WWE Royal Rumble 2021 Results
Who punched their ticket to WrestleMania 37?
Feb 1, 2021
With Royal Rumble 2021 in the books, the path to WrestleMania 37 became a whole lot clearer. Six matches took place across the Kickoff Show and main card, including two world title matches and two Rumbles. Check out the results below:
Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax def. Charlotte Flair & Asuka - Women's Tag Team Championship - Kickoff Show
Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax became two-time Women's Tag Team Champions during a match which suddenly became dominated by the widely-panned storyline between Ric Flair, Lacey Evans and Charlotte Flair.
Both teams battled back and forth for much of the contest, but the finish was filled with interference from The Nature Boy and his latest lover. The Queen had the match won after she trapped Baszler in the Figure Eight, but Ric suddenly distracted the official which gave Evans the opening she needed to hit Charlotte with the Woman's Right, knocking her out cold.
Nia Jax then capitalised with a Leg Drop and pinned The Queen to regain the Women's Tag Team Titles.
Drew McIntyre def. Goldberg - WWE Championship
Fans had their hearts in their mouths during the match, especially after Goldberg connected with his third Spear and a Jackhammer, but McIntyre managed to get his shoulder up. The WWE Champion then put Goldberg away with a second Claymore to retain the gold.
The WWE Hall Of Famer shook McIntyre's hand after the bell in a moment where the old veteran put over the star of the present.
Sasha Banks def. Carmella - SmackDown Women's Championship
The consensus is that both women once again delivered the goods inside the squared circle in their SmackDown Women's Championship match.
Carmella had chances to win throughout the bout and she almost secured the victory after locking in Code Of Silence, but The Standard was ultimately able to outlast the challenger and she locked in the Bank Statement to retain her title.
Bianca Belair won the Women's Royal Rumble
A new star was born in the Women's Royal Rumble as Bianca Belair punched her ticket to WrestleMania 37.
The match featured surprise appearances from Alicia Fox, Victoria, Torrie Wilson and JBL's former image consultant Jillian Hall and Naomi, Santana Garrett and Lana all returned to WWE TV.
The match ultimately came down to Rhea Ripley, Charlotte Flair and Belair and the three former rivals fought back and forth in the closing stages. Belair and Ripley eventually agreed to work together, though, and they managed to dump The Queen out of the match.
The EST of WWE and The Nightmare then had a widely-praised exchange down the closing stretch and Belair managed to pick up the win after Clotheslining Ripley over the top tope.
If she will challenge for the SmackDown or Raw Women's Championship remains to be seen.
Roman Reigns def. Kevin Owens - Last Man Standing Match for the Universal Championship
Both men put it all on the line in a Last Man Standing Match which featured steel steps, chairs, tables, ladders, LED screens, handcuffs, a forklift and a golf cart.
As has been the case throughout the rivalry, Kevin Owens had the match won in the latter stages but Roman Reigns somehow found a way to win.
During the final stretch, Owens managed to handcuff The Big Dog to the ThunderDome stage and Reigns was unable to make it back to his feet. The Universal Champion managed to grab the referee, though, and he pulled him into the stage, knocking him unconscious. KO was incredulous over what had transpired, but Reigns managed to connect with a Low Blow.
The match then slowed down as Paul Heyman struggled to free Reigns from the handcuffs and the new referee mysteriously stopped counting despite Roman remaining on the floor.
Heyman was eventually able to free Reigns, though, and he choked out KO with the Guillotine to win the match and retain the Universal Championship.
Edge won the Men's Royal Rumble
While the likes of Shinsuke Nakamura, Daniel Bryan and Big E all seemed like possible winners heading into the Rumble, another favourite in Edge entered at #1 and outlasted 29 other Superstars to earn a world title match at WrestleMania 37.
Alongside Edge's victory, the match will be remembered for the return of Christian, who outside of a one-minute match against Randy Orton in June 2020, competed in his first WWE bout since March 2014. There had been no hints that Captain Charisma was set to return to the squared circle and he shared a heartfelt moment with his best friend during the Rumble as he and Edge embraced in the centre of the ring.
Carlito, The Hurricane, Kane and Seth Rollins also returned to WWE TV and Damian Priest put in an impressive display before he was eliminated by Bobby Lashley.
The match ultimately came down to Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman, Edge, Christian and Randy Orton, who had been taken backstage following a chair attack from The Rated-R Superstar earlier in the Rumble.
That field was quickly whittled down to three after Edge and Christian worked together to eliminate Strowman and Rollins threw out Captain Charisma. Edge exacted revenge for his fallen best friend moments later, though, and he tossed The Messiah out of the ring.
Edge initially believed he had won the match, but The Viper struck with an RKO from out of nowhere. Orton then had the victory in his grasp, but Edge suddenly gained the upper hand and threw him over the top rope.
The Rated-R Superstar will now try and reclaim the world title he never lost when he was forced to retire in 2011.