Reports: Backstage info on how Royal Rumble was different from other PPVs
Royal Rumble has set the stage for an exciting buildup to WrestleMania 37, which will take place in April. According to reports, Royal Rumble 2021 was quite different to recent pay-per-views as the lineup for the show was finalized earlier than usual.
Fightful Select have reported that the final Royal Rumble lineup that fans witnessed was what was originally planned by WWE.
"During big shows in the past, the lineup has changed all the way up until the show was actually on the air."
The report states that the lineup has changed often on the day of the show in the past, as late as when the show was about to go live on air.
There have been various reports in the past about how WWE has tweaked and changed the order of the show on the day of the event. This has happened often for RAW as well.
Royal Rumble 2021 lineup
Fightful Select had reported prior to this year's Royal Rumble pay-per-view that the Men's Royal Rumble Match would headline the event, which is what happened.
The pre-show of the event had just one match as the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions, Charlotte Flair and Asuka, defended their titles against Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler. The challengers won the match, becoming two-time champions. Drew McIntyre squashed Goldberg in a two-and-a-half-minute match, retaining his WWE Championship, while Sasha Banks also retained her SmackDown Women's title in her match against Carmella.
The Women's Royal Rumble Match followed the Banks-Carmella match, which was won by Bianca Belair. Roman Reigns faced off against Kevin Owens for the Universal Championship at Royal Rumble 2021, where The Tribal Chief defeated Owens in a hard-fought Last Man Standing Match.
The final match of Royal Rumble 2021 was the Men's Royal Rumble Match, where Edge became a two-time Royal Rumble winner.