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It’s been a weird year for the WWE, but things will look to get back on a more normal track starting tonight with the Royal Rumble, live from Tropicana Field WWE ThunderDome in St. Petersburg, Florida.
While there are just six matches on the card, four for a title and a Royal Rumble for both the men and women, this is normally the night that sets the promotion on the path to WrestleMania, with the 37th edition taking place just across Tampa Bay at Raymond James Stadium on April 10th and 11th.
And with the limited attendance being allowed for The Showcase of the Immortals, this might be the last major show without fans in person. And as with all Royal Rumbles: The thing we know is that there will be things we don’t expect that will happen.
We’ll be tracking the results live all night here, including the winning answers of DraftKings $10,000 Royal Rumble Pool!
List of matches and results
Men’s Royal Rumble: Edge wins the Royal Rumble.
The Rated R Superstar... From Really Far! Edge was the No. 1 wrestler in the ring, and the last man standing when it’s all over. He’ll be in the main event at WrestleMania.
With Randy Orton doing a modified stretcher job and not returning to the ring until Edge was the last guy in the ring, then landing an RKO, it looked like Orton was going to do it again. But Edge somehow flipped The Viper over the top rope, and that would have been even cooler if fans were there to see it.
Didn’t hurt he got his old partner Christian to help, who entered at No. 24, was one of the final four in the ring.
Universal Championship Last Man Standing match: Roman Reigns (c) defeats Kevin Owens
What an unsatisfying ending to an amazing match. Reigns threw Owens off balconies, through tables, and all over the place. KO did a Swanton off a forklift (!!) in the same centerfield patrolled by legends such as BJ Upton and Rocco Baldelli. It was a brutal, brilliant match.
Then KO handcuffed Roman to a metal stanchion, and it looked to be over. But Roman knocked out the referee that was counting to 10 with one hand, gave Owens a low blow, and then waited for Paul Heyman to show up with a handcuff key. But Heyman totally blew the spot, and there was this awkwardly long point where the timing of the ending got all out of whack. Really bad job by Paul E Dangerously.
Roman proceeded to choke out KO, and he retains the strap.
Women’s Royal Rumble: Bianca Belair wins the Royal Rumble.
Un-de-feat-ed! What a moment for Belair, who came in from the No. 3 hole, lasted 56 minutes to break the Royal Rumble all-time record, had the hair spot of ALL TIME to avoid elimination, and now will main event WrestleMania. Pretty good for the former All-SEC and All-American hurdler at Tennessee.
She put Rhea Ripley over the top rope for the finish in what was a fantastic back-and-forth ending. Now we’ll see who she chooses to face at Raymond James Stadium.
Smackdown Women’s Championship: Sasha Banks (c) defeats Carmella by submission (Bank Statement).
Sasha Banks goes for the big elbow, but gets caught with a kick from Mella! It doesn’t work however, as Sasha kicks out at 2.9999. Although The Staten Island Princess seemed to have the advantage, she let up for just a smidge... maybe to wink at her real-life boyfriend Corey Graves on color commentary... and it was enough for Sasha to hit The Bank Statement and get the submission.
We also have our first point at the WrestleMania sign of 2021! Thanks to The Boss for keeping the tradition alive while standing tall in the center of the ring.
Side note: Great job by Graves to sell his girlfriend doing the job.
WWE Championship match: Drew McIntyre (c) defeats Goldberg by pinfall.
Spear. Claymore. Spear. Missed Claymore. Spear. Jackhammer. Missed spear. Claymore. McIntryre wins.
Just your typical display of grappling and tactics in a Goldberg match, as this might have gone four minutes total. Except Goldberg didn’t win. Hooray!
Oh, and they hugged afterwards. Aww, we’re so moved.
Women’s Tag Team Championship: Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler defeat Charlotte and Asuka by pinfall.
Poor Charlotte had no help. First her Dad Ric Flair came out to distract her, then Lacey Evans landed a few blows to soften her up, including a big one with brass knuckles handed to her by The Nature Boy... and The Queen’s partner Asuka was nowhere to be seen to save her.
We’ve got new champs in the women’s tag division, and two former NXT Superstars take the straps from... two former NXT Superstars. Expect some kind of rematch, perhaps a triple threat, at WrestleMania.
DraftKings Sportsbook Royal Rumble Pool Winning Answers
Who will win the Women’s Tag Team Championship match? Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler
Who will win the WWE Championship match? Drew McIntyre
Who will win the Women’s Royal Rumble match? Bianca Belair
Entrant Number of Women’s Royal Rumble Winner? Under 15.5 (No. 3)
Who will win the WWE Universal Championship match? Roman Reigns
Who will win the Men’s Royal Rumble match? Edge
Entrant Number of Men’s Royal Rumble Winner? Under 15.5 (No. 1)
How many superstars will Otis eliminate? Under 4.5 (zero)
Will The Miz cash in the Money in the Bank Contract during the PPV? No
How many NXT superstars will participate in the Men’s & Women’s Royal Rumble matches combined? (Under 5.5... we think, not confirmed!)