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WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-views are usually big events, and the 2021 edition of the show was as big as expected. While only a few matches were announced for the pay-per-view, the company managed to keep the quality of the matches up throughout.
This was the first time WWE hosted the Royal Rumble matches after Pat Paterson’s death, the man who was the genius behind the Rumble matches. Bianca Belair won the women’s Royal Rumble match after outlasting 29 other women. Edge, on the other hand, won the men’s Rumble match after entering the match at number one.
No championship belts changed hands on the main show, while Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax won the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship back on the pre show. Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens had an intense match, while Drew McIntyre and Goldberg had a very short match where McIntyre retained.
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Keeping in mind all that went down at the Royal Rumble, let’s take a look at the biggest questions from this year’s show.
#5 Did Asuka and Charlotte Flair’s title reign help anyone in WWE before Royal Rumble?
Asuka and Charlotte Flair won the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs from Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax. Their unimpressive reign lasted one and a half months before they lost it back to Baszler and Jax at WWE Royal Rumble.
While the two women were Champions, Flair was busy igniting a rivalry against Lacey Evans. Asuka, on the other hand, remained largely unnoticed even though she’s also holding the WWE RAW Women’s title.
Now that Asuka is out of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship scene, she can likely get into a rivalry against Alexa Bliss. But did Asuka and Flair’s title reign help anyone in the women’s division?
WWE could have allowed Flair to get into a rivalry against Lacey Evans without having the title on her. On the other hand, if they planned the rivalry afterward, the creatives could have given Evans and Peyton Royce a chance to win the titles.
Not only did Asuka get pulled away from the RAW Women’s Championship scene, but there was also no reason to have her compete with The Queen. Baszler and Jax lost the titles less than two months ago, and after Baszler’s value fell following an embarrassing loss to Dana Brooke, they won the titles again.
It seems like no one benefitted from The Empress and The Queen’s title reign, and it was just a way to get the Women’s Tag Team titles on Flair.
#4 Why were there so few WWE NXT Superstars in the Royal Rumble matches?
The Royal Rumble matches in WWE usually allow the Superstars of RAW, NXT, and SmackDown a chance to book their ticket to WrestleMania. This year, WWE looked to do the same while allowing some legends and former Superstars to return to give fans some feel-good moments.
However, it was surprising to watch such few NXT Superstars get an opportunity during this year’s Royal Rumble. The women’s match gave six NXT Superstars a chance, while the men’s match only accommodated one NXT Superstar.
Damian Priest was the lucky NXT Superstar who did manage to make an impact and will likely head to the main roster very soon. With that in mind, why did WWE not give a few more up and coming Superstars from NXT a chance to shine in the Royal Rumble matches?
WWE could have allowed Superstars such as Kyle O’Reilly, Bronson Reed, or even Johnny Gargano to shine in the Rumble match. However, the company did not take that route and relied more on legendary and returning Superstars in the ThunderDome.
Was it the right decision to keep deserving NXT Superstars out of the mix? Could they have benefited from the exposure?
#3 Why was Braun Strowman added to the WWE Royal Rumble match?
Braun Strowman had been away from the ring for quite some time. He made his return on the final episode of WWE SmackDown ahead of the Royal Rumble. Strowman took down everyone in his path to hype up his entry into the men’s Rumble match. This instantly made him one of the favorites to win the 30-man match.
The Monster Among Men entered the Royal Rumble match at No. 30, and it seemed like he was in the best spot to easily win the men’s match. However, after eliminating four men, Strowman was thrown over the top rope by Edge.
If WWE did not want Strowman to win the Rumble, then couldn’t they have kept him away from the match this year? Strowman has usually been used by WWE either early or in the mid-part of the match, to impact many eliminations and clear the ring. However, last year he lasted less than two minutes in the match and was eliminated by Brock Lesnar and Keith Lee.
Lee wasn’t part of this year’s Royal Rumble and Strowman could not win the match this year either. WWE could have kept the big man away from the Rumble and allowed him to return after the pay-per-view. This would have allowed him to retain a lot more value and steam as he is among the top players in WWE today.
#2 Will Christian continue to have a few more matches in WWE following his return at Royal Rumble?
Christian made a remarkable return to the ring this year at the WWE Royal Rumble. While Edge’s return was the talk of the town last year, some fans were unhappy when WWE announced that he would be entering the Royal Rumble this year instead of keeping it a surprise.
While not many people could have surprised the WWE Universe as much as Edge did last year, Christian’s return surely deserves a special mention.
Not only did Christian return to the ring, but he also managed to help eliminate Bobby Lashley and become one of the last few competitors. He was eliminated by Seth Rollins in the later stage of the match.
Will Christian return to the ring once again to compete against the man who eliminated him from the Rumble? WWE could look at the option as fans are wondering whether Captain Charisma’s return was a one-time thing or whether he can compete for a little longer.
It will be interesting to see what path the company takes on the Road to WrestleMania. WWE could end up using Christian well in 2021.
#1 Did Edge need to win the WWE Royal Rumble?
Edge defied all odds and returned to the ring during the 2020 WWE Royal Rumble match. His return drew the biggest pop of the night from the WWE Universe, and it was great to have the Rated-R Superstar back in action.
Following his return, Edge got into an intense rivalry against Randy Orton. Both men had a couple of matches before Edge was shelved once again. However, The Rated-R Superstar made another great return this year at the Royal Rumble and entered the match very early.
The veteran outlasted 29 other Superstars to win the match and head to WrestleMania 37, where he will likely headline the event.
While Edge’s victory was truly great, one major question is whether Edge really needed to win the Royal Rumble match in WWE. Edge is a legend who can get into any rivalry he wants against any Superstar he wishes.
WWE could have used the Royal Rumble match to allow a rising Superstar such as Big E, or even a veteran like Daniel Bryan, to get ahead. Instead, both Big E and Bryan were eliminated from the contest.
It seems like Edge did not need to win the Royal Rumble to challenge the WWE Champion or Universal Champion. However, WWE decided to take that route instead of giving him the 'Goldberg treatment'.
