8 WWE Royal Rumble 2020 Impulse Reactions

4. Bayley (c) Vs. Lacey Evans

Edge Royal Rumble
WWE.com

In a first for this show since the addition of a second Royal Rumble, Bayley and Lacey Evans didn't wrestle to silence in a post-Rumble clash.

It speaks to how surprisingly successful the Lacey Evans babyface experiment has been - the pair didn't exactly reinvent the wheel in there, and Bayley's countering of Evans' best babyface spot (the old Merosault was always destined to be a popper alongside the Women's Right as soon as she turned) was as clean and cheap, but the bad guy got over by trying to subdue the good guy, and there's an awful lot to be said for that in 2020.

All the craic is still a bit one dimensional - the Champion is a misery now, the Challenger has a kid and has stopped being a d*ckhead to everybody - but these two have had good physical chemistry away from the microphone and Evans seems a cert to eventually win the title and satisfy a Vince McMahon dream sequence. Thumbs cautiously up, then, until they rematch the f*ck out of it before the next pay-per-view.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett