Royal Rumble 2020

The build.

Royal Rumble 2020 from Houston is the 31st Annual Royal Rumble, the 132nd WWF PPV.

The announcers are Mauro Ranallo, this is his 18th PPV and Paul Heyman, it is his 16th as an announcer.

Dark: Ciampa d Gargano, BWI d. GDI/BSS, Walter d. Hero 

The show opens with shots from all around the arena, inside, backstage, parking lot, and it is rimmed with security.  The announcers tell the story, this past Monday, the Bullet Club viciously attacked Kurt Angle, and the streets are super hot tonight.  A decision has been made to separate the Club from Shoot Nation and the card has been structured to do that - the Shoot Nation match will be in the first half of the card, there will be an intermission, and then they will be escorted from the arena - at that point the Bullet Club will be allowed to enter and the Bullet Club matches will both be in the back half of the card.  Only Lesnar/Gable, who are wrestling tonight, will be allowed in the building for Shoot Nation, the rest of the squad has been told they will be removed should they attempt to enter.  Hence, security. We're told that after intermission, the locker rooms will be emptied, only wrestlers connected to the remaining matches permitted in the arena.  

Lots of crowd shots tonight - the "look at how many people are here, how excited they are - how jam packed with human electricity" vibe is evident.  

1. NEW DAY (LANGSTON/KINGSTON w/Woods/Banks) d. HOOLIGANS (SHEAMUS/MIZ w/Bayley)

-Langston gets the fall on Miz; along with Usos, these squads should be viewed as in the same rung of the card, with Langston the ND equivalent of McIntyre and Reigns as the powerhouse leader so in a match like this, where Langston is the only one of that trio working, he's going to go over.  The other story that's told is Bayley/Banks -- they have to brawl here, it has to be 50/50, it has to be uncontrollable, like they fight to the back - and then their fight continues in the back.  They've both got chips on their shoulders - Bayley hurt that the rest of 4-Ground didn't ever come to her aid when she was on the wrong end of the Horsewomen beatings -- and Banks irritated that even after pinning both of them at Survivor Series, that Lynch/Flair have a singles match tonight and she's not on the card.  

2. THE FIEND BRAY WYATT d. BOBBY ROODE

-It's a squash; Wyatt's doing his monster heel thing.  

3. IO SHIRAI v. KARI SANE

-Sami Zayn is the referee for the match; meaning that the "please, do not chant Ole" PSA airs in the arena prior to the match, but is not shown on the broadcast and the broadcast never references anything special about Zayn, he is always just treated as any other referee. This is a workrate match; they are friends turned momentary rivals after an inability to get along during the Survivor Series four way, but they both remain babyfaces and just do the best 15 minute wrestling match they have in them as it's the last time we'll get this matchup.  

4. LA SOMBRA (w/Zelina) d. CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI 

-Lot to do here.  

Gargano doesn't enter with Claudio; we've seen the tension between them ratchet up right to the precipice of a breakup; they just keep losing too often to stay together.  Chris Hero intervened, throwing out that the problem is that this negative view of themselves they were perpetuating with the name Trash had dragged them down - that instead, they were Kings of Wrestling.  That's left hanging as we get to this one.

There's a ref bump and Zelina keeps Sombra (a technico) distracted while her other two charges, Garza and Carillo (rudos, both no masks) run in and stomp out Castagnoli.  

That leads to a save by Hero - Claudio's old partner, about to retire from the ring, runs in; he and Claudio clean house.  Hero points to Claudio and says "hey" -- there's a pause - will Claudio respond with a "hey" -- but before we can find out, Sombra re-enters, the referee is revived - the referee sees Hero in the ring and not Carillo/Garza, who have gone under the ring - Hero is ejected and the match is resumed.

Later, another distraction, Zelina distracting the referee - Dioses del sol Retorcidos returns from underneath the ring - they hit a double team on Claudio - Sombra is stunned - he didn't know they were there -- Sombra hesitates, but takes the fall on the prone Castagnoli.  

Garza and Carillo then gleefully stomp out Claudio.  Sombra doesn't like it - but Zelina holds him back - Hero runs back in - Hero and Claudio now getting the advantage over Garza and Carillo - Sombra is torn -- but at Zelina's urging - he now enters to aid Dioses del sol Retorcidos and now it's 3 on 2...save by Gargano, Gargano - Hero - Castagnoli now working together - getting the advantage - cleaning house - and Garza/Carillo/Sombra are sent packing.

