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Many fans believe that the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view is more exciting than WrestleMania. They aren’t wrong, as Royal Rumble matches are some of the most exciting matches in all of WWE. This year’s Royal Rumble was the first after the death of Pat Patterson, the man who made the iconic Royal Rumble match.
The pre-show match of the event saw WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Asuka and Charlotte Flair defend their titles against former champions Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax.
Goldberg returned for a WWE Championship opportunity against last year’s Royal Rumble winner, Drew McIntyre. Sasha Banks defended her SmackDown Women’s Championship against Carmella on the show.
One of the most intense matches of the night saw Roman Reigns defend his Universal Championship against Kevin Owens in a Last Man Standing Match.
The two Royal Rumble Matches were also scheduled for the show as 30 men and 30 women got an opportunity of a lifetime to headline WrestleMania. The matches had some great returns and memorable spots to kick off 2021 the right way.
In this article, we will look at the five things WWE did right at the 2021 Royal Rumble.
#5 Sasha Banks took down Carmella at WWE Royal Rumble
On the pre-show of WWE Royal Rumble, Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax defeated Charlotte Flair and Asuka to win back the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships. Lacey Evans helped the heels win the titles by attacking Flair.
Seeing how the partnership between Flair and Asuka wasn’t making too much sense, it was arguably the right call to take the titles off them. On the main show of Royal Rumble, Carmella looked to take the SmackDown Women’s Championship off Sasha Banks.
Banks started the match on the right foot and was able to take control early. Reginald tried to interfere in the match, and she took him down off the apron. The SmackDown Women’s Champion hurt her leg while performing a Meteora. Carmella took advantage and tied Banks’ hair to the bottom rope as she proceeded to stop her into the mat.
Banks made a comeback into the match and took down Reginald with a headscissor outside the ring. The referee finally ejected Reginald from ringside.
After the two women tried their finishers on each other, The Boss made Carmella tap out to the Bank Statement to pick up the victory. The match was fun and allowed both women to show their talent.
Banks’ victory allows WWE to book a potential big dream match for WrestleMania. The Women’s Royal Rumble match winner will likely get a shot at Banks and her title.
#4 Drew McIntyre retained the WWE Championship at Royal Rumble
No one expected this match to be five stars. Some fans wanted to watch Drew McIntyre have another big moment at WWE Royal Rumble, while others wanted Goldberg to head into WrestleMania as the WWE Champion.
The match lasted less than three minutes and had some major spots and moves. McIntyre attacked Goldberg before the bell, and the two men brawled outside the ring for some time. Goldberg took down the Scot with a Spear through the barricades and waited for him to enter the ring so the match could begin.
McIntyre took Goldberg down with a Claymore early but missed on the second attempt. Goldberg took control and hit a couple of big moves, but could not put away The Scottish Warrior.
McIntyre finally connected with another Claymore to pick up the victory and retained his WWE Championship at Royal Rumble. The match was intense and allowed McIntyre to go over a legend.
This was the perfect way to end their rivalry and put McIntyre over. Seeing how the men’s Royal Rumble ended, WWE did the right thing by allowing The Scot to retain at the event.
#3 Kevin Owens gave it his all at WWE Royal Rumble
WWE Royal Rumble hosted a Last Man Standing Match for the Universal Championship between Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns. Reigns walked out without Jey Uso but had Paul Heyman on his side. Right after the referee called for the bell, both men went right at each other.
A Superman Punch allowed Reigns an early opening, but KO countered a Spear and hit a Popup Powerbomb. All hell broke loose from there on as both men were ready to end each other’s careers to set an example.
Reigns used the steel steps and then took a Steel Chair to beat down his challenger at Royal Rumble. KO refused to stay down and continued to fight his way back into the match. The two men approached an elevated platform and The Tribal Chief threw KO down from the edge into some tables.
KO still managed to beat the count though, and the two men headed backstage where the action got even more crazy. Reigns ran KO over with a golf cart, but still couldn’t put him away. The Prizefighter powerbombed Reigns onto some tables and delivered a huge splash to put him through it. He then set up a forklift and delivered a Senton Bomb, but The Head of the Table still managed to beat the count.
