The annual Royal Rumble event, one of the most anticipated annual events on the WWE calendar and a staple of the company in the month of January, takes center stage on Sunday as the road to WrestleMania 37 opens. The winners of the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches will, as usual, earn World Cup odds at WrestleMania 37 in April.
In addition to the two Royal Rumble matches, two world title matches are currently confirmed for the event. Roman Reigns will defend the universal championship against Kevin Owens in a Last Man Standing match and the legendary Goldberg returns to the ring for the first time since WrestleMania 36 to challenge WWE Champion Drew McIntyre.
The Royal Rumble kicks off on Sunday, January 31 at 7 p.m. ET, with the show expected to run anywhere from 3-4 hours, not counting the kick-off show, which starts an hour before the main ticket at 6 p.m. CBS Sports will be with you all the way Sunday with live results, highlights and analysis.
For now, let’s take a look at how our experts think the Royal Rumble will play next Sunday.
2021 WWE Royal Rumble Predictions
Women’s Tag Team Championship: Asuka and Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax
It was ridiculous to put the titles on Asuka & Flair at all, and since they’re all wrapped up in separate single storylines, it makes even less sense to stick with the tapes. Baszler & Jax worked great as champions and had a nice storyline with Mandy Rose & Dana Brooke. Now that the muscle buddies are healthy and back in action, it would be hysterical – albeit depressing – for WWE to throw the titles back on their heels, but I think that’s exactly what they’re going to do, eliminating any value from the current title run of the champion. Choice: Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler win the titles – Adam Silverstein (also Brent Brookhouse)
SmackDown Women’s Championship: Sasha Banks (c) vs Carmella
Carmella has done a good job in her current heel run, and there’s no denying that she’s improved as an artist. That said, Banks is finally enjoying a title reign in which she has managed to actually defend the title. It’s hard to see her run against Carmella coming to an end in what was her first real storyline after winning Bayley’s belt. Banks is an attractive champion on her way to WrestleMania, and a match with her in the champion role feels like a bigger deal than the one with Carmella. It doesn’t feel like there is much mystery in it. Choice: Sasha Banks retains the title – Brookhouse (also Silverstein)
Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens (Last Man Standing Match)
As nice as an Owens win would be, it just feels utterly unrealistic to expect WWE to cut Reings’ run for WrestleMania. Reigns has been the best attraction in the business since returning to SummerSlam and Owens has provided some good foil for the past few months, but he never really seemed a threat to beat Reigns for the title. A Last Man Standing match does offer some outs to keep Owens strong (interference from Jey Uso), but he doesn’t leave as universal champion. Select: Roman Reigns keeps the title – Brookhouse (also Silverstein)
WWE Championship: Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Goldberg
Fans were rightly outraged when Goldberg appeared on Legends Night to challenge McIntyre, especially considering that the storyline to create the match didn’t make sense. With McIntyre out for two weeks due to COVID-19, the temperature of the fans’ resentment cooled, but so did any actual interest in this match. While Goldberg has twice defeated Kevin Owens and “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt for the universal title – and WWE is building this championship as the only world title Goldberg has never captured – it would make absolutely no sense to put him over the company . top male baby face it has built for the past year. This should be a short match with McIntyre overcoming an early barrage of fouls from Goldberg to keep the title and at least keep it until WrestleMania. Choice: Drew McIntyre retains the title – Silverstein (also Brookhouse)
Ladies Royal Rumble Match
There are plenty of viable options for winning the match, but none that achieve what would be a Belair win. She’s a great talent who just needs the right storyline to fully break into a main event player. When Belair shows her strength and athleticism again in the Rumble while outliving every other woman, she immediately gets much better in the title picture than her current uncomfortable rivalry with Bayley. Choice: Bianca Belair wins – Brookhouse (also Silverstein)
Royal Rumble match for men
If there’s one thing WWE likes to do, it gives Legends the key spots at the biggest PPV events of the year. That’s why Goldberg is facing McIntyre, which is why Goldberg held a world title prior to last year’s WrestleMania, which is why The Rock’s name was tied to Reigns for WrestleMania before the lack of a sold-out live audience seemed to amplify that. Edge didn’t return to become a full-time talent, but it looked like he was ready to play in big places all year round. If WWE wants to take a big hit against an underdog to face Reigns at WrestleMania, Edge would tick many of the boxes they’re looking for. Daniel Bryan would fit the picture just fine too, but I have an itch in the back of my head when I say Edge is getting the feel-good moment and the Mania lock. Choose: Edge wins Brookhouse
Edge announcing his return to WWE and joining the Royal Rumble on Raw felt like a wasted surprise moment, even if that’s what we got at this event last year, but it did add a level of intrigue to the match because Edge ( as predicted above) would make a lot of sense as a Royal Rumble winner and future McIntyre challenger. However, prior to Edge’s announcement, I believed WWE would go in the best booking direction possible, putting Bryan in the match as Roman Reigns’ WrestleMania challenger. There’s a ready-made storyline between Bryan and Reigns that goes back to 2014, when Bryan made his highly anticipated return to the Royal Rumble only to be unceremoniously eliminated while Reigns won the whole thing. Fans revolted, and that moment was the catalyst for ongoing discontent with Reigns as a face.
Seven years later, with Reigns now a heel, WWE can easily reach back and play that storyline. We saw interactions between Bryan, Reigns and Jey Uso a few months ago, and I believe they were planting the seeds for the Road to WrestleMania. There are other legitimate opportunities to win this match, but Bryan makes the most sense by far. He could still have a shot at Reigns through the Elimination Chamber, but why waste the perfect storyline? Choice: Daniel Bryan wins – Silverstein