Ranking EVERY WWE Royal Rumble Match - From Worst To Best

3. 2020 Men's

Royal Rumble 2020 Drew McIntyre Brock Lesnar
WWE.com

Another brilliant example of the Royal Rumble match being used to propel a talent to an entirely different level, the 2020 men's Rumble was huge for the career of Drew McIntyre.

McIntyre had experienced the odd dabble with the main event scene by that point, but the 2020 Rumble set the Scottish Warrior on the path to becoming a staple of that scene. And just as pivotal as that Rumble win, was the elimination of Brock Lesnar by Drew.

Bored with the apparent lack of competition, Lesnar - as WWE Champion - entered the 2020 Royal Rumble at #1 and aimed to decimate 29 other men in yet another flex from Paul Heyman's Beast Incarnate. For over 24 minutes, that's exactly what happened, with Brock amassing a mammoth 13 eliminations before some nice teamwork between Ricochet and McIntyre led to the former Chosen One sending Lesnar over the top rope with a Claymore Kick.

Of course, Drew McIntyre going on to win the Rumble and head to WrestleMania to defeat Brock and win his first World Title in WWE was massive, but just as big a story - if not more so - was the return of Edge after nine years of enforced retirement. The sight of an understandably emotional Adam Copeland appearing at Houston's Minute Maid Park is one that garnered a likewise emotional response from so many fans across the globe, with the 11-time World Champion making it through to the final three before Roman Reigns eliminated him. Also, having Drew McIntyre eliminate Roman to win the match was another major indicator that big things were in store for the future of the Scot - even if, sadly, that 'Mania 36 win for Drew played out in front of zero fans in the WWE Performance Center.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.