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Brock Lesnar has been an essential part of the Royal Rumble ever since he returned. We all know that he has the lightest WWE schedule among the active superstars (barring The Undertaker, but his presence has been decreasing as well).
The last few years have seen him take on some interesting opponents at the Royal Rumble, including the likes of Seth Rollins, John Cena, Braun Strowman, Kane, and Finn Balor while participating in one Royal Rumble match since. He's going to be making only his third-ever Royal Rumble match appearance as Paul Heyman announced on the first RAW of the decade that The Beast Incarnate will be a part of the Royal Rumble 2020 match.
Not only that, but he will also be the #1 entry. Just to be clear, the WWE title won't be on the line, which makes it the first Royal Rumble as far as we can remember that the WWE title won't be on the line.
Here are five superstars who can eliminate Brock Lesnar and face him at WrestleMania 36.
#6. Cain Velasquez
We know this isn't a popular choice, but it's a likely scenario. Velasquez made his WWE debut on the SmackDown on FOX premiere, confronting the man he knocked out for real to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship.
When he made his in-ring debut at Crown Jewel, he was defeated in the opener within two minutes. It came as a shock, but it later emerged that Velasquez had been dealing with knee problems, so the move was likely to protect him.
WON reported that Velasquez is a frontrunner to face Lesnar at WrestleMania 36, so we could see him eliminate Lesnar. He doesn't even have to win to compete for the WWE Title at the grandest stage of them all. Is he the right choice though? We doubt it.
#5. Ricochet
We admit this is an unlikely scenario, but we believed that before the announcement, Ricochet could be one of the front-runners to face Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble 2020. He would, of course, fit into the category of one of the smaller wrestlers that Lesnar could face and have a great match with.
It's no secret that Brock Lesnar does much better against smaller opponents and Ricochet could have a great match against The Beast Incarnate, even if it's an unsuccessful one. However, what Ricochet has going for him is that he seemingly has the backing of Paul Heyman, who reportedly considers him one of the major stars to push in the future along with the likes of Drew McIntyre, Aleister Black, Buddy Murphy, etc.
Ricochet seems positioned to be a main eventer in a couple of years atleast and he could possibly eliminate Lesnar.
#4. Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns is on SmackDown and from the look of things, is the favorite to win the Royal Rumble this year. We hope that his win isn't a repeat of 2015 because he's come so far this past year and finds himself as one of the most popular babyfaces in the company.
It certainly helped that Reigns hasn't been in the title picture at all (except that one match against Shinsuke Nakamura) and he's been booked well. This addition to the list is a bit of an exception, however, as we don't believe he will face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36.
Instead, we believe that Reigns could eliminate Lesnar and go on to win the entire Royal Rumble. However, his opponent will likely be "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 36 and not Brock Lesnar.
Reigns vs Lesnar was done to death in 2018 and The Big Dog had an underrated rivalry with Wyatt a few years ago.
#3. Kevin Owens
Kevin Owens has been on a roll ever since being drafted to RAW this past October. He was of great importance on SmackDown as well, being the man to send Shane McMahon away from WWE.
Since coming to RAW, he's found a new lease on life and has been in a prime position - essentially getting the top babyface role after Seth Rollins turned heel. The storyline has only helped his momentum grow and if he doesn't have a match against Seth Rollins at the Royal Rumble, then he could compete in the main event Royal Rumble match.
If that is the case, he could end up being the one to eliminate Brock Lesnar. Owens has been vocal about wanting to face Lesnar at WrestleMania for years now and if WWE is serious about pushing him as a top babyface on RAW, a match against Lesnar would be the way to do it. To get there, however, he needs to eliminate him.
#2. Drew McIntyre
Drew McIntyre has been in an odd position. He's not in any active storyline as of now, but he has continuously been protected. WWE knows exactly what they have in hand with Drew McIntyre, but why they're yet to pull the trigger on him is beyond our understanding.
It's almost as though they're protecting him until the right time and like Ricochet, he belongs to a certain "list" of superstars that Paul Heyman is reportedly interested in pushing. 2020 could be his year.
When talking about "legitimacy" when facing Brock Lesnar, there aren't many men who look as legitimate as McIntyre does. He's got all the tools to compete on that level and it seems to be his time. McIntyre winning the Royal Rumble would also be the accolade that he needs to take it to the level that he's capable of reaching. Hopefully, it's a matter of "when" and not "if".
#1. Edge
This is based on the report from Mike Johnson of PWInsider.
PWInsider had also reported in October that the Hall of Famer was in Pittsburgh, which is where WWE medical head -- Dr. Joseph Maroon -- is headquartered, for company-related business. The 11-time WWE World Champion had previously shut down rumors of an in-ring return, but it is not uncommon for wrestlers to work the fans to protect the true value of a surprise.
Mike Johnson's "gut feel" has been that Edge could return at the Royal Rumble. If anything, SummerSlam 2019 was an indication of it as he speared Elias, getting some in-ring action for the first time since his retirement.
That was a much bigger step than we realized and if Edge is to be the big surprise entry, he should be the one to eliminate Lesnar, even if he doesn't go on to win the whole thing.
