10 Expectations Vs. Reality For WWE Royal Rumble 2020

8. Who Eliminates Brock Lesnar?

CM Punk Dolph Ziggler
WWE.com

Expectation:

Brock Lesnar has violently repelled the first wave of attacks in clinical and blackly hilarious fashion. The cruel idea is to put the Beast over as the Final Boss in the first level, and to execute the idea, he mocks - and subsequently kills - the field. Zack Ryder emerges from #2 for a sight gag, with his hapless happy guy smile, and Lesnar smears his bald spot cover-up across the canvas by dropping him straight on his head with a German suplex. To engineer real heat, Lesnar eliminates all of your new favourites, irrespective of face/heel alignment.

This isn't the face vs. heel morality play of sports entertainment custom; WWE goes meta and blurry with it to capture the angst of the live hardcore crowd - goodbye Andrade, see you later Buddy Murphy, thanks for cummin', Otis! - before the big elimination spot happens. It happens when Aleister Black emerges from gorilla, walks stoically down the ramp, and confronts Lesnar by sitting down cross-legged in an awesome, badass visual. Lesnar picks him up by the throat, and in one sudden, flash movement, Black nails him with the Black Mass. The Beast is slain, and a WrestleMania main event - and a new main event star - is made.

Reality:

January Warning: it's f*cking Cain Velasquez, mate.

Or, alternatively...

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!