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The Royal Rumble pay-per-view is just a few nights away and fans are waiting to watch some big matches take place during the event. Drew McIntyre is set to defend his WWE Championship against the returning Goldberg at the show.
SmackDown’s Universal Champion Roman Reigns, on the other hand, will compete in a Last Man Standing Match against Kevin Owens with the title on the line. The WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions will also defend their titles at the event against Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler.
However, the two big matches everyone is likely looking forward to are the Royal Rumble matches. The men will compete in a 30-man match while the women will get their own 30-woman match once again this year.
While several big names can win the two Rumble matches this year, there aren’t too many favorites this year as compared to previous years.
With that in mind, let’s look at the five things that must happen during the 2021 Men’s and Women’s Royal Rumble matches.
#5 Damian Priest must have a star-making performance in the Men’s Royal Rumble
The Royal Rumble is a match that can help WWE make several Superstars without them winning the match. Over the years, we’ve watched some ironmen get a lot of praise, while Superstars such as Keith Lee and Braun Strowman have received a major push following their showing in the match.
Damian Priest worked his way up the ladder in WWE NXT and had a good reign with the North American Championship. After his last match on the brand against Karrion Kross at NXT New Year’s Evil, it seems like the Superstar is ready to progress to the main roster.
While there are several ways WWE can have the Superstar appear on RAW or SmackDown to make an impact, the Royal Rumble match seems like the perfect place for Priest.
In this year’s Royal Rumble match, WWE must allow Priest to enter the match at a lower number and stay in the contest for a long time. Priest must be allowed to eliminate a few top Superstars from the match, and possibly even tease a rivalry against a top RAW or SmackDown heel.
The angle will help The Archer get some attention and also earn his first rivalry before making an appearance on RAW or SmackDown following the event. It will also give WWE a chance to have Priest and Lee work together in the Royal Rumble, and possibly tease an alliance down the line, as both men are good friends from NXT.
#4 Lana must return to eliminate Nia Jax from the Women’s Royal Rumble
Lana has usually had some bad luck during Royal Rumble matches. WWE was building towards a big moment for RAW Superstar Lana before she was injured and taken out of the competition. Fans watched as Lana defeated Nia Jax on RAW, only for The Irresistible Force to injure her leg following the match with the help of Shayna Baszler.
Lana’s partner Asuka continued and partnered with Charlotte Flair to defeat Jax and Baszler and win their WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships. However, Lana’s rise was halted due to the attack and injury, and fans could watch her return at the Royal Rumble to exact some revenge.
At Royal Rumble, WWE must allow Lana to make a return at a time when Jax is ruling the ring and eliminating Superstars. WWE must then allow Lana to show a new side to herself, and eliminate Jax from the Royal Rumble match to make a big statement.
Lana could also take out Baszler from the match to give fans a feel-good moment, and continue her rivalry with The Irresistible Force. WWE worked on Lana’s storyline with Jax and Baszler for a long time, and they must use her in the Royal Rumble to deliver a memorable spot.
#3 ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt must return to eliminate Randy Orton from the Men’s Royal Rumble
The Royal Rumble match is the perfect place for major Superstars to return and make an impact. One of the biggest Superstars on WWE RAW is none other than ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt.
Wyatt was involved in a big rivalry with Randy Orton following which Orton set The Fiend on fire in December 2020. Wyatt has been off television ever since, but The Viper and Alexa Bliss are working hard every single week on RAW to keep the rivalry going.
During the men’s Royal Rumble match this year, WWE must allow The Fiend to return at a time when Orton is ruling the Rumble match. The Fiend must appear out of nowhere and apply the Mandible Claw to Orton before possibly disappearing.
The angle would allow WWE to continue the rivalry between The Fiend and The Viper without needing to have Wyatt compete in the match and possibly getting eliminated by anyone else.
This could turn out to be one of the biggest spots of this year’s Royal Rumble match that could give RAW a chance to continue their top rivalry right after the event.
#2 Rhea Ripley must win the Women’s Royal Rumble Match
As mentioned earlier, the Royal Rumble is a match that can help make a WWE Superstar into something special. Superstars such as Becky Lynch and Drew McIntyre have benefited greatly from winning the Royal Rumble match in recent years.
Similarly, WWE could look to build one Superstar who has received a lot of praise and backing in recent months. Rhea Ripley is someone who’s done a phenomenal job in WWE NXT and even earned herself a match at last year’s WrestleMania.
The Superstar will likely move to RAW or SmackDown soon, and WWE could give her a major boost at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. Ripley must be allowed to win the women’s Royal Rumble match this year, and go on to win the entire affair after lasting a considerable amount of time in the match.
This will allow WWE to build a storyline where she can choose who she’d like to challenge at WrestleMania 37 for the title, and move to that brand following her choice. Ripley lost her NXT Women’s Championship at last year’s WrestleMania, and WWE could give her a chance to win a major title at this year’s WrestleMania.
#1 WWE must pull off an outlandish ending to the Men’s Royal Rumble
A major report that is circulating suggests that WWE is planning an outlandish ending to the Men’s Royal Rumble match this year. WresleVotes recently sent out a tweet regarding the same and claimed that the finish is pretty scary, to say the least.
"Sorry for the lack of details here but still noteworthy IMO; had a brief conversation earlier with a source regarding the Men's Royal Rumble match. 'There's a finish that scares the death out of me. And it's legitimately getting heavy consideration' yikes."
Keeping that in mind, WWE must make this year’s men’s Royal Rumble ending exciting for the fans. One way WWE could do so is by allowing Randy Orton to eliminate everyone from the Rumble before ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt appears at Number 30 to take Orton and disappear with him. This would leave the fans puzzled as to who won the Rumble match.
On the other hand, WWE could also have someone like Cesaro, Omos, or even The Miz win the Royal Rumble.
WWE could even allow Goldberg to lose the WWE Championship match and then enter the Royal Rumble to win that match. Since there is no clear favorite to win the Rumble match this year, WWE could pull off something different to make the fans take to social media and get the company trending.
A WWE Hall of Famer called out AEW fans HERE
