WWE Royal Rumble 2020: Top 5 performers from the event

Depending on who you ask, the Royal Rumble was either good, bad or a mix of both. While the event had some good matches, like the Fiend vs. Daniel Bryan and the men's Royal Rumble match, the event was lacking in some aspects. Lacey Evans and Bayley had an awkward match. The pre-show matches were okay but nothing special.

Despite featuring more than 10 women from WWE NXT, this women's Royal Rumble match was probably my least favorite so far. I wasn't a fan of how quickly so many women were eliminated right as they entered. People will say that the same thing happened during the men's match with Brock Lesnar, but the crowd in attendance in Houston didn't react to most of the women from NXT. When the likes of Keith Lee and Matt Riddle showed up and were eliminated, the crowd cared.

Lesnar's dominance helped set the tone for how eventual winner Drew McIntyre would be received. In the women's Rumble match, it seemed like the only four women mattered - Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, Shayna Baszler and Bianca Belair. Beth Phoenix and Natalya did make the final four, but after some other important full-time names were dropped in the first 15 spots (Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Nikki Cross) there wasn't much intrigue surrounding the potential winner.

Part of that dichotomy was because of the lack of build in the women's match. The women's division is also in one of the toughest spots its ever been in due to injury. Not only are three great stars like Ruby Riott, Ember Moon and Nia Jax out with injury but Sasha Banks, one of the presumptive favorites, had to be taken out last minute due to injury. Those bits as well as relying on Kelly Kelly and Santina instead of the IIconics were among the strange decisions surrounding that match.

For those reasons, there wasn't a long list of people on the card who were great. Usually at an NXT TakeOver event, it would be hard to pick only five top performers. It's not to say that there weren't some extremely memorable performances. This year's Royal Rumble was made by a few Superstars and here are the five top performers from Sunday, in no particular order.

---

#5 Bianca Belair

The EST made a huge mark with eight eliminations.

Keith Lee had his shining moments at Survivor Series. At the Royal Rumble, it was an NXT woman's turn to shine and that woman was Bianca Belair. The EST of NXT looked extremely strong and got eight eliminations and lasted the longest in the match (33:20). Without a usual iron man or woman, Belair filled that role in 2020.

It's been apparent that she's a star for the future due to being prominently featured throughout her time in NXT. She's will challenge NXT Women's Champion Rhea Ripley next. Belair was also a part of both WarGames and the NXT team at Survivor Series.

Belair would likely have already been a Champ in NXT but Baszler has ruled over the women of the brand for over two years. She might not get a title in NXT, but after such a dominant performance at the Royal Rumble, Belair will be a huge addition to any brand she's a part of going forward.

#4 Daniel Bryan/the Fiend

Let them both in!

Before I get into analysis, one thing from this match that was said by Michael Cole stuck with me. As Bryan kept making comebacks, Cole said that "I don't think anyone expected this kind of performance from Daniel Bryan." Corey Graves added "No one except maybe Bryan." Have they not seen the bearded wonder rise to the occasion in big-time matches before?

Heading into the actual PPV, not every match had a great build. The men's Royal Rumble match and the RAW Women's Championship match were done wonderfully with several layers. Battling it out for the best build at the Royal Rumble was the ongoing mental gymnastics between the Fiend Bray Wyatt and Daniel Bryan.

CM Punk and the panelists on WWE Backstage have routinely stated that people like Becky Lynch and the Fiend have only been as good as their opponents. It's why Lynch's feuds with Flair, Ronda Rousey and Asuka have been great while her others have been underwhelming. The Fiend can torment anyone he wants, but its how that person he chooses decides to fight back that matters.

The Miz and Seth Rollins were just flabbergasted by this new incarnation of Wyatt. They tried their best to vanquish the psychological juggernaut but to no avail. But Bryan, despite losing to Wyatt yet again, gave the Universal Champion his stiffest competition to date. A lot of that is due to Wyatt's fantastic character work, Bryan's amazing ability to both tell a story in ring and get his opponents over.

