Royal Rumble (2021)

The Royal Rumble is an annual gimmick pay-per-view, produced every January by WWE since 1988. It is one of the promotion's original four pay-per-views, along with WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, dubbed the "Big Four".[1] It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle royal in which the participants enter at timed intervals instead of all beginning in the ring at the same time. Both the men's and women's matches generally feature 30 wrestlers. Traditionally, the winner of the match earns a world championship match at that year's WrestleMania. For 2021, the men have the choice to challenge for either Raw's WWE Championship, SmackDown's Universal Championship, or the NXT Championship at WrestleMania 37, while the women have the choice between the Raw Women's Championship, SmackDown Women's Championship, and NXT Women's Championship. The 2021 Royal Rumble was the 34th event in the Royal Rumble chronology and featured wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brands with a select few NXT wrestlers and WWE veterans also appearing in both the men's and women's Royal Rumble matches.[2][3]

The Royal Rumble match was created by WWE Hall of Famer Pat Patterson, and the match was originally tested at a house show in October 1987 before making its televised debut at the inaugural Royal Rumble event in 1988.[4] Patterson died on December 2, 2020 at the age of 79, which made the 2021 event as the first Royal Rumble following his death.[5]

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, WWE had to present the majority of its programming for Raw and SmackDown from a behind closed doors set at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida beginning mid-March 2020,[6] although in late May, the promotion began using Performance Center trainees to serve as the live audience,[7] which was further expanded to friends and family members of the wrestlers in mid-June.[8] On August 17, WWE announced that all future shows and pay-per-views would be held at Orlando's Amway Center for the "foreseeable future", beginning with the August 21 episode of SmackDown. Furthermore, the shows now feature a new fan viewing experience called the "ThunderDome", which utilizes drones, lasers, pyro, smoke, and projections. Approximately 1,000 LED boards were installed to allow fans to virtually attend the events for free and be seen on the rows and rows of LED boards. Arena audio is also mixed with that of the virtual fans so that chants from the fans can be heard.[9][10] After their contract with the Amway Center expired, WWE relocated the ThunderDome to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, which began with the December 11 episode of SmackDown.[11][12]

In November 2020, it was reported that WWE were looking to host the 2021 Royal Rumble at a venue that could have live fans in attendance, as the promotion wanted fans for the event, even if it was just for this one show.[13] However, the ongoing pandemic put a stop to those plans, and while dismantling the ThunderDome to have live fans in attendance at Tropicana Field was possible, WWE decided that the massive undertaking to do so was not worth doing for just one night.[14]

The show comprised six matches, including one on the Kickoff pre-show. The matches resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands,[15][16] while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.[17]

On the January 8 episode of SmackDown, Universal Champion Roman Reigns took issue with the recent booking decisions made by WWE official Adam Pearce, including a gauntlet match that Pearce had scheduled for that night to determine Reigns' challenger for his title at the Royal Rumble. Reigns questioned if Pearce booked himself for the match, to which Pearce responded that would have been a conflict of interest. Later, Reigns' special counsel, Paul Heyman, confronted Pearce backstage and stated that he was able to pull some strings and that Pearce would also be competing in the gauntlet match along with Rey Mysterio, Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura, King Corbin, and Daniel Bryan. Nakamura survived the gauntlet to face final entrant Pearce; however, before the final round began, Reigns' cousin, Jey Uso, taunted Nakamura, which led to Reigns and Jey attacking both Nakamura and Pearce. Jey placed Pearce on top of Nakamura for the pinfall, thus Pearce won the match.[18] The following week, Heyman confronted Pearce backstage and gave him the match contract to sign. The stipulation for their match was originally a no disqualification match; after Heyman gave the signed contract to Reigns, however, Reigns wanted the stipulation changed to a Last Man Standing match. Later in the ring, Pearce and Reigns signed the amended contract, but as Pearce was leaving, he feigned a knee injury, citing that the contract allowed him to choose a replacement for himself in the event of an injury and chose Kevin Owens, Reigns' previous adversary who had come up short in their title matches thanks to interference from Jey. Owens then made his entrance and signed the contract to become Reigns' opponent for the Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble.[19]

