WWE Royal Rumble 2020: Predicting all 30 women before Survivor Series 2019
By Amelia N
The WWE Royal Rumble 2020 represents the latest and realistically biggest opportunity to save their flagging ‘womens revolution’, and the big promise of equality it was meant to represent.
After a strong 18 months or so, the WWE women’s division has regressed alarmingly quickly after 2019’s WrestleMania; Since Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey headlined the yearly blowoff, the company has seen the women slip back into what is dangerously close to ‘Divas’ era levels of disrespect, with weekly shows routinely having nothing but one sub-five minute match, and no backstage segments, over the course of two or three hours.
The upcoming Royal Rumble, viewed and treated as the start of WrestleMania season due to the winner of each titular match getting a brand World Title shot at that year’s WrestleMania, is massively important for the company. If used well, it has the potential to completely reset the women’s division, and set the company back on track to the equality they promised a few years ago.
This article is a breakdown of 1). who should be in the 2020 Women’s Royal Rumble, and 2). their respective likelihoods of winning the match.
Starting with those who will enter but stand next to no chance of winning …
30. Billie Kay
One half of ex-Women’s Tag Team Champions, The IIconics, Billie Kay is the less polished in-ring of the two, and although a decent enough heat generator alongside her tag team partner and being an audience recognized body to pad out the 30 names needed, stands less chance than I do of getting a singles push in WWE.
29. Peyton Royce
The other half of aforementioned IIconics (formerly known as the Iconic Duo until legal troubles with the name forced the change), Peyton Royce is marginally the better worker of the two, and has the more stereotypical Vince McMahon-approved “look” that could lead to a slight singles push in the future. Right now, though, she also stands no chance on earth of winning the upcoming Royal Rumble, although she’ll almost certainly enter it.
28. Sarah Logan
The least pushed of the three members of the least pushed women’s faction in recent WWE history, Sarah Logan has disappeared off the face of the earth since the dissolution of the Riott Squad. She’s someone the audience will vaguely remember, and she’s an established main roster member, but once again stands absolutely no hope of winning the event.
27. Tamina
Tamina has been employed (independently contracted, sorry Vince) by WWE since approximately six months before the dinosaurs were wiped out. In the almost ten years(!) since her debut, she’s won precisely one championship, that being the bloody 24/7 Championship. She’s often used as what WWE clearly think is a surprise “HOLY-” return, but the crowd simply do not care about Tamina, and she’ll never be pushed to the main event. She is guaranteed, guaranteed to not win the Rumble.
26. Piper Niven
The first non-Raw or Smackdown competitor on this list, Piper Niven (a.k.a Viper) should, SHOULD be much more likely to win the Royal Rumble, should she enter it, than she actually will be. She’s great between the ropes, she’s well liked by the fans that know her work, and she has a look that (for better or for worse) screams “heel turn and presented as monster” in a Vince McMahon-led WWE. Unfortunately, as she’s a member of NXT:UK, she stands literally no chance of being taken seriously as a real contender.