Shayna Baszler Reveals She Was Nearly Pulled From 2020 Royal Rumble Until Triple H Stepped In

Shayna Baszler almost didn’t compete in the 2020 WWE Women’s Royal Rumble match—despite being a frontrunner to win it.

Appearing on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Baszler opened up about the last-minute chaos that nearly cost her a spot in the high-profile battle royal. According to Baszler, she was originally penciled in as a possible winner… until just two nights before the event.

“That’s actually a really funny story about that. 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… 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.’”

With her Royal Rumble plans scrapped, Baszler instead worked an NXT TakeOver event that Saturday. But before she could even leave the building, everything changed again.

“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. 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 ultimately entered the match at number 30, eliminating eight women in a dominant showing that made her look like a future main event star. According to her, that late-game switch wasn’t random—it was Triple H stepping in to prevent a PR disaster.

“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. 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.”

While Charlotte Flair ultimately won the match, Baszler’s surprise entrance and standout performance at #30 left a lasting impact—and proved how quickly plans in WWE can flip overnight.

Do you think Shayna Baszler should’ve won the 2020 Royal Rumble? And how would you have reacted if Santino had been #30 instead? Let us know in the comments.