belair. The pairing don't last long, as Charlotte immediately gets some chops in. Beth Phoenix makes an appearance here next. Naomi hits a springboard leap onto Phoenix and Charlotte. #20 is Toni Storm. Belair goes up top and Charlotte kicks her off the top. Belair got a real nice showcase here tonight. #21 is Kelly Kelly making a return. Kelly Kelly hits the stink face on Storm. Phoenix has Charlotte hanging by the top rope, but she is able to survive. #22 is Sarah Logan who is underrated. Of course, she is almost immediately eliminated by Charlotte. Charlotte then eliminates Kelly Kelly with a forearm. Natalya is now up next. Beth seems to be bleeding from the back of her head. Natalya and Beth hit a double powerbomb on Charlotte. Up next is Xia Li, followed by Zelina Vega. She hits a leaping hurricanrana on the bloody Beth Phoenix. Charlotte escapes near elimination again. Up next is Shotzi Blackheart. Naomi is almost eliminated but she grabs onto the barricade for her annual Kofi spot, which takes away from the annual Kofi spot. #27 is Carmella and she puts Natalya in the Mella-go-round. Naomi is still on the announcers table trying to figure out how to get back in the ring. Beth and Natalya throw Charlotte out, but through the ropes. Here comes Tegan Nox at 28. Beth Phoenix hits a Glam Slam on Nox pretty quickly. #29 is Santina Marella! Did not expect them to go back to this well, but it's always good to see Santino. He's immediately surrounded by Natalya and Beth and he brings out the Cobra! The ladies have none of it and he runs and eliminates himself. Last but not least is Shayna Baszler. Baszler throws out Xia Li and Nox right away. Nox looked to have hit her head on the way out. She then eliminates Blackheart and Vega. Naomi is using a piece of the table as a bridge and successfully returns. Baszler throws out Storm and Naomi. She already has 7 eliminations. Baszler is alone with Natalya and Beth and they hit the Hart Attack on her. Beth then shockingly tosses out Natalya. Baszler is about to dump out Beth, but then Charlotte comes from behind and tries to dump both, but neither are elminated. Phoenix comes back in while Baszler and Charlotte face off. Baszler then eliminates Phoenix. Charlotte skins the cat and eliminates Baszler to win the Rumble! There was a lot of really good storytelling throughout the match. I get why Charlotte won, but I think the time was now to pull the trigger on Baszler and what better way than to have her eliminate Charlotte in the Rumble? The women's division desperately needs someone outside of the norm to get a shot and they had the opportunity here tonight. Will Rousey make a return before WrestleMania perhaps? Props to Beth Phoenix for hanging in there and hopefully she is all good. Winner aside, I enjoyed this one a lot.

Match Rating: ***3/4

Charlotte is interviewed after her victory and she said that tonight she reminded everyone that this is her division.

Baron Corbin claims that Roman Reigns made a mockery of their match by relying on the Usos. He says that he is going to throw Baron out and go on to main event WrestleMania.

SmackDown Women's Championship Match
Bayley vs. Lacey Evans

It's tough for any match to follow a good Rumble match, but this one seems like a poor choice to do so. It seems as if Lacey is doing well as a face, but I can't help but look at her and think of her as a heel. Having Lacey's daughter here for this particular feud is a nice touch though. After withstanding an early flurry from Lacey, she hits a flying elbow and gets the first 2 count of the match. Lacey is a Vince McMahon dream come true though with her background, which means we have to hear about her background every single match. Bayley drills Lacey with a running clothesline and again gets a 2 count. Evans tries to leap over the top rope, but Bayley side steps her and threw her into the barricade in front of her family. Back in the ring, Evans hits a standing moonsault and then attempts a springboard moonsault, but Bayley gets her knees up. Bayley goes for a pin and holds her tights and gets the victory. I hate seeing Bayley like this, but that wasn't a very good match. They weren't put in a good spot by the company and they didn't win over the crowd there.

