Would Bianca Belair get her first superstar moment? Would Edge take a step closer toward winning the title he never lost? There were so many questions and storylines heading into WWE Royal Rumble 2021, and these questions made the show extremely unpredictable even as the weeks turned into days before the event.
Here are the full results, grades, and analysis from this year’s Rumble.
Charlotte Flair and Asuka (c) vs. Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax for the Women’s Tag Team Championships
Result: Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler win after Nia pins Charlotte
Grade: B, The match itself was very good, though the angle/finish was decidedly less so
So there’s a lot to unpack here. Those of you – and, really, it’s probably most people reading this right now – who predicted a Ric Flair and Lacey Evans distraction that would cost Charlotte Flair and Asuka were absolutely right. Flair actually handed Evans a key or some other foreign object, which she used to deliver a Woman’s Right to Charlotte’s face during the Figure Eight, having already stopped Charlotte from winning with that submission hold. And that punch enabled Nia Jax to win the match for her team.
Everything up until Ric Flair’s music hit was excellent, however, I am always blown away by two things about Charlotte. Firstly, her athleticism, in terms of her speed, acrobatics, and raw power. And secondly, her ability to always elevate her game on Pay-Per-View. The fans who watched this for free without the WWE Network were treated to a great tag match (prior to the shenanigans), and both Asuka’s selling and Charlotte’s command of the ring were key to that.
The Women’s Tag Titles are back in Baszler’s and Jax’s hands, and it’ll be intriguing to see what’s next for these two women. They have done a great job in the title scene, and Shayna, in particular, has been brilliant in between the ropes over the past several months.
One last note. Shayna kicked out of a Double Natural Selection in this match in addition to winning the titles, so that’s a subtle, but significant boost for her.
Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Goldberg for the WWE Championship
Result: Drew McIntyre pins Goldberg
Grade: B-, Nothing special, of course, but it was enjoyable for what it was. A classic, Goldberg-style finisher-fest where explosiveness precedes anything else.
As you expected, the Drew McIntyre vs. Goldberg match was both a finisher-fest with almost nothing but finishers hit and a short match in which the entrance and video packages took longer than the bout itself.
But to be honest with you, I enjoyed it. I, specifically, enjoyed the nerves of the match, because, I have to admit, I was doubting McIntyre and seriously worried we’d have to endure another Goldberg title run during WrestleMania season once I saw McIntyre selling his mid-section following three spears.
Three? Yes, three. McIntyre withstood two spears and a Jackhammer in the match, but he was also speared before the match even began. See, McIntyre hit Goldberg with a spear before the bell rang, and Goldberg returned the favor with a spear through the barricades.
Despite the animosity between the two of them, Goldberg showed his respect to McIntyre after the latter retained his title, and that was honestly a nice moment. McIntyre has earned being the face of Monday Night Raw for the remainder of WrestleMania season, and it’s good to see WWE didn’t make the same mistake twice with Goldberg.
Sasha Banks (c) vs. Carmella w/Reginald for the SmackDown Women’s Championship
Result: Sasha Banks wins with the Bank Statement
Grade: A-, A great match
Another Sasha Banks masterpiece and a fantastic effort from Carmella, who gave the best effort of her career in this match. Although ‘Mella has been SmackDown Women’s Champion before, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that her third world title match against Banks at the Royal Rumble Pay Per View was the biggest bout of her career.
There were so many great counters and fluid technical wrestling between Carmella and Banks, whose familiarity with each other was easy to see. Banks has long been known as one of the best in-ring, trash-talkers in WWE, but Carmella’s verbal work in this match was worth praising, too.
We saw Reginald kicked out after Sasha hit him with a picture-perfect headscissors, and then Carmella followed that up with a vicious dive to the outside. I note this dive to point out the way Banks tapped Carmella’s back and quietly asked her if she was okay. As a wrestling fan, a part of me lives for those little moments of communication between the wrestlers.
Carmella and Banks feuded for a couple of months, but they saved their best effort for the biggest match. I had my skeptical moments at the beginning of the feud, but Banks and Carmella did an incredible job of building their rivalry up to the Rumble and delivering in the big match.
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.
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.
Men’s Royal Rumble
Result: Edge wins the Rumble, eliminates Randy Orton last
Grade: B-, Not the best of Rumbles but it was fun and featured the right man winning
Most of the Men’s Rumble match was fought at a plodding pace, though we were treated with two excellent surprises in the form of Carlito and Christian. The latter’s return gave us a heart-warming hug between him and Edge, as well as the latter essentially sacrificing himself to help the Rated R Superstar eliminate Edge’s biggest threat: number 30 entrant Braun Strowman.
You had to know that this was Edge’s night. Daniel Bryan was the only true candidate to win this year’s Rumble, unless WWE decided to pick a wild card like The Fiend or Brock Lesnar (or if they went with an underwhelming option like Braun Strowman).
Edge is now a two-time Royal Rumble winner, putting him in rarified air. And it’s a distinction he’s earned, not just on the back of what he’s done in the past but with what he’s doing in the present. Edge is cutting some of the best promos in WWE, including this golden one when he announced his entry into the Royal Rumble. Watch it again in the glow of this victory and try not to be moved by the man.
The icing on the cake in the Edge story on his road to winning the title he never lost? He entered first with Randy Orton at number two, outlasted everyone, and then withstood a surprise elimination attempt from Orton, who returned from injury at the very end, to punch his ticket to WrestleMania.
Spear vs. spear? Edge vs. Reigns? That sounds a whole lot better to me than Reigns vs. Goldberg, but let’s see what’s on the horizon for the living legend. A world of possibilities awaits him now. One year after his return, Edge is prepared to win it all once more.