During the 2020 Royal Rumble, Brock Lesnar put on one of the most dominant performances in the event’s history, setting a record with 13 eliminations. For the competitors involved, it was an exercise in survival. For Elias, it was supposed to be a carefully planned moment in the spotlight, but he claims Lesnar had other ideas.
Speaking recently on Inside the Ropes, Elias revealed that Lesnar went completely off script during their encounter. Despite discussing the segment beforehand, Elias sensed that once the bell rang, the plan would go out the window. He had prepared an entire performance, centered around a song titled “The Sacrificial Lamb,” fully aware of his role in the match. The plan was to sing, mock Paul Heyman, and get in a few moves before Lesnar took control.
“Yeah, he talked to everybody. But when it’s time to go, he just does what he wants to do. I remember I had this whole song planned. I wrote a song called The Sacrificial Lamb because I knew that’s what I was—just the guy Brock was going to throw around,” Elias said. “But I was at least going to have my moment. I was going to come out, do my song, sing right to Paul Heyman, the bell rings—boom, it starts. I remember talking to Brock and being like, ‘Dude, I’ll just get on you right away. I’ll hit you with a knee, then this and that, then you catch me and…’ you know, whatever. He’s like, ‘Yeah, yeah, cool. Run that by me again.’ All the while, I know he’s just going to do whatever he wants.”
When the moment arrived, reality hit harder and faster than anticipated. As Elias started his song, a jab at Heyman drew a loud crowd reaction, which apparently triggered Lesnar to charge the ring ahead of schedule. With his guitar and battery pack still strapped on, Elias saw Lesnar sprinting towards him and had to react instantly.
“I’m singing the song, I hit a line that makes fun of Paul Heyman, the crowd goes, ‘Ooh,’ and suddenly Brock just runs down the ramp. I’ve got my guitar strapped on, battery pack and all, and he’s charging at me full speed,” Elias explained. “I dump everything and just start running—like, legit sprinting away from Brock Lesnar. It’s like a bear chasing you. I slide into the ring, and he tackles me. He’s pounding my head, just fists raining down. I think I roll out of it somehow. Then he German suplexes me, grabs one of my guitars, smashes it across my back.”
The assault concluded with Lesnar eliminating Elias from the match, but not before delivering a terse message. The deviation from the plan left Elias frustrated, as his anticipated Royal Rumble moment was taken from him.
“Then he picks me up, goes to throw me out of the ring, and says, ‘Thank you.’ Just tosses me out. I’m like, ‘Okay, I guess that just happened,’” he recalled. “I was really disappointed, honestly. That was supposed to be my Royal Rumble moment, and he just did his own thing. But at the same time, it turned into something memorable in its own way. I remember the adrenaline rush—running for my life after he tried to take my head off. Looking back, if I could do it again, I would’ve just whacked him with the guitar, man.”
This account offers a stark contrast to that of Shelton Benjamin, who was also eliminated by Lesnar in the same match. Benjamin previously revealed that his comedic spot was conceived by Lesnar himself, showing that while Lesnar controlled every second of his performance, his approach could vary from meticulous collaboration to complete, unscripted demolition.