WWE’s Seven Best Promos of 2020

2020 was a wild year for the WWE in more ways than one. While the forced adjustments made for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic made many things tougher for those performing in the ring, one unexpected benefit of the lack of crowds in attendance was the more highly experimental nature of the promos WWE Superstars could deliver. Without a crowd to feed off of, these performers were forced to go back to the drawing board and bring out the most of their own inherent acting and delivery abilities. This resulted in some of the best promos of the last decade.

The pandemic meant more of a focus had to be place on building stories and characters, and getting to the real root of why two WWE Superstars wanted to fight one another. Rather than simply riding the love or the hatred of a third entity, feuds became far more personal and intriguing as we began to see many new layers to some of our favorites working without the crowd.

There were many memorable promos throughout the year as a result, and way too many to list here! Read on for our picks for the WWE’s best promos of the year but let us know your choices in the comments! Which promos do you remember the most from 2020? Which was your least favorite of the year?

Undertaker Drops AJ Styles’ Real Name

The Undertaker’s final match with the WWE was a much different affair than anyone could have expected, but what helped raise it to a much higher level was the strength of the promos AJ Styles and the Undertaker had back and forth. But the best of these, of course, came from the Undertaker as the dead man dropped the first semblance of kayfabe within his promo. Not only using AJ Styles’ real name (much like Styles had used his), but referencing the work of his wife Michelle McCool, the Undertaker ended his most memorable promo of the year with the claim that he would make AJ Styles famous through their Boneyard Match. Looking back, it’s hard to argue. 

Edge Vows Revenge on Randy Orton

Edge’s return to action in the WWE was one of the biggest surprises of the year, but what turned out to be the best aspect of his feud with Randy Orton was the promos the two had for one another. Not only did the two of them channel palpable emotion, but Edge brought things to an entire new level. With backstage promos fueling his fire and putting all of his finely honed acting chops on display, Edge vowing revenge on Orton following Orton’s attack on Christian was probably the best out of the feud overall. Then again, they’re all pretty good. 

Roman Reigns “Loves” Jey Uso

You can pretty much pick any of the moments between the height of Roman Reigns’ feud with Jey Uso, and they will all be pretty much head and shoulders above everything else this year. But one of the best came from after Reigns forced Jey Uso to quit. It was here that Roman truly fell further into his Corleone Family persona and told Jey Uso about how he needed to back him in order to fall in line with the rest of the family. Bouncing off Jey’s breaking heart with nothing but stone cold villainy disguised as a twisted “love,” this had to have been one of the best moments the both of them had this entire year. 

Stone Cold Day 2020 Celebration

WWE got the quarantine era to a rough start as it began to make adjustments due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This began with completely crowd free shows, and the one who seemed to take this on completely was Stone Cold Steve Austin. It’s one of the most memorable, awkward, and lovable moments in wrestling history as Stone Cold tried to bounce his usual promo style off of a non-existent audience. It’s hard to imagine in retrospect whether or not this promo would have hit with a crowd present, but it was definitely one of the most memorable moments of the year without one. 

Becky Lynch Announces Her Pregnancy

The May 11 edition of Monday Night Raw was one of the most memorable of the last few years because it came with the announcement that Becky Lynch was pregnant and would be vacating the Raw Women’s Championship. Following one of the strongest runs of her career in recent memory, this tearful farewell officially transformed Lynch from “The Man” to “The Mom.” It truly seemed like the WWE gave her time to pour out her heart and soul during this moment, and it’s one she rightly earned should she never choose to return to action after this. But if she does, heartfelt promos like this will be why she’s going straight to the top immediately. 

Bayley Explains Why She Attacked Sasha Banks

Bayley and Sasha Banks completely dominated the quarantine era as the Golden Role Models, and when Bayley finally turned on her former best friend fans had wanted to know why she did it. Bayley came providing an answer the following Friday Night SmackDown with one of the best promos she has given in her entire career. She noted how she was just the first one to do what the two of them had been planning the entire time. Bayley had grown considerably in her acting prowess since become the SmackDown Women’s Champion, and this promo was the final stamp she needed to truly hit the ground running with the long awaited feud with Sasha Banks. 

The Undertaker’s Retirement Speech

While it was certainly surprising to many to see The Undertaker truly retire from the WWE following the Survivor Series pay-per-view, what wasn’t surprising was seeing just how great of a final speech he had for the WWE Universe. As Mark Calloway put an end to the Undertaker for the foreseeable future, he truly let the character “rest in peace” much like many of the opponents he had taken on over the course of his lengthy career. It was an emotional moment to be sure, and an emotional stamp on promos for the year overall. It’s going to be hard to top this monumental farewell.