WWE kicked off 2020 with an incredible Sunday night on January 26, by delivering its thirty-third annual Royal Rumble pay-per- view, that sent shockwaves through the crowd at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. Forty-two thousand fans filled the stadium with roars and cheers as the wrestlers made their way to the ring, one by one. On January 24, 1988, the first-ever Royal Rumble took place and was broadcast live on the USA Network. It was a phenomenal event that would later be the foundation of WWE and would showcase the greatness of such an opportunity to take part in this competition. Thirty men, ninety seconds between each entry, one ring. 30 WWE stars aim at eliminating their competitors by tossing them over the top rope, with both feet touching the floor. The winner of the event is the last wrestler remaining after all others have been eliminated. Along with winning the Royal Rumble, the winner is then given the chance to challenge a champion for their title in Wrestlemania. It is a grand opportunity for the wrestler not only to show their dominance over 29 other wrestlers, but also to become champion of them all at Wrestlemania. 

Every year, just before the Royal Rumble begins, WWE offers a quick preview of what the Royal Rumble is all about. And it also gives a few fun facts. This is the Preview for the 2020 Royal Rumble.

Every Royal Rumble kicks off with two wrestlers battling in the ring as they await the rest of the lineup to make their way there. It just so happens that this year the first and second wrestlers were none other than WWE champion Brock Lesner, and sinister songsmith Elias. Just before the Rumble began though, Elias delighted everyone with a  small concert as he approached the ring. His song mentioned Brock Lesnar

as a “Braindead Gorilla” and his manager as his “Fat Zookeeper”. Brock Lesnar had enough and left the ring to charge straight for Elias. They both got into the ring and Brock Lesnar took Elias’s guitar and smashed it on his back. He then performed a German suplex on the artist and turfed him out of the Rumble all within one minute. Brock Lesnar then repeatedly began to eliminate one after another of his competition. Slowly but surely he threw multiple men over the top rope, one by one. From underdogs to legends, Brock Lesnar dominated over all of them and towered over them. John Morrison, who only just returned to WWE, lasted nine seconds before Brock tried to throw him all the way back to Impact Wrestling. Morrison’s parkour capabilities came in handy, so he didn’t fall face first when being tossed out of the ring. Brock eliminated a total of 13 wrestlers, tying the record for most eliminations with both Kane and Braun Strowman. Just as fans started to wonder if anything could stop him, Drew McIntyre did just that with a thunderous ClaymoreKick that sent the enormous Lesnar flying off his feet and over the top rope. Not one to hit and run, McIntyre lingered over the fallen champion, showing no fear of a man who has dominated WWE  over the last several years as the crowd unleashed a roar that literally shook the stadium. After Brock Lesnar was thrown out of the ring, it was now Mcintyre’s time to shine. He began to eliminate his opponents, and slowly showed the viewers who was boss. Even with Mcintyre captivating the crowd, suddenly the spotlight shifted to the hall of famer, Edge as he made his way down to the ring.

His shocking return at No. 21 nearly tore the house down. A single “you think you know me?”(his signature song) sent chills down everyone’s spines. The Rated R superstar has been absent from WWE multiple times due to neck injuries, and this time was no different. Edge so-called “retired” because his medical tests showed that if he were to fight again, he would almost certainly die. Edge very much understood the risks, so he

decided to stop wrestling completely. Of course, as the 2020 Royal Rumble came around, he just couldn’t simply be detained any longer. Edge made his comeback, which we all never thought would ever happen, and astonished the crowd, in a way only he could make possible. Edge had a long history with many of the wrestlers participating in the Rumble so as soon as he entered, drama filled the ring. Edge put up a phenomenal fight, but was sadly eliminated in the end. The last four Participants were Rated R Superstar Edge, The Viper Randy Ortan, The Chosen One Drew Mcintyre, and The Big Dog Roman Reigns. Edge eliminated Orton and was left with the two younger men. Reigns took the initiative and got rid of the Rated R superstar. And then there were two…

The crowd went absolutely insane as the two perfectly capable men stared down one another. Both men rightfully deserved the ticket to WrestleMania. Roman Reigns has only won the Royal Rumble once, but has gotten many chances to relive that glory. He has remained in the final three out of five times and was in final three once. He has also been eliminated by the eventual winner four times. Talk about protection.

And as for Mcintyre, he has only ever been in a Royal Rumble once, but was eliminated early. He didn’t have the best WWE career. He was handpicked by the director himself, which gave him the nickname “The Chosen One,” but was always an underdog, and the chances of him scoring the ticket to WrestleMania has always eluded him. They were both equally worthy of receiving the ticket, although sadly only one can be the victor. The battle between them didn’t last very long. At first, Reigns seemed to have the upper hand but Mcintyre quickly turned the tables. He incapacitated him with a Claymore Kick before throwing him over the top rope to the floor. It was absolutely incredible. Drew Mcintyre won the Royal Rumble when no one else thought he would. He rose above all and proved his competition wrong. He entered the Rumble as nothing more than an amateur but left as a champion. Drew wasted no time and challenged Brock Lesnar for his WWE Championship at WrestleMania. I only hope for the best for Drew. All he has to do now is Clamore kick Lesnar one last time.