Later, Reigns speared KO through the LED wall. Owens handcuffed Reigns in a way that made it impossible for him to stand up. But Reigns took down the referee to beat the ten count and then locked KO in the Guillotine choke to pick up the win.
This was truly a Last Man Standing match that elevated the Royal Rumble PPV. The Women’s Royal Rumble Match was excellent, and these two men did not let the quality drop following that match.
WWE looked to outdo its competitors with some of the spots, and they managed to do that well. Reigns and KO lit up the entire event with a truly brutal match.
#2 Bianca Belair won the Women’s WWE Royal Rumble match
Bayley appeared as the first entrant into the Women’s WWE Royal Rumble match, followed by Naomi at number two. Bianca Belair followed at number three, with The Role Model on the backfoot. The action and drama only picked up from there as the new entrants kept coming into the match.
Billie Kay was next to add some humor to the match, while WWE NXT’s Shotzi Blackheart made her big tank entrance in the Royal Rumble. Former NXT Women’s Champion Baszler was next, followed by Toni Storm. Ruby Riott’s entry allowed Kay to find a partner to work with for some time.
Veteran Victoria made a surprise return to the Royal Rumble match at No. 10 to give fans some drama, just moments after Jillian Hall. Rhea Ripley entered the match a little later and emerged as one of the favorites to win the Royal Rumble match.
The ring began to crowd up as more and more competitors such as Alicia Fox, Lacey Evans, and Torrie Wilson continued to enter the match.
Dakota Kai from NXT had a few big moments, while Lana, Alexa Bliss, Ember Moon, and Nia Jax picked up the last few spots, before Natalya came in at No. 30. After several eliminations, it was down to Charlotte, Natalya, Ripley, and Belair.
The EST of SmackDown took out Natalya from the Royal Rumble match and then teamed up with Ripley to eliminate Charlotte. The final two women fought hard and Belair managed to eliminate The Nightmare to book her ticket to WrestleMania 37.
Just like Becky Lynch’s Royal Rumble victory a few years ago, Belair’s victory felt truly emotional and she deserved the big spot. She will likely have a dream match against Sasha Banks at WrestleMania 37.
#1 Edge sets his sights on WrestleMania following WWE Royal Rumble
Fans already knew who’d be number one and two during the Men’s Royal Rumble match, as Randy Orton and Edge made their way out to the middle. Edge decided to continue their rivalry and attack The Viper on the ramp. The two men fought all around ringside, before Sami Zayn arrived and helped The Viper against Edge.
Mustafa Ali entered next and helped the heels against Edge. Jeff Hardy came in next and the heels went after him, too. The Viper took everyone down with RKOs before Edge split him in half with a Spear. Orton seemed to pick up a knee injury and had to be taken to the back.
The action kept getting hotter in the ring as Dolph Ziggler and Shinsuke Nakamura arrived next. Carlito made a surprise Royal Rumble appearance at number eight to give the fans a feel-good moment.
Xavier Woods and Big E entered one after the other and looked to work together. The ring began to crowd up as Elias entered at No. 13 and eliminated Carlito, soon after his arrival.
NXT’s Damian Priest entered the match as a favorite and got some eliminations under his belt. Riddle, Daniel Bryan, King Corbin, and Dominik Mysterio were the next few Superstars to enter the match.
The Hurricane made another Royal Rumble appearance but was eliminated by Bobby Lashley quickly. Lashley also eliminated one of the favorites to win the match, Big E. Christian made an epic return to the WWE Royal Rumble and helped the other men eliminate The All Mighty. Braun Strowman came into the match late and was among the last five with Seth Rollins, Edge, Orton, and Christian.
Edge and Christian eliminated Strowman, while Rollins got the better of Christian. Edge thew out Rollins to get the match down to the two men who started the Rumble. The Viper returned to hit an RKO on Edge, but the Rated-R Superstar eliminated him to win the men’s Royal Rumble match.
The match was good and allowed several stars to get some big spots. While Big E, Cesaro, or Strowman could have benefitted from the victory, WWE allowed Edge to pick up another emotional win. The interest in WrestleMania 37 instantly increased with his victory.
A WWE Hall of Famer called out AEW fans HERE