Following Drew McIntyre's successful WWE Championship defense during the special "Legends Night" episode of Raw on January 4, WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg, in his first appearance since WrestleMania 36 in 2020, appeared to confront McIntyre. After Goldberg praised McIntyre's work and abilities, he stated that McIntyre did not have respect, claiming that McIntyre viewed the legends as being "washed up" and that McIntyre felt he was better than any of them when they were in their prime. Goldberg then formally challenged McIntyre for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble. McIntyre responded that Goldberg was not the man he used to be and that facing him would be like facing his own dad. Goldberg then taunted and shoved McIntyre, who rose to his feet and stared down Goldberg.[20] The following week, McIntyre refuted Goldberg's claim and said that he actually did have respect but that he was going to reject Goldberg's challenge until Goldberg pushed him, prompting him to accept the challenge and make the match official.[21] McIntyre had accepted Goldberg's challenge via satellite as during that same episode, he announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19; following the standard 14-day quarantine procedure, McIntyre was cleared for the Royal Rumble, appearing live on Raw on the January 25 episode to have a final face-to-face meeting with Goldberg before their match.[22]

At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Sasha Banks retained the SmackDown Women's Championship against Carmella.[23] Over the next couple of weeks, Carmella continuously taunted Banks, yearning for a rematch. On the January 15 episode of SmackDown, Banks stated that she would give Carmella a rematch only if she faced Carmella's sommelier, Reginald, in a match first.[19] The intergender match occurred the following week, in which Banks defeated Reginald.[24] Banks kept her promise and a title rematch between Banks and Carmella was scheduled for the Royal Rumble.[25]

During the Royal Rumble Kickoff pre-show, Raw Women's Champion Asuka and Charlotte Flair defended the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship against Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler. During the match, Ric Flair came out with Lacey Evans to distract his daughter—continuing an ongoing storyline from Raw. As Charlotte applied the Figure Eight Leglock on Baszler, Evans broke it up. The climax saw Evans perform the Women's Right on Charlotte, after which, Jax performed a leg drop on her to regain the title, thus Jax and Baszler became record-tying two-time champions, both as a team and individually.[26]

The actual pay-per-view opened with Drew McIntyre defending the WWE Championship against Goldberg. Before the match could officially begin, McIntyre attacked Goldberg with a Glasgow Kiss and a Spear, knocking Goldberg out of the ring. Goldberg then retaliated by performing a Spear on McIntyre through the barricade. Goldberg returned to the ring, and after McIntyre also managed to return to the ring, the match officially began. McIntyre performed a Claymore Kick on Goldberg for a nearfall. Goldberg performed two Spears on McIntyre, also for a nearfall. Goldberg then performed a Jackhammer on McIntyre, but it was also a nearfall. As Goldberg attempted another Spear, McIntyre avoided Goldberg and performed a second Claymore Kick on Goldberg to retain the title. Following the match, Goldberg rose to his feet and endorsed McIntyre by shaking his hand, declaring that McIntyre passed the test, after which, McIntyre and Goldberg embraced.[27]

Next, Sasha Banks defended the SmackDown Women's Championship against Carmella (accompanied by her sommelier, Reginald). During the match, as Banks threw Carmella out of the ring, Reginald caught Carmella. Banks then performed a head scissors takeover and a Forearm on Reginald. The referee ejected Reginald from ringside. In the end, Banks applied the Bank Statement on Carmella, forcing her to tap, thus retaining the title.[27]

Following the match, Bad Bunny performed his song "Booker T" with two-time WWE Hall of Famer Booker T himself making an appearance.[27]

