Drew McIntyre Was Concerned Fans Would Boo His Royal Rumble Win Due To Edge’s Return

Drew McIntyre was worried about fans booing his Royal Rumble win.

Corey BrennanOctober 28, 2025, 1:26 pm

Drew McIntyre was worried about fans booing his Royal Rumble Win

The 2020 WWE Men’s Royal Rumble match was one of the most well received Rumble matches in recent memory, with Drew McIntyre coming away the victor in a match where he eliminated WWE Champion Brock Lesnar in one of the more iconic eliminations in Royal Rumble history. During the bout, Edge would make his return to the ring for the first time in nine years after retiring. This was something that concerned McIntyre, fearing his win would be booed.

While speaking on the No-Contest Wrestling Podcast, Drew McIntyre was asked about winning the Royal Rumble on a somber day, as earlier on that day Kobe Bryant and his daughter tragically died in a helicopter crash.

“That’s what WWE does. You know, we’re there for you, put a smile on your face, get your emotions going no matter what. And we knew it was going to be a good one. Like Brock was in there as champion and he was running through everybody. The story was amazing. The Edge return after nine years and the shock of myself winning at the end. I was concerned that, um, people were going to boo because Edge had returned. I was a baby face, an organic baby face, good guy. People were getting behind me so big at that time. But freaking Edge, he was gone for nine years. And I was like, ‘oh, no,’ we’ve seen this with Roman. We’ve seen it with Batista in the past where the good guy wins and they get booed out of the building. That’s going to be me. I eliminated Brock. 40,000 people went crazy. What a feeling. I eliminated Roman at the end, and the same exact reaction happened. And it was just unreal that people had said, that’s our guy. I felt like I’d finally crashed through to that next level.”