Your SO OF COURSE preview of WWE Royal Rumble 2020!

In this day and age, you can’t just “predict” a PPV anymore, you have to account for the capricious whims of WWE’s septuagenarian, sleep-deprived egomaniac owner. You can’t just “preview” a PPV…you have to preview how things should go, in a reasonable and sane world, and then add “so of course…” and explain what Vince McMahon will probably do instead.

Last time on SO OF COURSE, it was…

Your SO OF COURSE preview of WWE TLC 2019

the December PPV. Five bucks says you can’t remember the main event. I’ll give you ten if you can name even a single match. I got nothing.

None of that matters now though because it’s Royal Rumble time! It’s time again for the three-month stretch where things happen and things matter! Who will main-event WrestleMania?! Who will walk into the show of shows with the WWE and Universal Championships?! How will Vince McMahon screw up the best single-match of the year this year?! Let’s find out!

THIS is your SO OF COURSE preview of WWE ROYAL WASTE OF TIME IF ROMAN REIGNS WINS THIS THING YET AGAIN

RUMBLE 2020!

Here we go…

WOMEN’S ROYAL RUMBLE

What even is this? It’s most wrestling fans’ favorite single match of the year. When done right, it’s hard to top a Royal Rumble. You get a great mix of current feuds, future feuds teased, nostalgia acts, debuts, returns, finishes that either shock or feel earned; it’s a great match.

The women’s event was the big talk last year but this year there’s not been nearly as much hype around it. That being said I can only envision two potential winners: Shayna Baszler and Ronda Rousey. The former is beyond ready to move to a new brand and a Rumble entrance and win would be the perfect way to get her over. The latter has everything in place for her to come back, win the event, and set up the big rematch against the only woman who beat her in her last run.

Wild cards are, as usual, Charlotte and Sasha Banks, but I think one of them will be the final woman out before the finish, and possibly will face the Smackdown champ at Mania.

Does anyone care? Yep/10. The intrigue of the match and the uncertain finish make this a must-see.

SO OF COURSE

SHORTY G vs SHEAMUS

What even is this? It’s Sheamus’ big return match. It’s also the further irrelevance of a tremendous athlete in Chad Gable.

Does anyone care? For all the wrong reasons/10. I care that Gable is being forced to dress like he’s a mid-90’s trick-or-treater. I care that he’s going to be squashed. I care that none of this is going to matter yet is still going to take up too much of my time. I care but for all the wrong reasons.

SO OF COURSE

BAYLEY vs LACEY EVANS

What even is this? Bayley’s doing good work as a heel champ but there’s not a lot for her to work with on SmackDown. Lacey Evans’ babyface character has come too soon after establishing herself as a heel. She needed time to gel and to work with more babyface stars before flipping sides. Bayley will get a good reaction but I fear the match will be a dud.

Does anyone care? No/10.

SO OF COURSE

THE FIEND vs DANIEL BRYAN

What even is this? It’s the rematch from the Royal Rumble 2014 only both of these guys have had a crazy six years in between. It’s also, I believe, the chance for Vince to put the wheels in motion to do what he wanted to do six years ago but couldn’t because those pesky fans expected “their money’s worth,” the jerks.

Does anyone care? Yes(! Yes! Yes!)/10. It’s going to be a baller match and I think the finish is 50/50, though I have a horrible suspicion I know how it’s going to end…

SO OF COURSE

ROMAN REIGNS vs KING CORBIN

What even is this? It’s the guy Vince used to shove down our throats, trying to get him over as a babyface that kept getting booed, vs the guy Vince is currently shoving down our throats, trying to get him over as a heel that keeps getting booed for all the wrong reasons. It’s a Last Man Standing match, so expect some fun spots but nothing too crazy. Neither of these guys, especially Corbin, are the type to do anything crazy. They’re usually the guys who the crazy athletes do their moves to.

Does anyone care? Ha/10 – How could you? Imagine I fed you a really nice steak dinner. And then I did it again the next night. And then again. And again. Every night for a month. Two months. Three. A year. You’d eventually grow sick of it, no? Now replace “steak” with “Roman Reigns and Baron Corbin.”

SO OF COURSE

BECKY LYNCH vs ASUKA

What even is this? It’s the rehabilitation of Asuka. I don’t expect the Empress of Tomorrow to walk out the winner, but I do think she will walk away with enough credibility in defeat to have a strong 2020 as a single’s star

Does anyone care? Oh yeah/10 – Becky’s the hottest star in the company still and the question of who she will face at Mania is one of the big questions going into the PPV. It’s always a big deal when the man comes around and I expect she and Asuka will put on a clinic.

SO OF COURSE

MEN’S ROYAL RUMBLE

What even is this? What even is this? It’s most wrestling fan’s favorite single match of the year…in theory. It can be done well and has been in the past, but more often than not WWE overthinks it and screws it up. When done wrong, a bad Royal Rumble is meandering, boring, predictable, and frustrating. We’ve had too many of those in recent years.

