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#6 Royal Rumble 2020
Taking place just before the start of the Pandemic Era, Royal Rumble 2020 was probably the best professional wrestling show last year. While one can argue that the presence of the crowd gave it an edge over the other shows, a close look at the matches on the card gives a completely different picture.
The opening match, a Falls Count Anywhere bout, between Roman Reigns and King Corbin was probably the best match in their never-ending feud. This was followed by Charlotte Flair's Royal Rumble victory, which seemed like a less than exciting outcome, but Shayna Baszler and Bianca Belair's breakthrough performances turned the match into a memorable affair.
Bayley's Smackdown Women's Title defense against Lacey Evans was probably the only below-par match on the card, but this was followed by three matches that range from great to show-stealing. 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt and Daniel Bryan had a surprisingly good Strap Match for the Universal Title, which sadly ended up being his last successful title defense.
Becky Lynch finally got the best of Asuka, exactly a year after their previous marquee bout, by beating her in a great Raw Women's Title match. However, it was the Men's Royal Rumble match that stole the show again. Brock Lesnar's dominant run in the first half was only bettered by Drew McIntyre's emotional victory. The highest point of the night, however, was the return of Edge, who wrestled his first match in over 9 years, to a massive pop from the crowd.
#5 Royal Rumble 2018
Royal Rumble 2018 was a historic event. After years of just having a Rumble match for the Men, WWE finally went all the way and held the Women's Royal Rumble Match for the very first time. The match itself was great as well, with WWE compensating for the lack of female superstars with a string of returns by legends from yesteryear.
Asuka's victory in the Rumble match was a great decision, in line with her undefeated streak. However, it was Ronda Rousey's long-awaited WWE debut, after the Royal Rumble match, that stole the entire spotlight and automatically established her as a top tier superstar in WWE.
On the Men's side, WWE presented their best Royal Rumble match in years, which saw Shinsuke Nakamura emerge victorious after eliminating Roman Reigns. From surprising returns by The Hurricane and Rey Mysterio to the closing stretch, this match had all the ingredients necessary for a Match of the Year Candidate.
Among the Non-Rumble matches, the two Smackdown meetings were significantly better than their Raw counterparts. AJ Styles and The Usos successfully defended their WWE and Tag Team Titles against Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens and Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin respectively. On the Raw side, Brock Lesnar overcame Kane and Braun Stroman for the Universal Championship, while Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan were defeated by Cesaro and Sheamus for the RAW Tag Titles.
