Shayna Baszler has revealed that she nearly didn’t compete in the Royal Rumble 2020, despite ultimately entering the match at No. 30 and delivering one of the most dominant performances in the bout’s history.
Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Baszler explained that just days before the event, she was informed by Paul Heyman that creative plans had shifted — and that she was being removed from the match entirely.
“That’s actually a really funny story about that,” Baszler said. “So I was in the Rumble, and all I knew was they were talking about me being one of the people that wins it… and then two nights before the Rumble, I get a call from Paul Heyman, and he’s like, ‘Hey, I just want to let you know…’ because he was a part of creative at that time, ‘You’re not going to be in the Rumble. It’s not because we don’t want you. It’s because we’ve decided you’re not going to win and we don’t want to waste the opportunity. Everything’s still gonna go to plan. You’re just not gonna be in the Rumble.’”
Baszler accepted the decision and proceeded to fulfill her scheduled obligations, working an NXT premium live event that Saturday. However, the situation changed abruptly once the show concluded.
“We’re all getting ready to get on a bus to leave the pay-per-view as soon as it’s done, to go to rehearsal for Royal Rumble,” Baszler recalled. “And one of the TR comes up to me, and they’re like, ‘Shayna, did you bring stuff with you? Could you get in a ring right now and do rehearsal?’ Yeah. ‘Okay, well, they want you to go to rehearsal tonight, the Rumble.’”
Baszler believes Paul Levesque (Triple H) played a key role in reversing the decision, particularly to avoid a potential negative reaction tied to the highly anticipated No. 30 entry. According to Baszler, Santino Marella had been discussed for the spot.
“I think there was some discussion, because Santino was in the women’s Rumble, and I think originally he was supposed to be number 30,” Baszler said. “But I think there was this big to do about that’s such a down… So then I got switched to number 30, and I think that was Hunter going to bat for me too. I think he was like, if Shayna is not in the Rumble and we put Santino at number 30, everyone’s expecting the NXT champion to come out, and it’s gonna be Santino, that’s gonna be bad.”
Baszler ultimately entered the Royal Rumble at No. 30, eliminating eight competitors and immediately establishing herself as a dominant force on the main roster — a moment that, as she now reveals, nearly never happened at all.
