5 takeaways from WWE Royal Rumble 2020
The Royal Rumble began as a one-off, a prestige event to be aired on the USA network just when the rivalry between the National Wrestling Alliance and what was then called the World Wrestling Federation was heating up.
After the NWA aired its Clash of the Champions broadcast, a PPV quality free offering that also happened to air at the exact same time as Wrestlemania IV. The high ratings garnered by the Clash of the Champions proved that the burgeoning cable television audience would tune into pro wrestling prestige level events.
So the WWE presented the Royal Rumble for free on the USA network, and it became an instant hit. So much so that it's become an annual tradition with the highest of stakes; a main event title shot at Wrestlemania.
The Royal Rumble 2020 left many people with mouths gaping in astonishment at the surprises, some hinted at and others exploding out of the blue. Here are five takeaways from the mega event.
#1 Drew McIntyre's rise to the main event has finally begun
Can you believe it's been over ten years since Vince McMahon stood in the ring with Drew McIntyre and proclaimed that the Scottish Psychopath would one day be the WWE's big belt champion?
It has indeed. Back in 2009, McIntyre was elevated to Smackdown after spending two years in WWE's FCW promotion. But after being proclaimed a future main event star, his career sputtered.
Now, however, McIntyre finally seems poised to assume the mantle of Chosen One that had been dispensed upon him so many years ago. He won the Royal Rumble, and he even eliminated the Beast Incarnate himself, Brock Lesnar. If that's not setting the stage for a future clash, we don't know what is.