Bianca Belair, the winner of the 2021 Women's Royal Rumble

After that, the 30-woman Royal Rumble match was contested. Bayley and the returning Naomi entered the match as the first and second entrants, respectively. Bianca Belair entered third, and due to their ongoing rivalry from SmackDown, Belair immediately attempted to eliminate Bayley, who avoided being eliminated. Instead of participating in the match, Billie Kay (#4) would join the ringside announcers for commentary. Kay attempted to team up with the next three entrants, NXT's Shotzi Blackheart (#5), Shayna Baszler (#6), and NXT's Toni Storm (#7), to take on the other participants in the match, however they all brushed her off. Kay eventually teamed up with guest entrant and former WWE wrestler Jillian Hall (#8) and Kay officially entered the match; however, she eventually turned on Hall and eliminated her. Shortly thereafter, Kay was also eliminated. Mid-way through the match, Lacey Evans (#18) entered, accompanied by Ric Flair, while wearing his signature robe in an attempt to taunt Charlotte Flair (#15). Immediately after guest entrant and former WWE wrestler Alicia Fox (#21) entered, 24/7 Champion R-Truth ran to the ring. Several other male 24/7 Title challengers appeared and ran after Truth, who then ran into the ring. As Truth fended them off, Fox pinned Truth to win the 24/7 Championship. Mandy Rose (#22) then eliminated Fox, after which, Truth pinned Fox outside the ring to regain the title. As Carmella (#24 – accompanied by Reginald) entered, Nikki Cross (#20) attempted to eliminate Carmella, however, Reginald caught Carmella, thus saving her from elimination. As Tamina (#25) made her way to the ring, she attacked Reginald, accidentally dropping Carmella, thus causing her elimination inadvertently. Rhea Ripley (#14) then eliminated Alexa Bliss (#27) before Bliss could transform into her alter-ego Fiend-esque persona (due to her alignment with "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt). The final four were Flair, Ripley, Belair, and Natalya (#30). After Natalya was quickly eliminated, Belair and Ripley teamed together and eliminated Flair. In the end, after a back-and-forth battle, Belair eliminated Ripley to win the match and earn herself a women's championship match at WrestleMania 37. Belair also became the second wrestler to win the match as the third entrant, after Ric Flair in 1992. Following the match, an emotional Belair celebrated her win.[27]

In the penultimate match, Roman Reigns (accompanied by Paul Heyman) defended the Universal Championship against Kevin Owens in a Last Man Standing match. At the start of the match, Reigns performed a Superman Punch on Owens only for Owens to rise to his feet. Owens countered a Spear from Reigns into a Pop-up Powerbomb, however, Reigns rose to his feet at the 4 count. Mid-way, the two fought at ringside where Reigns viciously attacked Owens with steel steps. Reigns then threw Owens through an announce table from the LED boards of the ThunderDome arena. Owens and Reigns fought backstage where Reigns drove a golf cart into Owens. Owens then performed a Senton Bomb on Reigns off a forklift through a table. In the end, Owens handcuffed Reigns to a lighting trellis. Unable to get to his feet and avoid losing, Reigns incapacitated the referee by shoving him into the trellis. Heyman then appeared and successfully freed Reigns from the cuffs. Reigns then applied the guillotine choke on Owens, incapacitating him and preventing Owens from rising to his feet by the count of 10, thus Reigns retained the title.[27]

Edge, the winner of the 2021 Men's Royal Rumble

In the main event, the 30-man Royal Rumble match was contested. Edge, returning from a triceps tear, and Randy Orton started the match as the first and second entrants, respectively. The two fought at ringside before the match officially began. They eventually fought into the ring and the match began. Orton along with Sami Zayn (#3) and Mustafa Ali (#4) began to triple team Edge, however, he fought them off and performed a Spear on Orton, who rolled out of the ring under the bottom rope. Edge followed Orton soon after and the two continued to brawl at ringside.[27]

