2021 WWE Royal Rumble matches, card, PPV date, start time, predictions, rumors, entrants, location
What you need to know ahead of the Royal Rumble that begins the Road to WrestleMania 37
What is the Royal Rumble?
The Royal Rumble is a major event organized by World Wrestling Entertainment. In addition to the weekly TV shows RAW, SmackDown and NXT, there are irregular pay-per-views that take place on Sundays and can be seen in Germany on the WWE Network.
Since the first edition of the event in 1988, it has found its way into the annual WWE calendar, making it the 34th time – only WrestleMania and Survivor Series are longer. Together with the Summerslam, which takes place in August, these events form the “Big Four” of the oldest and most inviolable events.
What is the Royal Rumble Match?
The Royal Rumble event is named after the Royal Rumble Match, which has been held every spring since it was first held in 1988. It’s an idea from longtime WWE employee and first Intercontinental Champion Pat Patterson, who passed away in December 2020 at the age of 79.
It is a peculiarity of a “battle royale”, a match in which a large number of wrestlers take part and the match lasts until there is only one victorious wrestler in the ring.
It start two wrestlers and after the start of the match comes every 90 seconds a new wrestler added – in total there are 30 participants . A wrestler is eliminated if he is thrown over the top ring rope (or flies over it on his own).
Who won the Royal Rumble Match last year?
At the Royal Rumble 2020, the focus was on two men. On the one hand, it was Edge who, as already mentioned, celebrated his comeback after nine years in the Royal Rumble Match.
The winner of the prestigious match was the Scot Drew McIntyre . He met Brock Lesnar by winning at WrestleMania 36, defeated him and became WWE Champion .
The matches at the Royal Rumble 2021
These matches are already fixed for the Royal Rumble 2021. As soon as new matches are announced, we will of course update the matchcard.
WWE Championship: Defending champion Drew McIntyre versus Bill Goldberg
WWE Universal Championship: Defending champion Roman Reigns versus Kevin Owens (in a Last Man Standing match)
WWE Womens’ Tag Team Championship: Defending champions Asuka and Charlotte Flair versus Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler
Men’s Royal Rumble Match with 30 participants
Women’s Royal Rumble Match with 30 participants
Who will participate in the Men’s Royal Rumble Match?
17 wrestlers have already been announced that they will take part in the Men’s Royal Rumble Match (as of January 26, 2021):
Daniel Bryan, Bobby Lashley, AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Otis, The Miz, Jey Uso, Cesaro, Jeff Hardy, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, Shinsuke Nakamura, Big E, John Morrison, Sheamus, Mustafa Ali, Edge
These are the participants of the Women’s Royal Rumble Match
Twelve of the 30 participants have already been determined for the Women’s Royal Rumble Match (as of January 26, 2021):
Nia Jax, Charlotte Flair, Bianca Belair, Bayley, Mandy Rose, Dana Brooke, Peyton Royce, Alexa Bliss, Shayna Baszler, Liv Morgan, Ruby Riott, Tamina
Edge celebrates his comeback and takes part in the Royal Rumble Match
Almost exactly a year ago, the world was yours – at the Royal Rumble 2020, over 40,000 spectators cheered Edge when it made its comeback after almost nine years. A feud with Randy Orton arose from his appearance in the Royal Rumble Match.
The big first individual match in front of a huge backdrop at WrestleMania 36 did not become, because due to Corona, the event took place in the Performance Center behind closed doors. There was a rematch a few weeks later at Backlash, but Edge tore his triceps and has since been out due to injury.
The return of Goldberg and encounter with WWE Champion Drew McIntyre at the Royal Rumble
A few weeks ago no one would have expected Drew McIntyre’s opponent at the Royal Rumble 2021 – WWE legend Goldberg challenges him at the tender age of 54.
After Goldberg lost his WWE Universal Championship to Braun Strowman at WrestleMania 36, he no longer appeared at the WWE. Last summer, however, he revealed in an interview that he is still under contract with the wrestling organization.
This includes the fact that he plays two matches a year . In 2020 it was exactly that number – his title win at the Super Showdown in February and the Niederöage at WrestleMania in April.
After Drew McIntyre recently met Randy Orton or AJ Styles frequently, Goldberg confronted him on RAW on January 4th. There was a brief argument and Goldberg’s challenge for a match – after a bit of back and forth the Scot agreed.
Many fans fear that Goldberg – as in the previous year with “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt and the Universal Championship – could bring a wrestler who can be seen weekly on WWE TV for his title again in the first match after a long break.
In the past it happened quite often that there were these title changes to older wrestlers, because the company hoped to generate better ratings through the nostalgia factor and win back old fans.
Who are the favorites to win the Royal Rumble Matches?
In the past few years there have always been Royal Rumbles in which one favorite clearly stood out and another outcome would have been a bigger surprise. This year it looks different.
The big bookmaker “William Hill” (as of January 26, 2021) attributes Daniel Bryan the best chance of winning the men’s Royal Rumble Match. The multiple world champion has odds of 2.00. Behind them are shooting star Keith Lee (5.50) and Brock Lesnar (7.00).
