Year in Review

Over the course of 2020, we witnessed a number of marvelous matches, monumental moments, and spectacular shows that will not soon be forgotten. Much like any other year in recent wrestling history, 2020 in WWE was filled with plenty of ups and downs and completely changed the game in more ways than one. As we reminisce on the year that was, we'll take a look back at 2020's greatest matches, moments, Superstars and more.

Match of the Year: Men's Royal Rumble Match - Royal Rumble, January 26

There are a ton of options you can go with as 2020's "Match of the Year" for WWE and you wouldn't be wrong, but my pick remains the men's Royal Rumble from January. Despite the unfortunate circumstances, we've gotten a number of great matches throughout the pandemic, but none of them had the electric audience in attendance that this one did.

It was an excellently-executed masterpiece from start to finish with Brock Lesnar dominating the early goings, Drew McIntyre eliminating him to a huge pop, and plenty of other stories playing out in the remainder of the matchup, including Edge's shocking return. The satisfying conclusion was the cherry on top.

Superstar of the Year: Drew McIntyre

If you told me a year ago that 2020 would be the year of Drew McIntyre in WWE, I probably wouldn't have believed you. Okay, so he was already building momentum by that point, but I honestly didn't think WWE would do the right thing by having him win the Royal Rumble. Sure enough, he went on to become WWE's biggest babyface and win the WWE Championship from Brock Lesnar in decisive fashion in the main event of WrestleMania 36. His reign saw him successfully defend against Big Show, Seth Rollins, Bobby Lashley, Dolph Ziggler and Randy Orton, and although he lost the belt to Orton at Hell in a Cell, he quickly regained it three weeks later on Raw. It was quite the breakout year for McIntyre.

Show of the Year: NXT TakeOver: Portland, February 16

This award is typically won by an NXT TakeOver special and this year was no exception. There's been some talk lately among fans of what was the "Show of the Year" for WWE and I think a lot of people are sleeping on NXT TakeOver: Portland. It was practically a perfect show with all five matches delivering in spades.

It wasn't my favorite TakeOver of all-time (that title still belongs to TakeOver: New York from 2019), but it was such an exceptional event with a rowdy crowd to boot. TakeOver 31 and Halloween Havoc from NXT are also among my honorable mentions as well as the Royal Rumble, which was my personal favorite main roster pay-per-view for 2020 for everything it had to offer.

Other Notable Highlights and Low Points

This Year's Highlights

Edge returns from a career-ending injury
Cinematic matches
WWE ThunderDome
Halloween Havoc and In Your House return
MVP forms The Hurt Business
Roman Reigns becomes a Paul Heyman Guy
Samoa Joe on Raw's commentary team
NXT Cruiserweight Championship Tournament
Karrion Kross and Timothy Thatcher sign with NXT
Santos Escobar forms Legado del Fantasma
Bray Wyatt and Alexa Bliss join forces
The Miz and John Morrison reunite
The New Day get separate in the 2020 WWE Draft
Bayley and Sasha Banks carry the women's division
The Street Profits' dominance
Randy Orton, the Legend Killer
Otis and Mandy Rose become an item
Chad Gable ditches Shorty G moniker
Dominik Mysterio impresses in debut
Pac McAfee breaks out in NXT
Apollo Crews finally captures gold
The Riott Squad reunite
Keith Lee becomes a dual champion in NXT
Toni Storm and Ember Moon return to NXT
Becky Lynch's pregnancy announcement

This Year's Low Points