5. DREW McINTYRE d. ROMAN REIGNS USO

-So, right now, McIntyre and Hooligans are babyfaces with a little bit of an edge; Langston and New Day are fully babyfaces and Usos are heelish but really more cocky babyfaces.  Obviously that's not ideal.  Eventually, we'll see Usos move in the current IRL direction, the IRL Reigns character at end of 2020 is easily, easily his best work and that's where Usos will go.  New Day is fine where they are - that means Hooligans will be in the middle, which is also fine, although at some point the mismatched thing with Miz becomes untenable.  Right now though, we need McIntyre to just be a babyface given booking demands.  So, this is a clean, hard fought win.  

6. SHOOT NATION (LESNAR/GABLE) d. CLIQUE (RIDDLE/LEE w/HBK)

-The main throughline for the night is the attack on Angle by the Bullet Club Monday, we haven't seen Shoot Nation yet - and when they enter for this match, Gable comes alone.  Gable fights alone for most of the match, eventually Lesnar emerges, his face a mixture of heartache and fury - he tags in without breaking stride and unloads on the Clique, laying both men out and getting the fall on Riddle.  Heyman, on the announce, says he's never seen this look in Brock Lesnar's eyes and there's no telling how dangerous, how destructive, this man might become.  

Security then converges on the aisle - escorting Gable and Lesnar from the building, Lesnar noncommunicative, even with Gable, giving a look over the shoulder as he exits the arena.

Taped package now covering the history of Texas PPV on one half of the screen, while on the other half, we see the Bullet Club (no Devitt, still) begin to arrive at the building, security escorting them in.  We see the wrestler exodus from the back, dark match participants, any of the first half of the card wrestlers, anyone who otherwise might just be here.

Runble '89 - Houston, Hennig with the PerfectPlex on Bret to take the IC Title

Survivor Series '94 - San Antonio, Shawn superkicking Owen, taking the WWF Title

Rumble '97-San Antonio, Cactus and Terry Funk in a death match, hitting each other with flaming barbed wire bats

Mania 17 '01 - Houston, Angle and Benoit trading suplexes in a fast sequence

Survivor Series '03 - Dallas, 4 way brawl with Lesnar, Eddy, Angle, Benoit

Rumble '17 - San Antonio, Punk with the Pepsi Plunge on Matt Hardy

Mania 25 '09 - Houston, the 2nd Montreal Match, Matt/Jeff/Edge/Christian; Matt celebrating after pinning his brother

Mania 32 '16 - Dallas, Styles coming out of his pod in the Elimination Chamber to the shock of the crowd

Rumble '17 - San Antonio, Steen and Generico hitting a double team maneuver on Neville

Survivor Series '17 - Houston, Black standing over the broken Ambrose

7. WWF TAG TITLES: CLIQUE (EDGE/NITRO w/HBK) d. REY MYSTERIO/KEVIN STEEN

The 109th WWF Tag Team Champions are Edge and Johnny Nitro.

It's Nitro's first tag title, he was IC Champ in 2010 and also NWA Champ during the period where that belt was actively defended in WWF.

Edge is a Triple Crown winner; this is his 3rd tag title; he and Christian had the belts in 2000 and again in 2009.  He was IC Champ in 2005 and WWF Champ in 2010.

Okay - both Nitro and Edge were Mystery Clique Members, so Mysterio and Steen are first in the ring - Michaels music plays, he enters -- then Nitro, making his return to WWF; Nitro was a Michaels protegee - Nitro has been a champion with TNA, with Lucha Underground, in his time away - and Edge then enters, retired nearly a decade, Steen and Mysterio will sell the surprise of that in the ring.  The crowd pop will be significant.  

So - it's Edge and Nitro, with Michaels wearing his cowboy hat.  In Texas where he gets a hometown reaction (this isn't San Antonio, but this has been promoted as a Texas Royal Rumble, hence the clip package at intermission) -- and Mysterio, obviously, will also have a significant fan reaction.

They have the best match they can, Edge gets the fall on Mysterio to take the belts.

Clique gets the big pop - they do the big celebration and exit - leaving Steen to console Mysterio.

And then Steen turns on him like an animal.  

No one is coming to help Rey - because - of course - they've all been escorted from the building at intermission and everyone else still has a match coming up tonight.  Steen is relentless, vicious, just burying Mysterio with a package piledriver, say atop the steel steps.  Steen screaming at Mysterio "you take money out of my pocket, you took food off my family's table."