Throughout the strap match at the Royal Rumble, Bryan would be down but not out. Multiple times he rose from the ashes to dish out punishment to The Fiend. It might not have netted the Planet's Champion a win but it was a great back-and-forth showdown between two stars with great chemistry. It was a great match by both men and The Fiend will be doing even better character work if he can get a better performance out of someone else than he got out of Bryan.

#3 Brock Lesnar

One of the greatest looks on the face of the Beast

This one comes with a heavy heart because I've been a huge critic of Lesnar and his antics over the past few years. I wasn't enjoying the first half of the Rumble because of the potential of it lasting for the entire match. But luckily, his hubris and bravado were used with an end game in mind and it actually helped out the eventual winner, Drew McIntyre.

Lesnar's initial reason for entering the match at #1 was due to the lack of competition. While there are several men who should be able to go toe to toe with the Beast, there is a chunk of the roster that isn't. It was a little disheartening to see the likes of Big E, Kofi Kingston, John Morrison, Strowman and Lee all get eliminated by Lesnar, but it was all to build until his actual elimination.

By tossing beloved names like Big E, Kingston, Rey Mysterio, Lee and Strowman over the top rope, the hatred for Lesnar possibly winning built after each elimination. The Beast played his hated heel role perfectly and eliminated 10 people in a row. His 13 overall tosses tied Strowman's record of eliminations in a single Royal Rumble match. He may show up when he wants to, but when he does, he usually does something worth talking about. That certainly happened at the latest Rumble PPV.

#2 Edge

Edge made a triumphant return to the ring.

Before even stepping into the ring, Edge was a top performer at the 2020 Royal Rumble. After triple fusion neck surgery and a 2011 retirement, it was thought that the former multi-time Champ's career was indeed over. Neck and head injuries are extremely difficult to come back from but Daniel Bryan was able to return from his issues. And now, so has the Rated R Superstar.

While simply returning for a Rumble run and then going away might have been enough, but for someone who has waited almost 10 years for one more match, Edge had an amazing return. It's fun to see someone like the Boogeyman or a Dudley Boy or Booker T in the Royl Rumble but Edge's return was so much more.

It was about a person who had to retire in their prime, but not on their own terms. So many times we have seen people stick around too long instead of retiring. The Ultimate Opportunist entered and received the loudest pop of the night. He didn't just perform his greatest hits and get tossed out after five minutes. Edge entered in the 21st spot and lasted 23:43. There weren't any iron men in this year's matches but Edge lasted the third longest behind Lesnar (26:24) and winner Drew McIntyre (34:11). He also eliminated Luke Gallows, AJ Styles and Randy Orton.

#1 Drew McIntyre

Finally, the Scottish Psychopath gets his title shot!

WWE did not capitalize on making newer stars when the likes of Rusev and Strowman were red hot at various points over the last two years. Everyone keeps lauding how Shinsuke Nakamura won the 2018 Royal Rumble, but since he didn't win his title match at the Show of Shows, it sort of lessens the importance of that win.

He could have been catapulted into permanent main-event status, but they chose not to have Nakamura win the WWE Championship. Conversely, the likes of Randy Orton, Seth Rollins and John Cena have all won the Rumble and gold. Thankfully, they rolled with the Scottish Psychopath as the 2020 men's Rumble winner. He desperately needed a huge push as he's been more than ready for a main event run since returning in 2018.

The seeds of a potential win for McIntyre were planted when he continuously said that no one gave him a title shot or that he had never received one. The only way to a title shot would have been by winning the Royal Rumble. The other favorite, Roman Reigns, didn't need another huge accolade like winning another Rumble match when he's already had almost five main-events at WrestleMania. Someone new needed to win and luckily, it was McIntyre.

Lesnar's heeling in the first half of the match set the stage to make whomever eliminated him the biggest favorite of the night. After ruling the first 15 entrants, the crowd erupted as McIntyre eliminated the Beast with a Claymore kick over the top rope. McIntyre also eliminated five other men including King Corbin, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, the Miz and Ricochet. That's two of the top guys in the company (Reigns and Rollins). For him to finally get the ball and run with it was exciting, refreshing and a welcome end to the night.

Follow Sportskeeda Wrestling and Sportskeeda MMA on Twitter for all the latest news. Don't miss out!