The men took a backseat last year but this year, with Brock Lesnar (the champ) entering at number one, there’s plenty of reason to be hyped. Lesnar in the Rumble offers a few different possibilities. The most boring and stupid finish would see him get tossed by the eventual winner, making the whole thing redundant and pointless. On the other hand, if he gets tossed by someone who doesn’t win, then that guy can work his way into the title match, making it a triple-threat match. There’s also the wildcard possibility of Brock winning and challenging for the WWE Championship, though I don’t think there’s any interest in seeing that.

Does anyone care? Obviously/10 – This is the match that basically sets the tone for the next three months of TV.

Who should win? Let’s break this into three categories…

The Surprise Young Stud: KEITH LEE

The Surprise Legend: THE ROCK

The Not Surprise: ROMAN REIGNS

Keith Lee would be akin to Daniel Bryan winning in 2014 or 2015, neither of which happened but would have blown the roof off the place if it did. I would put the odds around 25% though; he’s just not a big enough name to sell a big title match on the biggest show of the year.

The Rock winning would be the biggest sports story of the non-SuperBowl week, though it’s probably 99% unlikely considering his busy movie schedule. Still, if Vince dropped like 100mm and Rock was willing to do it, you couldn’t get a bigger main-event. Rock is probably a no which means Vince would have to settle for the next best thing.

John Cena’s probably a no, too, which means Vince will probably have to settle for the next best thing.

CM Punk is probably a no, as well, which m—

SO OF COURSE

Oh well, there’s always Wednesday Nights.

Here’s to Sunday.

Cookie	Description
_pxvid	This cookie is used for detection of the browser and distinguishing whether it is a real user or malicious bot.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Advertisement".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics	This cookies is set by GDPR Cookie Consent WordPress Plugin. The cookie is used to remember the user consent for the cookies under the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-non-necessary	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Non Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	This cookie is used to keep track of which cookies the user have approved for this site.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-preferences	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Preferences".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-uncategorized	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Uncategorized".
CraftSessionId	This cookie name is associated with the Craft web content management system, where is functions as an anonymous session identifier.
csrftoken	This cookie is associated with Django web development platform for python. Used to help protect the website against Cross-Site Request Forgery attacks
DSID	To note specific user identity. Contains hashed/encrypted unique ID.
JSESSIONID	Used by sites written in JSP. General purpose platform session cookies that are used to maintain users' state across page requests.
PHPSESSID	This cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed.
viewed_cookie_policy	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Cookie	Description
b30msc
btc
CMST
cref
d
gpl
i
icts
ig_did
mdata
na_rn
na_sc_e
na_sr
na_srp
session_depth
visitor-id

Cookie	Description
__gads	This cookie is set by Google and stored under the name dounleclick.com. This cookie is used to track how many times users see a particular advert which helps in measuring the success of the campaign and calculate the revenue generated by the campaign. These cookies can only be read from the domain that it is set on so it will not track any data while browsing through another sites.
__stid	The cookie is set by ShareThis. The cookie is used for site analytics to determine the pages visited, the amount of time spent, etc.
_ga	This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, camapign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assigns a randoly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gat_gtag_UA_60765351_1	Google uses this cookie to distinguish users.
_gid	This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the wbsite is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages viisted in an anonymous form.
ad-id	Provided by amazon-adsystem.com for tracking user actions on other websites to provide targeted content
demdex	This cookie is set under the domain demdex.net and is used by Adobe Audience Manager to help identify a unique visitor across domains.
DigiTrust.v1.identity	Registers data on visitors’ website-behaviour. This is used for internal analysis and website optimization.
dmvk	This cookie is set by DailyMotion who display videos, it registers statistical data of visitors' behaviour on the website.
gid	This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the wbsite is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages viisted in an anonymous form.
GPS	This cookie is set by Youtube and registers a unique ID for tracking users based on their geographical location
is_unique	This cookie is set by StatCounter to determine how people are using the website
is_visitor_unique	This cookie is set by StatCounter to determine how people are using the website
sc_is_visitor_unique	This cookie is set by StatCounter to determine how people are using the website
v1st	This is set by DailyMotion to display videos.