As Steen will explain in a promo on the way to Mania, this was always the plan - Mysterio tried to end his career, end the way he provides for his family - he knew he would come back to WWF, wait for the right time, and when it came, he'd strike.  The tag titles, that was a bonus - if he could use Mysterio to add another belt to his collection, all the better.  

Steen is foaming, frothing at the mouth as he exits the ring, leaving Mysterio's battered body in his wake.  

8. CHARLOTTE FLAIR draw BECKY LYNCH 

This match gets thrown out when Bayley and Banks continue their fight - coming back down to the ring, all four women wind up fighting together, referees unable to control them - a full on four woman brawl, the announce speculating that the longstanding rivalry among these former stablemates threatens to torpedo all of their careers.  

9. IC TITLE: ALEISTER BLACK (w/UNDERGROUND) d. RICOCHET (w/BWI)

-Ricochet's IC reign comes to an end; Black becomes the 73rd IC Champ.  

Underground (the leaders being Black, Murphy, Crews and, of course, Regal) has been feuding on again, off again with BWI (Alexander/Tozawa/Ricochet) for many months and they come out on top here, Black gaining his first WWF belt.  Ricochet loses the belt he's held since Mania.  Underground doing the "whose house?  Our house" celebration postmatch first seen some 7 some odd years before. 

10. WOMEN'S TITLE: SHAYNA BASZLER (w/HORSEWOMEN) d. ASUKA

-Asuka's first loss in her WWF career.  The streak is over.

From her time in developmental, through Dark Ride Wrestling, through her chase of Lynch, the winning of the WWF Title, even her return after getting stomped out by the Horsewomen and having to relinquish her belt, Lynch remained undefeated, doing the full IRL Goldberg streak.  

But it's over - Baszler keeps her belt, winning the very best match they can squeeze out with all the spotlight they can manage.  The Horsewomen - Baszler/Ripley/Shafir/Duke each hit a turnbuckle to celebrate.  

11. NUMBER ONE CONTENDER: AJ STYLES d. BRYAN DANIELSON

-Styles beats Danielson again.

Since his return from concussion forced retirement; Styles has been a hurdle Danielson could not leap. His losses to AJ precipitating a metamorphosis of an all time fan favorite into...sort of a know it all dick.  But this was the chance to turn that all around - Danielson promised that once he beat Styles, that would put him in the Mania main event and he'd then regain the WWF Title and become the American Dragon once again that fans knew and loved.

And he loses.  Again.  

Main event style match; long, striking sequence, nearfalls.  Styles clash 1-2-3

Styles is triumphant - he is the number one contender and by all accounts will be heading to Mania to fight for the WWF Title.  Danielson is in a ball in the corner.

When...down the ramp...comes Kevin Steen.

Steen gets in AJs face - Steen yelling that AJ isn't the best wrestler in the world, doesn't deserve that title shot.  AJ and Steen are nose to nose, jawing back and forth -- from behind Styles comes Danielson, who kicks out his leg.  Danielson then pounces - viciously attacking Styles -- Danielson with the elbows to Styles neck - Danielson with cattle mutilation on Styles.  

Danielson and Steen stand above Styles - sneering, Danielson and Steen - together - Danielson and Steen are together!

12. WWF TITLE: THREE WAY DANCE: TYLER BLACK (w/BULLET CLUB) d. SHINSUKE NAKAMURA/SAMOA JOE

Black pins them both, pins Joe, then pins Nakamura, going over strong to retain the WWF Championship.  

The Bullet Club (no Lynch, no Devitt) does the full in ring celebration postmatch; flag flying - champagne flowing - as it's always been, as it perhaps always will be, the Bullet Club one more time riding high atop the World Wrestling Federation.

Camera cuts to the parking lot.  A car screams into the lot - it's Lesnar - and he does a full Stone Cold thing - he marches back into the arena - just destroying any security guard who jumps in his way - Lesnar laying waste to everything between he and the ring - the Bullet Club watches Lesnar on the video wall - incredulous as he gets closer and closer - and when Lesnar emerges at the top of the ramp - then bursting into a dead sprint - the Bullet Club does the crazy scramble out of the ring -- Kushida slips, falls - so he's in the ring as Lesnar smashes his way through - he eats the F5 - the show ending with a close up on a half crazed with grief Brock Lesnar who rips the Bullet Club flag clean in half.  

And that's the Royal Rumble.  

We're back in February for Part 1 of the build to Wrestlemania 36. As it turns out, a Wrestlemania unlike any other.