Match Rating: *1/2

Strap Match For The Universal Championship 
Daniel Bryan vs. The Fiend

I like 1992 Nailz more than I like the Fiend. I can't believe I just typed that. But seriously, get him off my TV. I a curious to see how they book this match though. From the little of the pre-show I saw you had legendary commentators David Otunga and Sam Roberts saying Bryan is an idiot for doing this. Wyatt hits a powerbomb and then hits him with the strap. Bryan hits Wyatt outside and goes for a suicide dive, but Wyatt pushes him into the barricade. Bryan then gets thrown into the ring post. Wyatt props Bryan on the top rope and starts whipping him in the back. He now has him in the tree of woe and continues to whip him. Bryan finally gets some offense after a kick and running knee. Bryan has that natural instinct that Shawn Michaels has where he knows exactly when to make his comebacks. Bryan knocks Wyatt out of the ring and then Bryan goes off the top rope to the floor and starts pounding on Wyatt. But Wyatt recovers and throws him into the steps. Wyatt throws Bryan under the bottom rope, so Bryan pulls the strap and repeatedly pulls Wyatt into the ring post. Bryan hits a running knee off the apron and Wyatt no sells it and hits him with a clothesline. Wyatt now has Bryan on the table, but Bryan hits him with a bunch of low blows and then a DDT onto the table. Bryan now gets his turn to whip Wyatt. Back in the ring, Bryan hits a missile dropkick. Bryan is trading Yes Kicks and whippings with the strap. The Fiend asks for more, so Bryan obliges. Bryan then repeatedly stomps Wyatt right in the face. Bryan is the miracle worker who can get a good match out of this stupid character. Bryan has the crowd chanting and charges at Wyatt. He counters and hits Sister Abigail, but Bryan is able to kick out. Bryan sits up on the top rope, but Wyatt runs in with the Mandible Claw. Bryan tries to get out with a leg scissors but Wyatt pulls him back in the ring. Bryan slips out and puts him in the Lebell Lock and uses the strap across his face. Wyatt is able to break loose because he's magic. Wyatt then starts whipping him again because he already is out of ideas. Wyatt goes for Sister Abigail again, but Bryan rolls him up for a 2 count. Bryan follows it up for a running knee and almost gets the victory. Bryan is trying to will his way back up, but Wyatt pops right back up. Bryan is whipping him with no effect and Wyatt puts the Mandible Claw back in. Wyatt slams him down and pins him with the Mandible Claw still in. People used to say that Ric Flair could wrestle a broomstick to a good match, well Daniel Bryan just wrestled a near 300 pound broomstick to probably the best match he will ever have in this insult of a character.

Match Rating: ***1/4

The Fiend disappears and Bryan tries to walk to the back to a cheer from the crowd.

They announce an attendance of 42,715 for tonight's event, beating out Taylor Swift.

Raw Women's Championship Match
Asuka vs. Becky Lynch

They do a nice back and forth sequence and I have to say it's so good to see Asuka in this spot again. Lynch is still over, but man is it nowhere near where it once was. Asuka hits a reverse neckbreaker onto the second rope from the apron. These two had a really good match at last year's Rumble (***3/4), but also had the blessing of going on first. 5 hours in and the crowd is showing signs of exhaustion. Becky makes her comeback with a running bulldog and a dropkick. Becky goes for the Becksploder off the apron and then Asuka tries for a suplex. Becky blocks it and suplexes her face-first to the floor. Becky hits the Becksploder into the barricade. They are back on the apron again and Asuka hits a hip attack on Becky, causing her to bump into the ring post. Becky has Asuka kind of awkwardly standing on the second rope and she hits a Rock Bottom off the ropes. They keep playing up Asuka as the woman that Becky can't defeat. Asuka hits a Codebreaker on a leaping Becky. Asuka locks in the arm bar and switches to the Asuka Lock after a counter from Becky. Asuka hits a German suplex and then hits multiple kicks to the head. The ref pulls Asuka off to check on Becky to boos from the crowd. The ref is about to ring the bell, but Becky grabs her leg to stop him. They go into a fast and furious pace with multiple counters leading to a real nearfall for Becky. Both women are down. They pull each other up and Asuka accidentally pushes Becky into the ref. Becky bumps into Asuka, causing her to spit the green mist up in the air instead of her face. Becky locks in Disarm Her and gets the victory. So this was definitely not as good as last year, but it was still a good one. The crowd hurt it a little bit, but they both worked hard.

Match Rating: ***1/4

The Street Profits are backstage, where they seemingly are stuck in this role. They start going through competitors in the Royal Rumble by beat boxing their entrance music.

