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As 2020 quickly comes to a close, the attention of the WWE Universe will be turning towards the 2021 Royal Rumble. The 34th-annual Royal Rumble is due to take place on January 24th, 2021. As of yet, the venue and other details of the event are still unknown.
The Royal Rumble is one of the biggest events of the year for WWE, and fans begin speculating about what will unfold all year round. Some of the biggest pushes and rivalries in WWE history have been established at past Royal Rumble events.
Leading up to the Royal Rumble, fans may see some WWE Superstars receive a push and come to the forefront in the buildup to the event.
Here are five WWE Superstars who need a push before the Royal Rumble.
#5 Keith Lee (WWE RAW)
Keith Lee moved from NXT to RAW earlier this year. On NXT, Keith Lee was briefly a duel NXT and North American Champion. That was before he relinquished the latter in order to give more members of the roster a title opportunity. Lee then dropped the NXT Championship to Karrion Kross after a brief rivalry.
Lee was a fan favorite during his time on the Black and Gold Brand. He also caught the attention of viewers of WWE's main roster with his appearance at last year's Survivor Series. He became NXT's last man standing in the elimination match, before Roman Reigns speared him to take home the win for Team SmackDown.
As he moved to RAW, Lee was quickly at the top of the card and became involved in a feud with Randy Orton. After Orton set his focus on WWE Champion Drew McIntyre, Lee floated around the roster and eventually settled on a brief feud against Braun Strowman.
Keith Lee later earned a slot on the winning Team RAW for this year's Survivor Series. Lee has the charisma and in-ring ability to be one of WWE's biggest stars in the future, and it would be fantastic to see him involved in a big title feud soon.
#4 Aleister Black (WWE SmackDown)
Aleister Black was a dominant star of WWE NXT from 2017 to 2019 and was involved in some huge storylines on the Black and Gold Brand at the time. In the two-year period, Aleister Black won the NXT Championship and the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic with Ricochet.
In early 2019, both Black and Ricochet were drafted to RAW. They later competed in matches for both the RAW and SmackDown Tag Team Championships, but were unsuccessful. The pair were later split to pursue singles stardom, with mixed results.
Black has often moved from RAW to SmackDown since arriving on the main roster in WWE. The star has been involved in a handful of significant feuds, including against each member of The OC alone. He also had a later rivalry with Seth Rollins, in which he appeared to lose his eye.
Since then, Black has appeared on WWE television wearing an eye patch and has also turned heel for the first time since joining the company. However, he has not been seen on WWE programming since it was announced that he had been drafted to SmackDown.
Aleister Black's future career in WWE seems uncertain, especially after the release of his wife Zelina Vega due to her opposing WWE's plans regarding performers using third-party platforms. Black is a huge talent, but hasn't had the opportunity to shine on the main roster since his move from NXT.
#3 Rhea Ripley (WWE NXT)
This time last year, Rhea Ripley had huge momentum in WWE. She was the leader of an NXT WarGames team on the first occasion that the women had competed in the stipulation match.
Ripley led her team to victory against all odds after her teammate Dakota Kai turned heel and attacked Tegan Nox, before abandoning the rest of the team.
The day after, Rhea Ripley also took charge of Team NXT and helped them score the victory in the women's elimination match at Survivor Series 2019. It was the first time that the Black and Gold Brand competed at the annual pay-per-view.
Currently, it feels like Rhea Ripley has achieved everything possible in NXT. She defeated Shayna Baszler, who is arguably the most dominant NXT Women's Champion of all time, for the title last December. She was then involved in the first-ever NXT title match at WrestleMania.
Ripley challenged Io Shirai for the NXT Women's Championship once more recently. The Australian star lost, and it felt like a farewell to the Black and Gold Brand for her in some ways.
There has been much talk of a main roster move for Ripley once she recovers from an injury she sustained in her match against Shirai.
Once on WWE RAW or SmackDown, a lot of NXT stars have been the victims of confusing booking or have just been left forgotten. Rhea Ripley has the potential to be one of the biggest stars in WWE and hopefully, she will receive a push between now and the Royal Rumble.
#2 Big E (WWE SmackDown)
Big E has been a fan favorite of the WWE Universe for some time now. He has been a multiple-time tag team champion as a member of The New Day and was a part of the group since their debut in the summer of 2014.
Fans have been asking for a WWE push for Big E for quite a while now. During the 2020 WWE Draft, everybody, including The New Day, was left stunned. Stephanie McMahon announced that Big E would remain on SmackDown, but Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods would be moving to RAW.
Many expected that The New Day being split between brands would be a way to establish Big E as a singles star, and give him the push that fans had been calling out for. However, while Kingson and Woods are RAW Tag Team Champions, Big E has had a short feud against Sheamus, but not much else.
Big E was expected to be a part of Team SmackDown at Survivor Series, but it later transpired that the final spot on the team was unexpectedly given to Otis. The former Mr. Money in the Bank had previously lost a match against Seth Rollins, that could have earned him a spot on the team.
Hopefully, things will turn around for Big E on SmackDown soon, and he will be involved in something that will propel him to the top of the card.
#1 Bianca Belair (WWE SmackDown)
Bianca Belair was one of the biggest Superstars on WWE NXT in late 2019 and early 2020. She caught the attention of many during her standout performance in the 2020 Royal Rumble, when she scored a record eight eliminations.
The EST of WWE moved from the Black and Gold Brand to RAW during WrestleMania weekend. On RAW, Belair floated around the roster without really having a defining storyline. She became an ally of Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan, and came to the aid of her husband Montez Ford when he was poisoned.
Just before the 2020 WWE Draft, a series of vignettes were shown on RAW, promoting Bianca Belair. She was shown as the strongEST, fastEST, and the smartEST in WWE. Belair was lifting the heaviest weights in the gym with ease, defeating a group of track runners in a race, and winning a general knowledge quiz.
Belair then moved to SmackDown in the 2020 WWE Draft, being picked during the second round. Since moving to the Blue Brand, Bianca Belair has won a spot on the Survivor Series team, and put on a stellar performance at the event.
It would great to see Belair have a push in WWE, as rumored. Fans still haven't seen the EST of WWE involved in a significant feud, let alone a title feud, since her move to the main roster in April. The time feels right for a push for the Superstar.
