Royal Rumble 2021

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Royal Rumble 2021
Information
Promotion	WWE
Brand	RAW Smackdown NXT
Date	January 31, 2021

Royal Rumble 2021 is an upcoming professional wrestling pay-per-view and WWE Network event produced by WWE for their Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. It will take place on January 31, 2021 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. It will be the thirty-fourth event under the Royal Rumble chronology and feature WWE's virtual fan viewing experience called ThunderDome.

Production

Background

See also: Professional wrestling

Royal Rumble will feature professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing feuds, plots, and storylines that played out on WWE's primary television programs. Wrestlers portrayed villains or heroes as they followed a series of events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, WWE presented the majority of its programming from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida since mid-March with no fans in attendance, although in late May, the promotion began using Performance Center trainees to serve as the live audience, which was further expanded to friends and family members of the wrestlers in mid-June. On August 17, WWE announced that all future shows and pay-per-views would be held at the Amway Center, a larger venue also located in Orlando, for the "foreseeable future", beginning with the August 21 episode of SmackDown. Furthermore, the shows now feature a new fan viewing experience called the "ThunderDome", which utilizes drones, lasers, pyro, smoke, and projections. Approximately 1,000 LED boards were installed in the Amway Center to allow fans to virtually attend the events for free and be seen on the rows and rows of LED boards. Arena audio is also mixed with that of the virtual fans so that chants from the fans can be heard. WWE's initial agreement with the Amway Center expired on October 31, but with the option to extend the contract with a two weeks notice. On October 12, PWInsider reported that the contract had been extended, with Fightful revealing the amended contract's expiration date as November 24. On November 19, WWE announced that they would relocate the ThunderDome to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, beginning with the December 11 episode of SmackDown. This move was also done due to the start of the 2020–21 ECHL and NBA seasons as the Amway Center is the shared home of the Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL) and the Orlando Magic (NBA). TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs was the first WWE pay-per-view presented from the ThunderDome at Tropicana Field.

Storylines

The card will include matches that result from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portray heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results are predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brands, with storylines produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw, SmackDown Live, and the cruiserweight-exclusive 205 Live.

Match Preview

30-woman Royal Rumble match	Preview
30-man Royal Rumble match	Preview

Matches

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.

(c) refers to the champion(s) heading into the match.

• Women's Royal Rumble match for a women's championship match at WrestleMania 37

• Men's Royal Rumble match for a world championship match at WrestleMania 37

Announced competitors in the Men's Royal Rumble match

1 of the 30 entrants has been announced as of April 19, 2024.

Brand

     – Raw

     – SmackDown

Wrestler	Date	Notes
Daniel Bryan	December 25, 2020	Announced on SmackDown

Royal Rumble entrances and eliminations (Women)

Brand

     – Raw

     – SmackDown

     – NXT

     – NXT UK

     – Free agent

     – Winner

Royal Rumble entrances and eliminations (Men)

     – Raw

     – SmackDown

     – 205 Live

     – NXT

     – Unassigned

     – Legend

Other on-screen talent

Commentators Interviewers Ring announcer

Pre-show Panel Referees

See also

• List of WWE pay-per-view events
• World Wrestling Entertainment/Event history
• Event gallery
• Royal Rumble

DVD release

• [ Royal Rumble 2021 on DVD]

External links

• Royal Rumble 2021 Official website
• [ Royal Rumble 2021 kickoff show on WWE Network]
• [ Royal Rumble 2021 on WWE Network]
• [ Royal Rumble 2021 Kickoff show at CAGEMATCH.net]
• [ Royal Rumble 2021 at CAGEMATCH.net]