Men's Royal Rumble Match

Michael Cole announces that Lashley and Rusev are not going to be in the Rumble after an altercation leaving both men injured. Booker T joins the announce team for the match. The first entrant is of course the already announced Brock Lesnar. Elias is your #2 and he's out with his guitar of course. His song is entitled "Sacrificial Lamb" and Lesnar looks legit annoyed that he has to stand there that long. Lesnar almost falls over as he runs out of the ring to go after Elias. We're about 30 seconds in and we get our first Lesnar suplex. Heyman hands Lesnar the guitar and he strikes Elias over the back with it and he tosses him out. #3 is Erick Rowan and he gets the Bushwacker Luke/Santino spot, getting eliminated in 8 seconds. Out comes Robert Roode next, who is wisely taking his time to the ring. Roode quickly eats a F5 and then tosses him out. Lesnar is now holding up the championship as John Morrison comes out at #5. I have to say that these are two guys I never thought I would see in the ring at the same time. Unfortunately, it wasn't for long as he too gets the quick toss. Well, here's the follow up to their match from the fall, as Kofi Kingston is in next. Kofi goes right at him and the crowd has officially woken up. Brock hits a nasty looking German suplex. Kofi is the first one to make it the "90 seconds" and #7 is Rey Mysterio. Lesnar then double clotheslines both opponents and he is again in control. #8 is Big E and is someone I have always wanted to see take on Brock. All three men go after Brock and he fights them off. Kofi then hits Trouble In Paradise and then Big E hits the Big Ending. Mysterio follows it up with a 619. Mysterio leaps off of Big E's back and Lesnar catches him and tosses him over. He then leaps off of Big E's back and clotheslines Kofi. He tosses Big E next and it's back to him and Kofi, but not for long. He does an F5 over the top rope. #9 is Cesaro. Please let's give him a chance here. Pretty much by the time I stopped typing that, Cesaro has been clotheslined over the top rope. #10 gives us a University of Minnesota reunion with Shelton Benjamin. Shelton embraces Heyman on his way in and they play buddy buddy. They act as if they are waiting for their next opponent but Lesnar obviously turns on him and throws him out. Now it's time for the Intercontinental Champion, Shinsuke Nakamura accompanied by Sami Zayn. Unfortunately Zayn goes to the back. Nakamura suffers the same fate as just about everyone else. #12 is MVP! That's a surprise that I did not see coming. And for the first time ever, I was completely booted out of my WWE Network feed. I am one of the few that has never happened to. MVP gets a move or two in, but he too eats a F5 and is eliminated. I really did not see them going this long with this strategy, but here we are. #13 is Keith Lee. Here we go. Keith hits two shoulder tackles and knocks Lesnar down. The crowd is absolutely eating this up by the way. They hit a double clothesline and both men are down. #14 is Braun Strowman and I guess you can say they are officially starting the Rumble here now. Strowman knocks down both men. Lee rolled outside and he steamrolls him. Lesnar hits a German suplex on both Strowman and Lee not once, but twice. Lee and Strowman now face off and Lesnar comes out and dumps both men out, tying the elimination record. Not a fan of that and here comes Ricochet at #15. Ricochet comes off the top and Lesnar of course catches him and hits him with a backbreaker. Lesnar is starting to show fatigue, but he still hits a German suplex on him. At #16, we get the man who has been rumored to be the one to eliminate Lesnar with Drew McIntyre. I thought McIntyre should have possibly won last year. Ricochet hits a low blow on Lesnar, who is distracted by McIntyre. McIntyre hits a Claymore Kick and eliminates Lesnar to a big pop. Ricochet hits a springboard dropkick and a standing Shooting Star Press, but McIntyre picks Ricochet up and tosses him out. Now it's McIntyre who is all alone in the ring. Miz is in next. McIntyre hits a Claymore Kick on Miz and eliminates him and McIntyre continues to stare down Lesnar, who has not yet made it to the back. I'm not sure why it has taken this long for McIntyre to get a strong endorsement, but they are obviously very committed to it tonight. AJ Styles is in at 18. He gets the Calf Crusher locked in as Dolph Ziggler enters in at 19. Ziggler distracts McIntyre and Styles takes out McIntyre's knee. McIntyre throws Ziggler halfway across the ring. McIntyre