Who should Sasha Banks face at WWE Royal Rumble 2021?
On Jan. 31, WWE Royal Rumble 2021 will emanate from the Thunderdome at Tropicana Field. It’s still too early for the company to officially announce matches for the Pay Per View, but here are three opponents we can expect for Sasha Banks, the current SmackDown Women’s Champion.
Natalya
We have not seen Sasha Banks vs. Natalya yet as a full-blown rivalry in WWE, and that should make fans excited about the prospect of seeing this match at the next Pay Per View. Yes, I understand that many fans don’t see Nattie as an exciting opponent, but I want these same fans to remember all the times she has put on a great technical match with a big-name wrestler. Remember what she and Becky Lynch pulled off at SummerSlam 2019 in a Submission Match?
We may not get a “Submission Match” stipulation between Sasha and Nattie at the Royal Rumble PPV, but the match itself would have a focus on submissions and technical wrestling. That’s Natalya’s strength, while Sasha Banks is on the shortlist of the best technical wrestlers in the company.
If WWE can’t find a bigger name for Mercedes Varnado at the Rumble, they should not rush into anything. Natalya vs. Sasha is worthy of a Rumble title match, specifically because the bout itself would be so damn good. It would be fresh and feature the kind of technical wrestling that is so appealing at this PPV in juxtaposition to the two battle royals. Think back to Royal Rumble 2019 when we had both Sasha Banks vs. Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch vs. Asuka!
Trish Stratus
I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up, least of all mine. It’s rare for WWE to bring out a legend on short notice to have a match on Pay Per View, but if they were to do so, then I would be over the moon at the prospect of finally getting Sasha Banks vs. Trish Stratus.
WWE teased this heavily during the 2018 Royal Rumble, as Trish and Sasha had a staredown for the ages. Recently, Stratus reopened the door for this possible rematch in the future, and that’s given fans – yes, including me – more reason to speculate.
Again, I’m not willing to predict that this will be the match at the Royal Rumble PPV, but how many options are there for Banks? I think Trish vs. Sasha is a possibility.
Stratus showed at SummerSlam 2019 with her match against Charlotte Flair that she can absolutely deliver in big matches right now. It’s not a stretch to say that a match with Sasha Banks at a Big Four PPV would be a career highlight – even for her – and one of the best matches of her legendary career. Banks tends to give wrestlers their best matches ever, and I am sure that’s one of many reasons why Trish would relish the opportunity to grapple with the Boss.
In my opinion, Mercedes is one of the top two stars in the company right at this moment. Therefore, WWE should make every effort to give her the highest caliber of competition in terms of star power and in-ring ability. Trish checks both boxes, whereas many other wrestlers would only fit one of those two.
Carmella
Finally, we rest on the option that would seemingly be the most underwhelming of the three, as it would be a repeat of the TLC Pay Per View match. But I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a second match between Sasha Banks and Carmella, though I would hope the promos for ‘Mella are written more tastefully by creative, especially after they tore down the house at TLC.
We all know how great Sasha is in the ring. I don’t need to sell anyone who reads the site regularly (though we do occasionally get strays who want to argue otherwise…so nevermind them, I guess).
But Carmella is also quite good in the ring. She has improved so much over the years, as she went from a promising homegrown talent on the “original” SmackDown roster in 2016 to someone who can credibly have strong world title matches with one of the best in the industry.
Their match at TLC was good, but I think Carmella and Sasha left enough in the tank (for my powerlifting friends, let’s call it an RPE of 8), to have one more barnburner at the Royal Rumble. I have some reservations about the lines Carmella is fed with this new character, but I am not oblivious to the fact that she has potential in this role and is very talented. So I would not be opposed to see her having another shot at the title, nor do I feel there is any dishonor in losing to Sasha. In fact, by being in the ring with her in a world title match on PPV, a wrestler’s stock can only rise.
There is one last thing I would like to add to this entry. Whereas Trish and Nattie would almost assuredly be singles matches, if Carmella gets another shot at Sasha’s title, I could see it being a Triple Threat instead of a third (remember the one on SmackDown before TLC) singles bout between the two.