WWE Royal Rumble Review - January 31, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Kickoff Show: Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler def. Raw Women's Champion Asuka and Charlotte Flair to Win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship

This was a fairly formulaic match, though I can't say I was disappointed because I wasn't expecting much to begin with. I was slightly surprised this was bumped to the Kickoff show, but then again, the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship have never been positioned as being important, so I guess I shouldn't have been. Lacey Evans and Ric Flair interfered as everyone figured they would and cost the babyfaces the tag titles in what was an overbooked finish. I can't stress enough how much of an afterthought Asuka feels like at the moment.

WWE Champion Drew McIntyre def. Goldberg

When I realized this was kicking off the show, I got nervous. Not only that Goldberg would win, but that he could lose and resurface in the men's Rumble at the end of the evening. Thank the lord neither of those things ended up happening. I was hoping for a hoss fight between these two, but what we got instead was a bunch of finishers and kick-outs. Don't get me wrong, it was suspenseful, but that Goldberg/Brock Lesnar formula got old a while ago. The important thing is that McIntyre won decisively and that Goldberg gave him the endorsement afterward.

SmackDown Women's Champion Sasha Banks def. Carmella

This feud has certainly exceeded my expectations over the last few months and I applaud the work of both women, but this felt like the blow-off and rightfully so. Their encounter back at TLC was slightly stronger, but this was still a solid match. Carmella more than held her own here and made you believe she could possibly win the title with some of those nearfalls. However, Banks retaining was the only outcome that made sense.

Bianca Belair Won the 30-Woman Royal Rumble Match

I know there have only been four, but every women's Rumble WWE has done so far has been damn good and this was no exception. I can't say I was too thrilled to see Jillian Hall or Alicia Fox (they were cool cameos but I'd prefer other Divas from the past over them), but Victoria's return was awesome. Belair eliminating Bayley made sense given their recent bad blood, Naomi had a hell of a showing, Rhea Ripley came across like a star, Alexa Bliss' involvement was short and sweet (there was no way she could have lasted longer due to her gimmick), and Charlotte Flair and Lacey Evans furthered their feud. This was engaging and exciting from start to finish, though that final stretch with Belair, Ripley and Charlotte was the best part. Any one of them could have won and it would have been believable. Belair and Ripley were the two top favorites to win, so the fact they were the last women standing was fantastic and it made for one of my favorite endings to a Rumble that I've seen. Belair has been ready to have the rocket strapped to her for a while and this victory only further cemented her as a top talent. Ripley can always rebound and get to WrestleMania some other way. Belair vs. Banks for the SmackDown Women's Championship at WrestleMania just books itself.

Universal Champion Roman Reigns def. Kevin Owens in a Last Man Standing Match

Royal Rumble has hosted a handful of Last Man Standing matches over the years from Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels in 2004 to John Cena vs. Umaga in 2007 to Alberto Del Rio vs. Big Show in 2013 and Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens in 2016. This was every bit as terrific as those were. Last Man Standing matches tend to be hit or miss, but this had a strong layout and they took full advantage of the stipulation by brawling all over the arena. Obviously, the outcome was never in doubt, but Owens is exceptional as the never-say-die babyface and he put up a hell of a fight before eating defeat. The only issue with this matchup was the botched finish where Paul Heyman struggled to free Reigns of the handcuffs. That sucked, but it didn't ruin the rest of it for me. I realize they wanted to protect Owens, but I would have had Reigns win a bit more decisively (i.e. without outside interference) since Owens was already cheated out of the title twice before.

Edge Won the 30-Man Royal Rumble Match

Nothing was going to top last year's Rumble for the men, but I enjoyed this on the whole and appreciated that so many different stories were told. Edge and Orton treated each other like archrivals right out of the gate and that was great. I loved the returns of Carlito and Christian as both of them looked awesome and deserve another run. Mustafa Ali eliminated Xavier Woods to further that feud, NXT call-up Damian Priest shined along with Riddle, the Bad Bunny stuff was kept to a minimum. We also got Seth Rollins returning, and while I was disappointed Daniel Bryan didn't make it to the final four, I assume they're setting up Bryan vs. Rollins for WrestleMania and I'm in full favor of that if Reigns vs. Bryan isn't the plan. I completely understand the argument that WWE should be building new stars, but that doesn't need to happen with every single year with the Rumble (plus, we got that with the women's earlier in the evening). WWE needed to go with the best story they could tell heading into WrestleMania and Edge going after the title he never lost is compelling and logical. He also isn't a "part-timer" seeing as how he's more active than the likes of Goldberg, Brock Lesnar, Triple H, The Undertaker and even John Cena at this point. Edge vs. McIntyre would be fresh, but I think Edge vs. Reigns would make for the better bout because of the face vs. heel dynamic and because of the roll Reigns has been on this past year.

Overall Show

There was a mini Bad Bunny concert as well with Booker T, but I honestly used that as my bathroom break of the night. I've seen better all-around Royal Rumble pay-per-views, but I don't know how anyone could call this a subpar show, even with the lack of fans. Both Rumble matches delivered, McIntyre vs. Goldberg was kept short and sweet (with the right result), Reigns vs. Owens was a war, and Banks vs. Carmella was well-wrestled. Bumping the women's tag title match to the Kickoff show was a smart call in retrospect. Above all else, nothing from this show hurt my interest in the likely card for WrestleMania and the correct booking decisions were made. That hasn't always been the case in the past, but it was with this installment.