almost has AJ eliminated, but out comes Karl Anderson to help him out. All three men are trying to eliminate McIntyre, but then Styles and Anderson go towards Ziggler. For some reason Cole is super pumped about Anderson almost eliminating Ziggler. We then get the biggest surprise of the night with Edge coming down at #20. He had been denying it so much lately, it was starting to feel like it was going to happen. But I also thought with kids, he was good not stepping back in just yet. He hits a series of Spears and crowd is digging it. Edge and Styles face off  and Styles hits a Pele Kick. Edge comes back with a Spear on Styles. If you didn't get your fill of him earlier, you're in luck because #21 is King Corbin. Out of nowhere, Edge throws AJ out and it almost feels like maybe it wasn't supposed to happen. #23 is Matt Riddle, which sucks because the world wants to see him and Lesnar square off. He flips off his flip flops and lets it rip on McIntyre and Corbin. Riddle is going after Edge and McIntyre and Corbin eliminates him to a lot of boos. Luke Gallows is 24. McIntyre eliminates Corbin thankfully. There are some big names still left here and at #25 it's Randy Orton. Orton hits a RKO on both members of the OC and then he and Edge decide to have a Rated RKO reunion and eliminate both Gallows and Anderson. #26 IS THE BIG DAWGGGGGG!!!!! Sorry. He's getting the "he's banged up" story tonight. He Spears Ziggler and dumps him over the top. Here comes Kevin Owens at 27. He hits a couple of cannon balls and a pop up powerbomb on McIntyre. Reigns eats a Stunner and so does Orton. #28 is Aleister Black who I thought would get a better reaction here. McIntyre gets hit with Black Mass. I know that Edge is a big fan of Black, so I would not be surprised if he gets eliminated by him. #29 is Samoa Joe. Joe and Black go at it, which is a match I would love to see. Joe and Owens go at it as #30, Seth Rollins, makes his way down. He is accompanied by Authors of Pain and Buddy Murphy. Joe and Owens run under the ropes and go after all four men. Rollins and Murphy drag Edge out and slam him in the barricade. Authors of Pain tosses Orton over the announcers table, but is not eliminated. Rollins hits a Stomp on Reigns. Black goes for a springboard kick, but Murphy grabs his feet and Rollins eliminates him. Owens hits a Stunner on Rollins and throws him over the top rope, but AoP catch him. Owens is then eliminated. Murphy saves Rollins from Joe and then Joe gets eliminated. We are down to Rollins, Edge, Orton, McIntyre and Reigns. Owens, Black and Joe are all brawling with Seth's crew and Rollins isn't happy about it. All four surround Rollins and he tries to get Reigns on his side. Reigns responds with a Superman Punch. The others take turns and then toss Rollins out and we have our final four. Rated RKO decide to work together again. Edge hits a Spear on McIntyre. For some reason they have missed a couple of Edge's Spears. Edge and Orton hit a double RKO on McIntyre. Orton tries to sneak up on Edge, but Edge sees it coming. Edge then turns his back on Orton and throws him over the top. Of all of the possible matches for Edge at Mania, I really hope that isn't the one we are getting. They never got to do a proper breakup feud due to injury, but still. There are lots of other matches Edge could do. Edge and Reigns are going at it. Edge gets hit with a Superman Punch, which may be the 38th of the night. Edge leaps over a Spear and then hits Roman with a Spear of his own He throws him over, but Roman hangs on the apron. Roman gets Edge on the apron and Roman kicks Edge's arm off and we are down to the final two. Reigns tries to toss McIntyre over, but he catches himself. Claymore Kick by McIntyre and WWE finally pulls the trigger on McIntyre! That was probably the most uniquely structured Rumble match that I can think of off the top of my head. I'm not sure the first half will play well on a second viewing, but it did the job live. The last 10 minutes or so were really well done and featured a lot of the bigger names. Let's see if McIntyre can do something here with the push.

Match Rating: ***3/4

Both Rumble matches delivered and considering that's over half of the show, that means it's a thumbs up. The undercard dealt with an exhausted crowd and it hurt a few of the matches. Daniel Bryan put on a fantastic performance and deserves credit for making a match with The Fiend good. The Royal Rumble is a fun event and delivered an intriguing start to WrestleMania season.

Overall Rating: 81%