WWE Royal Rumble 2020 highlights, takeaways and projections
By Luke Norris
Charlotte Flair wins Women’s Royal Rumble Match
- Alexa Bliss
- Bianca Belair
- Mighty Molly
- Nikki Cross
- Lana
- Mercedes Martinez
- Liv Morgan
- Mandy Rose
- Candice LeRae
- Sonya DeVille
- Kairi Sane
- Mia Yim
- Dana Brooke
- Tamina
- Dakota Kai
- Chelsea Green
- Charlotte Flair
- Naomi
- Beth Phoenix
- Toni Storm
- Kelly Kelly
- Sarah Logan
- Natalya
- Xia Li
- Zelina Vega
- Shotzi Blackheart
- Carmella
- Tegan Nox
- Santina Marella
- Shayna Baszler
The first half of the third annual Women’s Royal Rumble Match belonged to Bianca Belair, who entered at No. 2 and lasted more than 33 minutes, racking up a record eight eliminations along the way before being tossed out by Charlotte Flair. Belair and Alexa Bliss, who was the first entrant into the match, battled for a few minutes to start the Rumble and then outlasted about half the field and found themselves alone again midway through, which was done very well. Along the way, we saw a couple of surprises, including Mighty Molly at No. 3 and also the main roster debut of Mercedes Martinez, who was impressive during her run. Naturally, we also saw Lana and Liv Morgan get after one another, actually eliminating each other ahead of their one-on-one match on Monday Night RAW. As there usually is in a Royal Rumble match, we also got some comedy and it began as Otis saved Mandy Rose from being eliminated on a couple of occasions, which really was pretty funny.
After months and months away, Naomi returned to the ring at No. 18, one after Charlotte Flair and Beth Phoenix, who would play a big part in this Rumble match, was out at No. 19. Naomi did her best Kofi Kingston impression as she saved herself from being eliminated by catching herself on the barricade, making her way back up and heading over to the announce tables, where she stayed for a few minutes before building a bridge back to the ring. Very creative. After a few more NXT entrants, of which there were quite a few in this match, we got one more comedy spot as freaking Santina Marella came in at No. 29, had a staredown of sorts with Beth Phoenix and Natalya before throwing him(her)self out of the ring. I’m sure there are plenty of people out there that are upset about a man taking up a spot in the Women’s Royal Rumble but it was hilarious and got a good pop from the Houston crowd.
Shayna Baszler was the last woman to enter the ring and she went on a tear, tossing out seven women in about four minutes. She looked very dominant and the showdown with Charlotte Flair started out beautifully but then just fizzled a bit. It looked a little sloppy late and in the end, it was Charlotte picking up the win and kicking off WrestleMania sign-pointing season. The end was a little rough but this was a fun match overall.
What’s next: Well, we obviously know that Charlotte Flair is on her way to a title match at WrestleMania 36 but we now have to wait to see which champion she’ll face in Tampa. I thought she might go ahead and let the WWE Universe know right away when she took the mic after the match but it was just a quick promo to remind everyone that this is still her division. But is she moving forward as a face or a heel? I suppose it doesn’t really matter as we know a Charlotte match at ‘Mania will be great but I was hoping for a Baszler win here. I know Flair hasn’t won a Rumble before and she can now add that to her list of accolades but I think she could’ve found another path to WrestleMania without this win. It’s not that Baszler can’t but this could’ve been something huge as opposed to going with a safe choice. We’ll see how things play out.