The 2021 Royal Rumble has come to a close, with the PPV ending with the men’s Royal Rumble match. Surprisingly enough, the winner of the bout entered the match at the number one spot, and he’s already a WWE Hall of Famer: Edge. That’s right, the Rated R Superstar made it through the entire match, outlasting everyone. Check out the full results for the PPV belosw.
If you’re looking for more Royal Rumble reading material, make sure to check out all the surprise Royal Rumble entrants too–which includes Carlito’s return–along with that moment Becky Lynch trolled wrestling fans and how the New Day paid homage to Brodie Lee.
Taking place in the WWE Thunderdome, Tropicana Field hosted the first PPV of 2021, and while fans were only be able to virtually attend the event, they’ll be back in time for this year’s two-night Wrestlemania. The main attraction for the Royal Rumble was none other than the two battle royal matches, where both 30 men and 30 women will battle for a chance to face the WWE or Women’s Champion of their choice at Wrestlemania.
And if you want to now about some of our predictions, check out the episode of Wrestle Buddies above, where Chris and Mat make picks for the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches. Mat chose Alexa Bliss and Jey Uso while Chris picked Alexa Bliss and Daniel Bryan. If you want more details, check out the podcast.
Also, stay tuned to GameSpot later tonight for a special post-Royal Rumble episode of Wrestle Buddies, where the guys will give their thoughts on the PPV. And while you’re waiting for that, why not check out the Icons documentary on Yokozuna, airing on the WWE Network right after the Royal Rumble?
How to watch:
If you’re looking to watch a replay of WWE’s TLC PPV, you’re going to have to sign up for the WWE Network, which costs $10 a month. The streaming service no longer offers one month for free, but it is well worth the price of admission, as there is plenty of other content to keep you entertained, like old episodes of Raw, Smackdown, WCW Nitro, PPVs, and original content. There is also a free tier, which you can use to watch the Kickoff Show of the PPV, but not the main card.
Below, you’ll find the match card for the event. Obviously, the card is subject to change–and there will most likely be a few changes during the Kickoff Show as well. If you want to know more about the battle royals themselves, check out the confirmed entrants for the Royal Rumble matches.
Match card:
- Men’s Royal Rumble
- Women’s Royal Rumble
- Sasha Banks (c) vs. Carmella (Smackdown Women’s Championship)
- Charlotte Flair & Asuka (c) vs. Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax (Women’s Tag Team Championship) [KICKOFF]
- Roman Reigns (c) vs. Kevin Owens (Last Man Standing match for the Universal Championship)
- Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Goldberg (WWE Championship)
Aside from the two Rumble matches, both the Universal Championship and WWE Championship have a lot of hype around them. Kevin Owens will continue his journey to get a major win over “The Head of the Table” Roman Reigns in a Last Man Standing match, so you can expect that to be pretty brutal.
Goldberg returned out of nowhere to challenge Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship. However, McIntyre tested positive for COVID, and it put doubts on the match. But don’t worry, the match is still happening, and hopefully, it’s longer than a spear and a jackhammer–probably not, though.
Full results are below.
Kickoff Show
Notes and changes for the main card will be updated below as they are announced. Keep refreshing for more info as the preshow and main cards air on the WWE Network.
The Kickoff Show begins at 3 PM PT / 6 PM ET.
This Kickoff Show will only be an hour long.
Charlotte Flair & Asuka (c) vs. Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax
It’s a bit of a surprise that thing match is on the Kickoff Show since it wasn’t advertised for it. This was a fun way to kick off the PPV, up until the tailend. The match ended with Ric Flair’s music playing and numerous interferences by Lacey Evans. Ric Flair handed Evans something she put in her hand, and Evans knocked out Charlotte, which eventually gave Baszler and Jax the win.
Jax pins Flair. Baszler and Jax are the new Women’s Tag Team Champions.
Main Card
Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Goldberg
This is the only match I’ll be timing tonight. Goldberg had a long entrance, then there was a long video package, and then Drew entered. I have a strong feeling that the entrances will be longer than the actual match.
Drew headbutted Goldberg before the bell rang and the two fought outside of the ring. The match has not started yet. Drew is outside of the ring, and he’s very hurt after getting speared through the barricade.
The match has officially started. There were some kick outs from spears and a Jackhammer, but in the end, McIntyre goes the win, and Goldberg was very sweaty.
Drew McIntyre wins by pin at 2 minutes and 32 seconds.
There’s a nice show of respect after the match where Goldberg raises McIntyre’s hand. That’s a nice moment.
Sasha Banks (c) vs. Carmella
Carmella’s sommelier Reginald might be the most fun part of this match. He’s just your typical manager, but classier. It was a fun back and forth between the two women, cementing Banks as a strong champion, even when a sommelier is involved.
Banks submits Carmella and retains the Smackdown Women’s Championship.
Bad Bunny performed. He danced around Booker T, who didn’t move.
Women’s Royal Rumble
Entrants listed below.
- Bayley
- Naomi
- Bianca Belair
- Billie Kay
- Shotzi Blackheart
- Shayna Baszler
- Toni Storm
- Jillian Hall
- Ruby Riott
- Victoria
- Peyton Royce
- Santana Garrett
- Liv Morgan
- Rhea Ripley
- Charlotte Flair
- Dana Brooke
- Torrie Wilson
- Lacey Evans
- Mickie James
- Nikki Cross
- Alicia Fox
- Mandy Rose
- Dakota Kai
- Carmella
- Tamina
- Lana
- Alexa Bliss
- Ember Moon
- Nia Jax
- Natalya
Bianca Belair wins.
Roman Reigns (c) vs. Kevin Owens
This was a pretty bonkers match with Owens getting tossed off of high objects and jumping off of high objects–and getting run over by a golf cart. There was even a really fun moment where Owens handcuffed Reigns to a girder and Reigns couldn’t stand. It went awry though, as Paul Heyman couldn’t get the handcuffs off Reigns and the ref had to stop the count. Regardless, this was a ton of fun.
Roman Reigns wins.
Men’s Royal Rumble
Entrants listed below.
- Edge
- Randy Orton
- Sami Zayn
- Mustafa Ali
- Jeff Hardy
- Dolph Ziggler
- Shinsuke Nakamura
- Carlito
- Xavier Woods
- Big E
- John Morrison
- Ricochet
- Elias
- Damian Priest
- The Miz
- Matt Riddle
- Daniel Bryan
- Kane
- King Corbin
- Otis
- Dominik Guerrero-Mysterio
- Bobby Lashley
- Hurricane Helms
- Christian
- AJ Styles
- Rey Mysterio
- Sheamus
- Cesaro
- Seth Rollins
- Braun Strowman
Edge wins.