Cookie	Description
__asc	This cookie is used to collect information on consumer behavior, which is sent to Alexa Analytics.
__auc	This cookie is used to collect information on consumer behavior, which is sent to Alexa Analytics.
__qca	This cookie is associated with Quantcast and is used for collecting anonymized data to analyze log data from different websites to create reports that enables the website owners and advertisers provide ads for the appropriate audience segments.
_cc_aud	The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising.
_cc_cc	The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising.
_cc_dc	The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising.
_cc_id	The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising.
_kuid_	The cookie is set by Krux Digital under the domain krxd.net. The cookie stores a unique ID to identify a returning user for the purpose of targeted advertising.
_px2	This cookie is set by PerimeterX who provide security analyst oversight.
_pxff_tm	This cookie is set by PerimeterX who provide security analyst oversight.
_pxhd	This cookie is set by PerimeterX who provide security analyst oversight.
ab	This cookie is generally provided by agkn.com and is used for advertising purposes.
ad-privacy	Provided by amazon-adsystem.com for tracking user actions on other websites to provide targeted content to the users.
ayl_visitor	This cookie registers data on the visitor. The information is used to optimize advertisement relevance.
bafp	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bafp_t	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn_pl	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn_rf_8b2087b102c9e3e5ffed1c1478ed8b78	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn_rt_8b2087b102c9e3e5ffed1c1478ed8b78	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn_t_8b2087b102c9e3e5ffed1c1478ed8b78	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn_td_2d31c94105a0aa6d1ceaea0c86c6b656	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bito	This cookie is generally provided by bidr.io and is used for advertising purposes.
bitoIsSecure	This cookies are generally provided by bidr.io and is used for advertising purposes.
bsc	The cookies is set by ownerIQ for the purpose of providing relevant advertisement
CMID	This cookie is linked to advertising and tracking the products users were looking at.
CMPRO	This cookie is linked to advertising and tracking the products users were looking at.
CMPS	This cookie is linked to advertising and tracking the products users were looking at.
dc_id	This cookie is used to deliver adverts more relevant to you and your interests. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement as well as help measure the effectiveness of the advertising campaign. They are usually placed by advertising networks with the website operator's permission. They remember that you have visited a website and this information is shared with other organisations such as advertisers.
did	The purpose of the cookie is to identify a visitor to serve relevant advertisement.
didts	The purpose of the cookie is to identify a visitor to serve relevant advertisement.
dpm	The cookie is set by demdex.net. This cookie assigns a unique ID to each visiting user that allows third-party advertisers target that users with relevant ads.
eud	This cookie is from Rocket Fuel and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
euds	This cookie is from Rocket Fuel and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
everest_g_v2	The cookie is set under eversttech.net domain. The purpose of the cookie is to map clicks to other events on the client's website.
evo5_popin_instance	Prevents an interaction from reoccurring for visitors not accepting 3rd party cookies.
id	This cookie is set by DoubleClick (which is owned by Google) to build a profile of the website visitor's interests and show relevant ads on other sites.
IDE	Used by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.
io.narrative.guid.v2	This cookie is generally provided by io.narrative.io and is used for advertising purposes.
KADUSERCOOKIE	This cookie is generally provided by pubmatic.com and is used for advertising purposes.
KTPCACOOKIE	This cookie is generally provided by pubmatic.com and is used for advertising purposes.
matchliveramp	This cookie is provided by w55c.net and is used for advertising purposes.
mc	This cookie is associated with Quantserve to track anonymously how a user interact with the website.
mxpim	This cookie is generally provided by mxptint.net for advertising purposes.
na_tc	This is a Social Media sharing tracking cookie.
NID	This cookie is used to a profile based on user's interest and display personalized ads to the users.
nnls	The purpose of the cookie is to identify a visitor to serve relevant advertisement.
pxrc	The purpose of the cookie is to identify a visitor to serve relevant advertisement.
pxvid	This cookie is set by PerimeterX who provide security analyst oversight.
rlas3	The cookie is set by rlcdn.com. The cookie is used to serve relevant ads to the visitor as well as limit the time the visitor sees an and also measure the effectiveness of the campaign.

Cookie	Description
__jid	Cookies set on the website by the third-party commenting platform Disqus.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
disqus_unique	These cookies are set by Disqus so that users can comment on website/platform.
G_ENABLED_IDPS	The cookie is used by Google and is used for Google Single Sign On.
mid	The cookie is set by Instagram. The cookie is used to distinguish users and to show relevant content, for better user experience and security.
na_id	This cookie is set by Addthis.com to enable sharing of links on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter
ouid	The cookie is set by Addthis which enables the content of the website to be shared across different networking and social sharing websites.
ov	This is a generic functional cookie that provides enhanced functionality and personalisation.
ts	This cookie is generally provided by PayPal and supports payment services in the website.
vuid	These cookies are used by the Vimeo video player on websites.

Your SO OF COURSE preview of WWE Royal Rumble 2020!

WOMEN’S ROYAL RUMBLE

SHORTY G vs SHEAMUS

BAYLEY vs LACEY EVANS

THE FIEND vs DANIEL BRYAN

ROMAN REIGNS vs KING CORBIN

BECKY LYNCH vs ASUKA

MEN’S ROYAL RUMBLE

You might also like

FIND THE TOPICS YOU WANT...

Recommended for you