For women, it is even more difficult to predict the outcome. Accordingly, a good feeling could be all the more lucrative – because favorite Bianca Belair already has odds of 3.00. Otherwise, the bookmakers still give Rhea Ripley (4.50) and Alexa Bliss (7.00) good chances.
The premier destination of WrestleMania 37 — again taking place over two nights — goes down inside Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on Saturday, April 10 and Sunday, April 11.
This year’s Royal Rumble event takes place on Sunday, Jan. 31 inside the ThunderDome at Tropicana Field in Tampa. The headline over-the-top-rope matches are almost guaranteed to deliver surprises, but there will be a full card of action filling out the rest of the event, including some potentially huge championship bouts. While the card is still being filled out, we have taken a crack at predicting what will take place as WrestleMania 37 season kicks off.
We have once again arrived at WrestleMania season, and of course, that means it’s time to kick off the most exciting time of the year in WWE with the annual Royal Rumble event. There will be 30 men and 30 women competing once again this year in the traditional Royal Rumble matches with the prize of challenging for a world title on the grandest stage of them all on the line.
The show will stream live on the WWE Network beginning at 7 p.m. ET following a one-hour kickoff show beginning at 6 p.m.
The Royal Rumble 2021 will take place on the night of January 31st to February 1st. There will be a premiere at the 34th edition of the WWE event – for the first time, no fans will be there. We’ll give you all the information about the matches, the broadcast and what will be different in 2021.
In 2020, the Royal Rumble was one of the last big events on the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) calendar that still had a large number of fans. Over 42,000 spectators saw the highlight of the evening at Minute Maid Park in Houston, the comeback of Edge after almost a decade .
2021 WWE Royal Rumble card
Men’s Royal Rumble: Daniel Bryan became the first man to declare he would take part in the Royal Rumble match, and plenty of names should follow in the coming weeks. Of course, as with every year, there will be plenty of surprise entrants, so we will not know the entire 30-man field ahead of the event. But, you can expect most of those who appear regularly on Raw and SmackDown to join the field. One early surprise was Edge announcing his participation on the final pre-Rumble edition of Raw. Participants: Edge, Dolph Ziggler, Sami Zayn, Mustafa Ali, Jeff Hardy, Cesaro, Otis, Shinsuke Nakamura, Sheamus, AJ Styles, Jey Uso, John Morrison, The Miz, Bobby Lashley, Daniel Bryan, Big E, Randy Orton + 13 TBA
Universal Championship — Roman Reigns (c) vs. Kevin Owens (Last Man Standing): Reigns took issue with WWE official Adam Pearce — a former five-time NWA champion — booking a match between Kevin Owens and Jey Uso after Reigns beat Owens in two matches for the universal championship. Reigns and Paul Heyman pulled strings to get Pearce entered into a gauntlet match to determine Reigns’ challenger at the Royal Rumble. Uso and Reigns then attacked Shinsuke Nakamura, the last man standing in the match, before placing Pearce on top for the three count and the victory. The situation ultimately backfired when Pearce signed the contract for a Last Man Standing match only to then immediately be “injured” while walking, immediately naming Owens as his replacement at the event.
Women’s Royal Rumble: For just the fourth time, the women will have their opportunity to earn a title shot by participating in a Royal Rumble. The first women’s Royal Rumble took place in 2018, with Asuka winning the match but failing to defeat Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania to win the Raw title. Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair won the following two years, both going on to win titles at WrestleMania. The Raw and SmackDown locker rooms should begin declaring for the Rumble in the coming weeks. Participants: Nia Jax, Charlotte Flair, Bayley, Bianca Belair, Mandy Rose, Dana Brooke, Peyton Royce, Shayna Baszler, Alexa Bliss, Liv Morgan, Ruby Riott, Tamina + 18 TBA
WWE Championship — Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Goldberg: While McIntyre had active storylines with Keith Lee and Sheamus, WWE appears set to pull the trigger on another Goldberg return. McIntyre beat Lee on Legends Night in an incredible match, but the post-match moment was immediately interrupted by Goldberg, who issued a challenge for Royal Rumble on the premise that McIntyre has no respect for the legends who came before. McIntyre accepted the following week, accusing Goldberg of putting words in his mouth.
Women’s Tag Team Championship — Asuka & Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler: Baszler and Jax weren’t ready to walk away after losing the titles to Asuka and Flair at TLC. The match is also largely a product of a women’s tag division that has no other challengers ready for a major pay-per-view title shot. Dana Brooke, Mandy Rose and Lacey Evans have all been involved in issues with the four women in the match and could play into how the action plays out.
2021 WWE Royal Rumble predictions
Intercontinental Championship — Big E (c) vs. Sami Zayn: Big E took the title off Zayn on Christmas, and Zayn isn’t someone who would sit back and not try to force his way into an opportunity to get the title back. There’s no easier path to Big E’s first big title defense than to book the rematch.
United States Championship — Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Riddle: Riddle has had his issues with MVP and The Hurt Business lately, including being attacked by Lashley. Matches with MVP, Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin are fine for weekly TV but don’t feel like pay-per-view bouts for Riddle. Lashley has not been an active champion, so he needs a real challenger for the belt on a big stage. Riddle fills that opening well and could get his first big title run with a win.