WWE Royal Rumble 2021 Results, Grades, and Analysis
Women’s Royal Rumble
Result: Bianca Belair wins, eliminating Rhea Ripley
Grade: A+, The final three of Charlotte, Bianca, and Rhea (especially the final exchanges between Rhea and Bianca) were tremendous
I cannot say enough great things about this amazing Rumble match! And we have to start with the end, because the exchanges between Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair were some of the best we have seen to close a Royal Rumble match in ages. I was on the edge of my seat, wondering which woman would have their star-making moment. We KNEW there would need to be a new superstar made by the Women’s Rumble, and while Ripley had a strong case, Bianca was the right pick.
Additionally, I LOVED that Charlotte Flair was the third woman and that Belair and Ripley both played a role in eliminating her. Why? Not only was she last year’s Rumble winner, but both Bianca and Rhea had a reason to want to work together to eliminate her after she was a prominent part of their storyline in NXT on the road to WrestleMania last year.
From the number three entrant to the winner. Bianca fully deserved this win and put on an all-time great performance. She had us all in tears with her speech after the match as well.
There were so many other great moments in this Rumble, too. Victoria coming back? I thought I would NEVER see that, and I am so, so glad we got to see her in the match. The spots with Naomi and Bianca, whether they executed synchronized cartwheels or a near-elimination spot, were excellent. Billie Kay had some strong moments, too, and there were several other wrestlers lower on the card who got their shine.
But the woman we watched shine the most? Bianca Belair, of course. Again, I cannot say enough about her superlative performance on this night. She has delivered at yet another Big 4 PPV, just as she did at Survivor Series last year.
My important closing note is this. Bianca Belair is the second Black wrestler and first Black woman to win a Rumble match. Mark that down in the history books. Assuming we are headed for another two-night WrestleMania, she and Sasha are set to main event WrestleMania for the second women’s main event and the first main event between two Black wrestlers. And if there is only one night and one main event, we’ll use our voices to push WWE to make the SmackDown Women’s Title the show-closer.