WWE Royal Rumble 2020: 6 Matches that could happen at the Royal Rumble

The 2020 Royal Rumble is two weeks away. The likes of Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Ricochet and Charlotte Flair have been among the first names entered into the battle royale. Several more names will be randomly announced either via Twitter or by the stars themselves on TV.

In addition to the male and female Rumble matches, only a few other contests have been revealed for the PPV. Becky Lynch challenged Asuka to a match at the show. Lynch claimed that the Empress of Tomorrow was the only woman she hasn't beaten and that it eats at her. It will also mark the second year in a row that the two talents will face off for a title at the event, as Asuka defeated Becky to retain the SmackDown Women's Championship last year.

A Universal Championship match between the Fiend Bray Wyatt and Daniel Bryan has also been made official for January 26th. It has furthered the storyline between the two men that has taken place over the last few months. Roman Reigns and King Corbin will also be having another singles match before they enter the over-the-top-rope melee.

Which other matches will fill out the card? Including the two Rumble matches, last year's event featured 10 total bouts between the pre-show and the main card. There are several storylines that could feasibly lead to a match on the pay-per-view. Here are 6 matches that we may see at the Royal Rumble event this year.

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#6 Intercontinental Championship: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Braun Strowman

Strowman pinned the Champ on SmackDown.

Braun Strowman has been pursuing Shinsuke Nakamura and the Intercontinental Championship for about a month. He's allied with the New Day against Sami Zayn, Cesaro, and the IC Champion, and has also taken on the trio by himself at other times.

Nakamura has held the title since the summer, so his time with the belt may be coming to a close. Strowman has long been one of the more popular stars on the roster but does not have any singles titles to show for it. After many stop-start pushes towards the Universal Championship, this might finally be the time for the Monster Among Men to claim a title.

Strowman is also always a huge favorite in the Rumble matches due to his sheer size, but how often do the traditional "big men" actually win? While he still may enter the Royal Rumble, he definitely has a ton of potential to win the Intercontinental Title on the 26th if given the opportunity. The Monster Among Men has already pinned the Intercontinental Champion, so the match is happening sooner or later.

#5 SmackDown Tag Team Titles: The New Day (c) vs. The Miz & John Morrison

Morrison's first match back in the WWE will be against Big E.

Instead of poking his head out of a door backstage, John Morrison actually made his presence felt in the ring on the latest SmackDown. With an appearance made on MizTV, the former three-time IC Champ is officially back in the fold.

After being embroiled in an angle with The Fiend, there have been seeds planted for The Miz to return to his bad-guy roots. He apologized for attacking Kofi Kingston after their match a week ago but portions of the crowd - and Kingston - didn't buy his apology. Morrison actually blamed the fans for booing Miz because his friend had been terrorized by a madman and was still dealing with the trauma.

Morrison is having his first match back with WWE next week on SmackDown against Big E. Kingston and Miz have recently tangled in a few matches and WWE usually books these types of contests to lead up to a potential championship match. If Morrison wins on SmackDown, it will likely lead to a SmackDown Tag Team Title match at the Royal Rumble.

There are a lot of talented stars who may be left out of the 30-man match and if New Day lose their titles, it gives Kofi Kingston and Big E another reason to be a part of the Rumble. Once again, they might be in the match either way, as Superstars have entered the Rumble after competing earlier in the night many times over the years.

#4 SmackDown Women's Championship: Bayley (c) vs. Lacey Evans

The Sassy Southern Belle went looking for a fight with Bayley when Sasha Banks no-showed

Like the pairing of Strowman and Nakamura, this is another feud that has been featured on Friday nights over the last month. Evans has turned face to combat the blue brand's top heels, Sasha Banks and Bayley. The Southern Belle's daughter has even been involved in the storyline as a driving force for Evans' face turn.

After constantly battling the likes of Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, and Nikki Cross in 2019, Bayley needs new challengers. She and Evans briefly crossed paths last year thanks to the Wildcard Rule, but the dynamic of the pairing has shifted immensely for both women now that they've switched roles on the face-heel spectrum.

It's apparent that management still values Evans greatly because she's competing in a title feud for the second time within her first 12 months on the main roster. Shortly after being called up to RAW last year, she challenged Becky Lynch three PPVs in a row for the RAW Women's Championship.

#3 Authors of Pain vs. Kevin Owens & Samoa Joe

Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe

This match will be less likely to occur if Owens, Joe, and Seth Rollins are all slated to be entrants in the Royal Rumble, but it's obviously not impossible.

Joe and Owens standing up to Rollins and his cronies is the top storyline on Monday nights. RAW's top two good guys were joined on the latest RAW by a returning Big Show and the trios will go at it this week in what is being advertised as a "fist fight".

A lot depends on WWE's plans post-Rumble. Is Rollins going to continue to torment Joe and Owens or turn his focus to other members of the roster? If Rollins is moving on to battle other Superstars, a potential match would end the feud at the Rumble. If they are going to continue their battle after the PPV, something could happen either before or at the event in order to stop one side from getting an opportunity to enter the match. If this much focus has been invested into the Rollins storyline against Joe and Owens, it would make sense to have a featured match on one of the biggest PPVs of the year.

#2 Bobby Lashley & Lana vs. Rusev & Liv Morgan

Who will fold first - Lashley or Rusev?

The most controversial storyline currently in WWE might get another featured match on PPV. When the two men haven't been in a scheduled match on RAW, they have still found a way to throw hands at each other.

Two weeks ago, we had the wedding to end all weddings. Last week, they had another marriage segment because the first one didn't go according to Lana's plan. After the union, Rusev and Lashley agreed to another match, this time on the next RAW. After the tumultuous first wedding ceremony, Liv Morgan said she'd be in Rusev's corner for the match to counteract possible interference from Lana on the behalf of Lashley.

A mixed tag team match would be a great prelude to a final one-on-one encounter at Elimination Chamber or Fastlane to end the feud once and for all. Lana doesn't wrestle much and it would be a way to both get her on a PPV and into the ring for the first time in quite a while. Morgan hasn't wrestled in six months herself, so it would help ease her back into things. The two men have squared off one-on-one a few times, so adding a different layer to it would keep the crazy angle fresh. As one of the most prominent storylines in all of WWE, it would make sense to have a big match at a big PPV involving the warring sides of the wedding.

#1 The Usos vs. Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode

Roode made his return to attack the Usos and Roman Reigns

Jimmy and Jey just came back from a long layoff and Robert Roode also just returned from a brief hiatus. Roode immediately played a big part in his return to the fray as he assisted Ziggler and Corbin in their main-event match against the returning Usos. He looked reinvigorated and pumped to be back and his return adds another dimension to the ongoing battle between the King and the Big Dog.

Not every wrester will be in the Royal Rumble as the rest of the card needs to be filled out and WWE has a lot of men on the roster who won't make the show unless they are in the eponymous match, so 3 of the 4 men in this one may get paid for the pre-show and sit back for the rest of the night. This definitely feels like a pre-show match waiting to happen, and that's not necessarily a bad place to be, especially for Dolph Ziggler, who has already been announced for the Rumble match.

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