5 last-minute favorites for the WWE Women's Royal Rumble

The 2021 WWE Women's Royal Rumble match is now less than a week away. Speculation regarding the possible winner has been underway for months, but now it is heating up even more.

30 women across RAW, SmackDown, and NXT will be coming together in the ring to compete for a title shot at WrestleMania 37 this spring. The Royal Rumble can be one of the most unpredictable events in the WWE calendar and is often one of the most anticipated by fans.

Many women of WWE have declared their entry for the 2021 Royal Rumble. So far multiple RAW and SmackDown stars, including Nia Jax, Alexa Bliss, and Peyton Royce, have made their intentions known to the WWE Universe.

As the 2021 Royal Rumble pay-per-view draws closer, here are five last-minute favorites to win the 30-women match.

---

#5 Former WWE SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley

Bayley wasn't in the 2020 Royal Rumble match, as at the time she was holding the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship. She did feature in the 2019 and 2018 matches, the latter of which she was eliminated by her former best friend Sasha Banks.

As the 2021 Royal Rumble draws closer, Bayley has emerged as one of the favorites to win. On SkyBet, Bayley is listed as the fifth favorite.

Despite losing the SmackDown Women's Championship to Sasha Banks at Hell in Cell, Bayley is still one of the top stars of WWE's Blue Brand and has even recently launched her own chat show segment, Ding Dong Hello.

A Royal Rumble win for Bayley could set off a fresh chapter in her rivalry with Sasha Banks, or even restart the feud that she had throughout 2020 with the current RAW Women's Champion and WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Asuka.

#4 WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Charlotte Flair

At the moment, WWE RAW Superstar Charlotte Flair has worked her way up to be one of the last-minute favorites to win the Women's Royal Rumble in 2021.

The multiple-time women's champion returned to WWE at TLC in December as Asuka's mystery tag team partner. She helped her become a double champion when the pair defeated Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships.

Due to the angle of Charlotte Flair's return, many fans are speculating that either her or Asuka will turn on the other over the RAW Women's Championship, leading to a title match between the two, potentially at WrestleMania.

One way that this could be done is a potential Royal Rumble win for Flair, with the performer choosing to challenge her tag team partner at WrestleMania.

If Charlotte Flair does indeed win this year, it would make her the first-ever woman in WWE to win two Royal Rumble matches. This could be another accolade to add on to Flair's stellar record.

#3 Former WWE NXT Champion Rhea Ripley

WWE NXT Superstar Rhea Ripley is possibly one of the biggest fan favorite stars of the Black and Gold Brand.

Back in late 2019, Ripley had great momentum as she led both her WarGames and Survivor Series teams to victory over the same weekend. She also managed to dethrone Shayna Baszler, the longest-reigning NXT Women's Champion of all time.

It has recently been reported that Rhea Ripley is bound for the main roster of WWE very soon. Her most recent match in NXT seemed to also point towards this, as she lost a Last Woman Standing match against her long-time rival Raquel Gonzalez.

Given Rhea Ripleys phenomenal level of talent and charisma, it isn't difficult to imagine her shooting straight up to the top of the card to the women's championship picture on either RAW or SmackDown.

There are many feuds on the main roster that Rhea Ripley could easily develop upon her move. As well as this, the star has already shown that she can hold her own at WrestleMania.

In 2020 she was involved in the first-ever NXT title match at WrestleMania. Among fans and sources online, Rhea Ripley is currently the third favorite star to win the Women's Royal Rumble.

#2 Former WWE RAW Women's Champion Alexa Bliss

At the moment, Alexa Bliss is one of the biggest stars of WWE's women's division. On RAW, she has been aligned with The Fiend in a long-standing feud against Randy Orton.

She has been displaying somewhat of a dual personality, flipping between an upbeat, happy persona, and a possessed, demonic character in touch with the supernatural.

On the most recent episode of WWE RAW, Alexa Bliss faced the current RAW Women's Champion to a non-title match. During the bout, Asuka appeared scared of Bliss, who defeated her, leading to a title match on the upcoming episode of RAW.

This back-and-forth with Asuka has clearly built the momentum of Alexa Bliss going towards the 2021 Royal Rumble. The star has been involved with Royal Rumble matches before, but is still yet to win. Given the current status of Alexa Bliss in WWE, it certainly does feel that 2021 could be her year.

Alexa Bliss is one of the most successful women on WWE's current roster. She was the first woman to win both the RAW and SmackDown Women's Championships. Alongside Nikki Cross, she was also one of the first two-time WWE Women's Tag Team Champions.

At the moment, she is listed as the second favorite to win on SkyBet.

#1 WWE SmackDown Superstar Bianca Belair

Over the past few months, WWE SmackDown Superstar Bianca Belair has been one of the biggest favorites to win the Women's Royal Rumble, and that still hasn't changed.

The popular star has been on the main roster for less than a year, but has already made a huge impact with her EST character, polished in-ring skills, and heaps of charisma.

Taking into account her impressive debut Royal Rumble performance in 2020, Bianca Belair feels like Superstar who was built to do well in this match type.

She often shows how strong she is (for example, she carried the 300-pound fellow SmackDown Superstar Otis recently), as well as her great agility and ring awareness. Currently, she holds the record for most eliminations in a single Women's Royal Rumble match with Shayna Baszler.

Bianca Belair's status as a favorite to win the Royal Rumble is something that has been touched upon in recent interviews. The star has also claimed that she would love to face the current WWE SmackDown Women's Champion Sasha Banks at WrestleMania, in a match that would make history.

Adding to this, the most recent edition of WWE Chronicle has delved into the life and career of Bianca Belair. It has received praise from both fans and fellow WWE Supertstars, and has set her in stone as a star to watch out for in 2021.