WWE Royal Rumble 2021 Results, Grades, and Analysis

Roman Reigns (c) vs. Kevin Owens for the Universal Championship in a Last Man Standing Match

Result: Roman Reigns wins

Grade: A, Another strong effort from two of the best wrestlers on the planet

There are few match stipulations as conducive to drama and brutality as a well-done Last Man Standing match, and that is exactly what we saw unfold before us in the second-to-last match of WWE Royal Rumble 2021.

Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns have been the best of enemies for years. In 2016-17 on Monday Night Raw, Reigns was the face and Owens the heel. Here, the roles were reversed, and with more maturity and even more fitting characters for both men, the matches and segments are somehow 10 times better than ever before.

Reigns and Owens pulled out all the stops to make sure their final match as rivals was their best yet. We saw Owens frog-splash Reigns through a table, and then he outdid that with a Senton through another table. Reigns had his own massive move with a spear through the stage backdrop.

In the end, Reigns, who was on the brink of losing multiple times in this match, prevailed by choking out Owens. However, it took him throwing the ref into a steel beam at the brink of a 10-count and getting Paul Heyman to unlock his handcuffs (suspension of disbelief required there, as Heyman took a long time to take care of those) to get a chance to apply his guillotine.

There were several ingenious spots in this match, including both the handcuffs and the well-timed referee bump. Owens is such a fantastic babyface, and his main-event stock has risen as a result of being in this feud with the Tribal Chief.