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WWE Royal Rumble 2020: Predicting Women’s Final 4 before Survivor Series

By Kevin Parvizi

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA - JUNE 06: Sasha Banks attends WWE's First-Ever Emmy "For Your Consideration" Event at Saban Media Center on June 6, 2018 in North Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)
NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA - JUNE 06: Sasha Banks attends WWE's First-Ever Emmy "For Your Consideration" Event at Saban Media Center on June 6, 2018 in North Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) /
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Although WWE Royal Rumble 2020 isn’t until January, it’s never too early to start making some predictions for the wildest Pay Per View of the year.

WWE Royal Rumble 2020 will take place on Jan. 26 at Houston’s Minute Maid Park, and the location of the Pay Per View could make it an especially chaotic Rumble.

But Royal Rumbles are always chaotic, which is part of why we love them so much. Not only do they kick off WrestleMania season as the first Pay Per View of the calendar year, but the build toward them always leaves us with so many questions. Rumbles are insanely difficult to predict, because there are generally a handful of great options to win.

So in that spirit, let’s take a way-too-early look at the 2020 Women’s Royal Rumble and try to predict the final four women standing. The “Final Four” is a key showdown in any Rumble match, as it contains upsets, the person we REALLY want to win, and the person we really DON’T want to see punching their ticket to the main event of WrestleMania.

And since women finally main evented WrestleMania 35, there’s a chance that one of the women standing tall in the Women’s Rumble’s final four will get a WrestleMania main event moment of their own in Tampa Bay.

Sasha Banks

Whenever possible, I start with Sasha Banks. She reestablished herself as one of the absolute biggest stars in wrestling with her blue-wig heel turn in her post-SummerSlam return. Banks has only raised her stock since, somehow becoming bigger and better than ever before – you know, even though she’s also a four-time Raw Women’s Champion and NXT Champion.

Sasha was the MVP of the first Women’s Royal Rumble match despite not winning it, as she was the iron-woman of the night. Expect a similar performance from her in 2020, and she should be considered one of the favorites to win – if not THE favorite.

The Legit Boss is at the top of her game, and any fan doubting this statement can simply refer to the excellent match she and Becky Lynch put together at Hell in a Cell. If Banks wins the Women’s Rumble, we will get an interesting story wherein she could choose between facing Becky for her title or her best friend (and now fellow heel) Bayley.

Yeah, talk about a much tougher decision than the choices Seth Rollins, Shinsuke Nakamura, Becky Lynch and Asuka made as the last Rumble winners.

Liv Morgan

I know this isn’t necessarily a realistic option, but you know what? I like surprises, and I think Liv Morgan has a whole lot of potential on the WWE main roster. The gimmick change she teased after losing to Charlotte Flair was brilliant, and it would be exciting to see her have a big reintroduction to WWE television.

The Royal Rumble is all about making stars, but wrestlers don’t necessarily have to win the whole thing to have a star-making performance. Shinsuke Nakamura and Asuka were briefly boosted by their Rumble wins in 2018, but Nikki Cross, Ali, and Nia Jax all had big moments in 2019 that made a lasting impression on the fan base. For example, Cross is now one of the biggest stars in the women’s division.

Morgan is headed for big things in WWE, and the 2020 Royal Rumble could kick off a big year for the former Riott Squad member.

Naomi

Another superstar who needs to make her return to television soon. Naomi is one of the best superstars in WWE and has undoubtedly reached “legend” status. I know there are some fans who want Naomi to return as a heel and believe that would be her best chance at competing for titles again, but I think fans would be more behind her as a babyface in her immediate return.

What is the saying? Absence makes the heart grow fonder? I think that applies here with Naomi, who should be one of the standouts at WWE Royal Rumble 2020 if she makes her return at – or shortly before – the wrestling extravaganza in Houston.

Naomi really should get another title reign in 2020, especially after examining the quality of her work in 2017 and 2018. She has been off television for much of 2019, but that should set her up for an even stronger 2020 once she returns.

Ronda Rousey

I’ll show my bias here because I basically have “tenure” at this site and can say whatever I want: I don’t want Ronda Rousey to be in the final four. I’m not a fan of Rousey in really any way, and I like seeing other wrestlers get opportunities in Rumble matches.

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But I’m also begrudgingly pragmatic. The reasons why I don’t want Rousey to be in the final four are likely mirrored by a large section of the wrestling public, specifically the fans who will actually be in attendance at the Rumble. There will be a palpable fear in the audience whenever it seems like Rousey is about to eliminate someone else, and she’ll serve as both a heel foil and a red herring in the final four.

We’ve never seen Rousey in a Rumble match, as she made her debut in 2018 and faced Sasha Banks for the Raw Women’s Championship in 2019. But at this point, WWE trust her in-ring skills enough for a Rumble match.

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I mean, I’m not sure what condition she’ll be in after taking so much time off, but she’s an elite athlete and they can ease her workload by making her a late entrant, allowing others (like Banks) to do most of the match’s heavy lifting.

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