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, Greg Coleman and Bodeen Green review the 2021 Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
The 2021 iteration of the Royal Rumble is now in the history books, officially starting the Road to WrestleMania 37. Both Royal Rumble matches were highly entertaining, whilst the high stakes of the World Championship matches led to intense contests. Are the Royal Rumble winners deserving of the accolade? And just what the hell happened in the WWE Championship match?
Question 1: Was Edge the right choice to win the men’s Royal Rumble match? Will he translate this win into a World Championship victory at WrestleMania 37?
ALLSOPP: Considering this was quite the open Royal Rumble match, Edge was certainly a better choice to win than some other options. I’m glad he won instead of a returning Brock Lesnar, but I cannot ignore that this victory could have gone to a less established wrestler, with the lack of fans affording WWE a chance to take risks. Saying that, I hope Edge faces off against Drew McIntyre, turning heel in the process. I don’t see Edge winning the WWE Championship, but it could easily be the best match at WrestleMania 37. I think from a long term standpoint, a heel Edge becoming the ultimate opportunist again would be a much better result than winning the title as a face.
COLEMAN: Edge wasn’t the right choice, but I’m not mad at it because I can understand the dilemma the whole COVID situation puts WWE in. The Royal Rumble is a chance to build a new star and / or to catapult into the main event and World Championship picture. Edge doesn’t need either. However, since Edge is already established as a Hall of Fomer who won nearly every title that WWE has ever had to offer for male competitors, he doesn’t lose anything by either losing the match or by winning in front of limited fans. WWE may want to have fans present when Big E, Daniel Bryan, Cesaro, or Shinsuke Nakamura win the Rumble and main event WrestleMania. Edge has won everything a male competitor could win in WWE except for one title. My prediction is that he challenges and defeats Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania to become the only man to hold every title.
GREEN: As much as I can understand that people wanted to see a name like Daniel Bryan, Cesaro, or Big E win the Royal Rumble, there is no denying that Edge winning the 2021 Royal Rumble is a great feel good moment. Edge has worked hard to recover from his neck injury, as well as his recent tricep injury. Edge has also proven he can still go in the ring, having a great match with Randy Orton at Backlash last year, as well as having a great showing at the Royal Rumble. It is tough to say if he will be a World Champion again after WrestleMania, and whilst he has teased feuds with Drew McIntyre and Finn Balor, I am ultimately going to say that Edge will face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 37 for the WWE Universal Championship. If that happens, it is ultimately a win-win scenario because if Edge wins, it is a great feel good moment, but if Reigns wins, it takes The Tribal Chief character to a whole new level.
Question 2: Was Bianca Belair the better choice to win the women’s Royal Rumble match over Rhea Ripley? Was this the best women’s Royal Rumble match yet?
COLEMAN: Bianca Belair was the best choice to win the women’s Royal Rumble. She had a great showing last year and has been one of the hotter talents in all of WWE over the past few months. Rhea Ripley was my prediction because I thought WWE would be WWE and not realize Bianca is a star and elevate her, but I’m glad I was wrong! The fact that there were legitimately 4 or 5 women who could’ve won the Rumble definitely made this the best women’s Rumble yet. Belair winning from #3 and both Ripley and Belair being the final two whilst eliminating Charlotte Flair was brilliant booking. I hope this signals an injection of new main event blood into the WWE women’s wrestling picture, with less reliance on the Four Horsewomen.
GREEN: Either woman could have won and I would have been happy. Bianca Belair’s recent push has felt natural, coming across as one of the best pushes for any member of the women’s division in years. Her push has been natural, never feeling rushed or forced at any point. Despite losing, Rhea Ripley looked strong, eliminating a large number of women from the match and pushing Belair to her limit in the closing moments. This was a great Royal Rumble match and easily one of the best women’s Rumble matches, capped off with an amazing winner who can hopefully breathe fresh air into a women’s division that has grown stale and repetitive.
ALLSOPP: Yes, but either woman deserved to win the Royal Rumble. Their interaction at the end of the match was incredible, whilst Rhea Ripley looked so dominant in defeat. Ripley is a made woman if she decides to move to Raw or SmackDown, whilst Bianca Belair can now be pushed as the true face of the women’s division. I hope she defeats Sasha Banks at WrestleMania 37, with The Boss truly passing the torch onto the EST of WWE. In terms of best women’s Royal Rumble matches, I’d say this slightly eclipsed last year’s effort in terms of quality, which can be largely attributed to the strong performances of both Ripley and Belair.
Question 3: Did you enjoy Roman Reigns vs Kevin Owens? Was the finish as bad as fans are making it out to be?
GREEN: I absolutely loved this match as it made Kevin Owens look incredibly resilient and strong, whilst making Roman Reigns seem sadistic and heartless. But as everyone knows, the finish definitely dragged down a great match. Whilst I did not mind Reigns taking down the ref, the botch involving the handcuffs just made everyone look stupid, especially as both Owens, Reigns, Paul Heyman, and the referee couldn’t think of what to do on the fly. If there was one redeemable thing about the finish, it’s that it made Reigns' new submission finisher look completely strong, as Owens looked lifeless after being choked out.
ALLSOPP: I enjoyed parts of the match, but that finish was just downright insulting. To stop the count and stand around doing nothing rather than improvise was stupid, completely taking me out of the match. I enjoyed some of the spots, especially those during the backstage portion of the match, but that finish was just criminal. Roman Reigns lost credibility, whilst Kevin Owens looks stupid for not capitalising in the way he should have.
COLEMAN: The Last Man Standing Match was really good, but the questionable selling and ending of the match definitely knocked it down a level. A referee, when he counts a wrestler out when the wrestler is outside of the ring, stays in the ring to count. Always has. Why on Earth would a referee need to get within arm’s reach of Roman Reigns when everyone at home can clearly see he’s not on his feet? Even worse, there just so happens to be a piece of equipment there that is the exact same height of the ref, so when he’s thrown into it, it hits him right in the face and knocks him out. Great match. Baaaaad finish!
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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