Welcome to another edition of Triple Threat from Smark Out Moment, where three of us get together to discuss three questions based on one big topic going down in the week of professional wrestling.
This week, Dallas Allsopp, Ben Williams and Bodeen Green preview the 2021 Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
The 2021 iteration of the Royal Rumble is nearly upon us, marking the true start of the Road to WrestleMania 37. Who will be victorious in both Royal Rumble matches? And just what can we expect from Drew McIntyre vs Goldberg?
Question 1: Who will win the men’s Royal Rumble match? Who can you see using the match to put in a star making performance?
ALLSOPP: The optimist in me says that Keith Lee will win. His performance against Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship was incredible, therefore it would be in WWE’s best interests to go all in with him. As a heel or a face, he could have an amazing 2021 if he wins the Royal Rumble, setting up a titanic rematch with McIntyre at WrestleMania 37. In terms of using the match to enhance their stature, I hope someone from NXT can come in and take control of the match. This would be the perfect opportunity for Damian Priest, who has the correct stature to be an intimidating and destructive presence within the match.
WILLIAMS: At the moment, I'm thinking we might be getting a Daniel Bryan win in the mens Royal Rumble match this year. Bryan has lost quite a lot of high profile matches on SmackDown as of late, and I feel like WWE might use this as a way of building him up as a massive underdog in the titular match. I expect Bryan to enter early and last all the way to the end, resulting in a Bryan vs Roman Reigns match at WrestleMania 37, which I'm 100% here for! I'm also expecting The Fiend to feature heavily in the main parts of this year's match, likely to eliminate Randy Orton to extend their feud.
GREEN: I can definitely see Daniel Bryan being the Iron Man for the men’s Royal Rumble match. Bryan has put over a lot of names on SmackDown and has put on some great matches on SmackDown. Whilst I don’t see him winning the Rumble, he will definitely be the MVP. I honestly don’t have any major predictions for this year's men’s Royal Rumble, however I would love to see Shinsuke Nakumura win. He has had a major return to form in recent weeks, and hopefully this leads to him reaching his potential at WrestleMania 37 by beating Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship.
Question 2: Who will win the women’s Royal Rumble match? Who can you see using the match to put in a star making performance?
WILLIAMS: Every part of me wants Bianca Belair to absolutely dominate this match from beginning to end, and as recently as a few weeks ago, she would’ve been my number one pick to win the whole damn thing. However, the recent push of Alexa Bliss into the main storyline on Raw coupled with her pinning the Raw Women’s Champion completely clean on television is causing me to think that Little Miss Bliss might be about to add another feather to her bow! In terms of star making performances, I'm expecting Shayna Baszler, Rhea Ripley, and Charlotte Flair to be all over this match, but hopefully none of them actually go on to win, as I dont think any of them particularly need it.
GREEN: Just like the rest of the team, I’m going to go with Bianca Belair winning the women's Royal Rumble Match. The women’s division on Raw has grown stale, however, Belair can provide a breath of fresh air to Raw’s women’s division. As we have seen in the last two women’s Royal Rumble matches, I can see a huge NXT presence in the match, with names such as Rhea Ripley, Ember Moon or Raquel Gonzalaz having a strong performance.
ALLSOPP: Similar to Ben, I’d love to see Bianca Belair win the women’s match, however, I don’t have faith in how she has been booked on the main roster. Whilst the win would be a perfect way to build her up, I just can’t ignore the momentum that Alexa Bliss has. Using her newly discovered ‘powers’, she could come out on top with ease. This does not stop Belair from finishing as the runner up, allowing her to have the star making performance she so sorely deserves.
Question 3: Will Goldberg defeat Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship? What are your thoughts on Goldberg challenging for the title?
GREEN: Whilst Goldberg does provide a nostalgia boost to ratings, it does nothing for the stars of today and tomorrow. As we saw at Crown Jewel last year, Goldberg beating The Fiend did nothing to improve ratings, only hurting The Fiend’s character. It doesn't take a genius to figure out this will be a quick match with a few Spears, maybe a botched Jackhammer, and a few Claymores. Hopefully Drew McIntyre beats Goldberg and goes on to WrestleMania 37 as WWE Champion, where he can stay WWE Champion, or put someone like Keith Lee over.
ALLSOPP: WWE is simply creatively bankrupt. I hate that Goldberg is once again challenging for a top belt, especially as it was he who ended the mystique of The Fiend. Assuming Drew McIntyre is fit and not suffering from the ill effects of COVID-19, I feel he will survive a barrage of Spears to send Goldberg into retirement. There is absolutely no scenario in which Goldberg should win, but if he does, WWE should be prepared to deal with a very angry fan base. I hate this match, but then again, I’m not entirely surprised.
WILLIAMS: I have very little in the way of thoughts about this matchup. Drew McIntyre doesn’t really do much for me as WWE Champion, and the mere thought of Goldberg once again becoming a World Champion after the year 2004 is enough to make me not want to even sit through this match at all. Hopefully McIntyre kicks Goldberg's head off and we never ever see him again!
Those are our thoughts on the issue, but where do you stand?
Let us know your answers to these questions in the comments below!
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