WWE Confirms NXT Will Take Part in This Year's Royal Rumble Matches
01/20/2020 11:35 pm EST
Heading into the go-home episode of Monday Night Raw before the 2020 Royal Rumble, 19 wrestlers from Raw and SmackDown have been confirmed for the Men's Rumble match while only four have been announced for the Women's Rumble. Since the company pushed so hard to establish it as the official third brand, many fans have wondered if NXT would have a bigger presence in either match this year. The 2017 Rumble event saw four NXT wrestlers compete, while 2018 saw that number jump up to nine (including two from NXT UK). No announcements have been made on NXT itself in recent weeks, but WWE finally confirmed the show's involvement on its YouTube page on Monday.
During the annual "Royal Rumble: By The Numbers" video package, the announcer closed out the video by saying, "Three brands collide in two Royal Rumble matches on one historic night."
The latest betting odds have Roman Reigns favorited to win the Men's Rumble and NXT's Shayna Baszler to win the Women's Rumble. Reigns previously won in 2015, and is already booked for a Falls Count Anywhere match on Sunday against Baron Corbin.
Check out the full card for the Rumble (so far) in the list below. The event will take place at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas on Jan. 26.
- WWE Universal Championship: "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan (Strap Match)
- Raw Women's Championship: Becky Lynch vs. Asuka
- SmackDown Women's Championship: Bayley vs. Lacey Evans
- Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin (Falls Count Anwhere)
- Sheamus vs. Shorty G
- Men's Royal Rumble Match (Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, AJ Styles, Erick Rowan, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, Ricochet, Drew McIntyre, Elias, King Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, Otis, Tucker, Rusev, Bobby Lashley, Aleister Black, Buddy Murphy, Cain Velasquez, Samoa Joe, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, TBA) — Winner Gets a World Championship Match at WrestleMania 36
- Women's Royal Rumble Match (Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, Nikki Cross, Sarah Logan, TBA) — Winners Gets a Women's Championship Match at WrestleMania 36
The night before the Rumble will see NXT battle NXT UK for brand supremacy at the Worlds Collide event at Houston's Toyota Center. Here's the card for that show:
- Imperium (Walter, Alexander Wolfe, Fabian Aicher, Marcel Barthel) vs. The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish)
- NXT Women's Championship: Rhea Ripely vs. Toni Storm
- Finn Balor vs. Ilja Dargunov
- NXT Cruiserweight Championship: Angel Garza vs. Isaiah Scott vs. TBD vs. TBD
- DIY vs. Moustache Mountain
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