10 Best Wrestling Matches Of 2020 (So Far)
7. Men's Royal Rumble Match - WWE Royal Rumble 2020
The Royal Rumble match had lost its lustre throughout the 2010s.
The beloved institution, once a star-maker, existed for a time to bring the tense, fraying relationship between office and fandom into controversial focus. The old, multifarious magic - the Rumble match once launched main event careers and incited upper midcard WrestleMania programmes with excellent character interactions - was gone, replaced by broad, profligate comedy and cynical distraction booking.
It returned, gloriously, in 2020 - but, in a genius twist, not before manipulating the hardcore audience into a state of anxiety.
It was announced that the mercenary Brock Lesnar, who couldn't be a*sed with the excessive travel of WrestleMania season, was going to banter it off by simply starting and finishing the Rumble with ease. Preying on the fears of fans with this meta narrative - he had ended the Streak, this was something they'd do - we got the best of the Beast in the opening salvo. He brutally rinsed the competition with a gleeful d*ckhead cackle and, with a facial expression of quite hilarious concern, subtly put over the threat of Keith Lee. That's the magic the structure of the Rumble yields.
WWE had two choices: build one RAW talent to eliminate Brock Lesnar, and build one, presumably Roman Reigns, to win the match itself. In the sort of committed masterstroke of which fans were famished, WWE put it all on Drew McIntyre after a tremendous finishing sequence.
The old magic of 2003 and 2005 - that excellent character action - arrived too, euphorically, upon Edge's return. His intimate, captured moment with Randy Orton, and subsequent elimination of him, was expert stuff.
This was the sort of match only WWE can do promoted at a time most thought them incapable of it.