In his first appearance since 2010, free agent Carlito made a surprise return at #8, however, he was eliminated by Elias (#13). NXT's Damian Priest (#14) then eliminated Elias. It was then shown that medical personnel tended to Orton backstage and Edge returned to the match soon after. Due to Bad Bunny rejecting The Miz's offer in a backstage segment earlier, Miz (#15) proceeded to destroy Bad Bunny's DJ equipment on the stage and then celebrated with his tag team partner, John Morrison (#11). An irate Bad Bunny then came out, distracting Miz and Morrison, who were eliminated by Priest. Bad Bunny then performed a cross body on Miz and Morrison outside the ring. Kane (#18) made a surprise return only for Priest to eliminate him. Later in the match, and his first official match since 2014, Christian (#24) made his surprise return to in-ring action. After entering the ring and reuniting with Edge, the two embraced. Seth Rollins (#29) and Braun Strowman (#30) then returned after their respective hiatuses (though Strowman had returned at the end of the previous episode of SmackDown).[27]

The final five were Edge, Christian, Rollins, Strowman, and Orton (unbeknownst to the rest at this time as he had not returned from his injury earlier). Rollins convinced Strowman to work together and eliminate Edge and Christian, however, Strowman turned on Rollins soon after. As Strowman tried to eliminate Edge, Christian tried to assist Edge to eliminate Strowman. Rollins would eliminate Christian, allowing Edge to simultaneously eliminate Strowman. Edge then eliminated Rollins soon after. Immediately following Rollins' elimination, Orton returned to the match and performed an RKO on Edge. Orton then attempted to eliminate Edge, however, he countered and eliminated Orton to win the match for a second time, last winning it in 2010, and earning himself a world championship match at WrestleMania 37. Edge became the eighth wrestler to win the Royal Rumble match twice, the third wrestler to win the match as the number one entrant (after Shawn Michaels in 1995 and Chris Benoit in 2004), and the first wrestler to win a Royal Rumble match after being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Additionally, this was only the third time that the first and second entrants lasted the entire match and finished as the final two (last occurring in 1995 and 1999).[27]

The following night on Raw, WWE Champion Drew McIntyre came out and stated that Goldberg had earned his respect and he had also earned Goldberg's respect. McIntyre was then interrupted by Royal Rumble winner Edge. McIntyre complimented Edge, however, Edge took issue as he thought that McIntyre would be more aggressive. After Edge teased that he would choose McIntyre as his opponent at WrestleMania 37, Sheamus, McIntyre's friend, came out to back up the champion, stating that he was not as nice as his friend. McIntyre then asked Edge about his decision and Edge stated he would reveal his choice in due time. After Edge left the ring, Sheamus turned on McIntyre and attacked him with a Brogue Kick, sending a direct message that he wanted the WWE Championship.[28]

Unsatisfied with Edge's victory in the Royal Rumble and how he had defeated Edge in "The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever" back at Backlash, Randy Orton challenged Edge to one final match on Raw. In the main event, Edge defeated Orton thanks to a distraction by Alexa Bliss (continuing a storyline between Orton, Bliss, and "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt), putting an end to Edge and Orton's rivalry.[28]

Also on the following night's episode of Raw, former WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Asuka & Charlotte Flair participated in a triple threat tag team match to earn an opportunity at a rematch for the titles against new champions Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler, which also involved the teams of Naomi & Lana and Dana Brooke & Mandy Rose. Thanks to another distraction by Ric Flair and Lacey Evans, however, the match was won by Naomi & Lana.[28]

The following Wednesday on NXT, Edge made a special appearance. He talked about how seeing the passion, drive, and focus on wrestling in NXT helped motivate him to make his comeback, and told NXT Champion Finn Bálor and Bálor's TakeOver: Vengeance Day opponent Pete Dunne that he would be watching their match, and regardless of who won, it could influence his decision on which world championship he would challenge for at WrestleMania 37, teasing the possibility that Edge may choose the NXT Championship.[29]

  – Raw

  – SmackDown

  – NXT

  – Hall of Famer

  – Free agent

  – Winner

  – Raw

  – SmackDown

  – NXT

  – Hall of Famer

  – Free agent

  – Winner