{"id":112505,"date":"2021-01-31T13:34:46","date_gmt":"2021-01-31T19:34:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=112505"},"modified":"2021-01-31T13:34:46","modified_gmt":"2021-01-31T19:34:46","slug":"heydorns-take-dont-hold-me-to-this-wwe-royal-rumble-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2021\/01\/31\/heydorns-take-dont-hold-me-to-this-wwe-royal-rumble-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"HEYDORN&#8217;S TAKE: Don\u2019t hold me to this \u2013 WWE Royal Rumble 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-3634175761\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p>Well, let the strangest WWE Royal Rumble event in history commence.<\/p>\n<p>Piped in crowd noise, fake countdowns, a WrestleMania sign point worthy of WWE ThunderDome theatrics \u2013 pure craziness for a crazy time. So, get ready folks. This one is going to be weird.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2020\/07\/HeadshotHeydorn2020_180.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-102397 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2020\/07\/HeadshotHeydorn2020_180.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"180\" height=\"210\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Weirdness aside, we still have a big event on our hands. WrestleMania is set for two nights in April and the outcomes of this show will give clues as to how that event will take shape.<\/p>\n<p>It starts with the Royal Rumble matches. WWE has swung and missed so many times in terms of how to book this match, that there isn\u2019t any sense in revisiting those moments. They righted the ship last year, but this year the world is their oyster. The lack of a crowd gives Vince McMahon options. \u2013 too many options. Options in which there aren\u2019t normal consequences that come along with a live audience. He can go in whatever direction he wants. On the men\u2019s side, does he go with his favorite pet projects like Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, The Fiend, or Randy Orton? Or is it Daniel Bryan? On the women\u2019s side of things, is it tried and true acts like Alexa Bliss and Bayley? Or is it a surging newcomer in Bianca Belair or Rhea Ripley?<\/p>\n<p>Call this a preview, a calm look into the distant future, or a gaze into a wondrous crystal ball; just don\u2019t hold me to anything, ok?<\/p>\n<p><strong><em><u>Women\u2019s Royal Rumble Match<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The smart play here is Bianca Belair or Rhea Ripley. Outside of Belair, there hasn\u2019t been a suitable story surrounding any of the current women on the roster that would reasonably culminate with a rumble win. Bayley could work just fine, but unless the plan is finally to deliver the Bayley vs. Sasha Banks match at WrestleMania, a win for her is redundant due to the fact that any other match they do with her they could get to without playing the Royal Rumble card. WWE will use this to crown their next big star. I\u2019ll take Belair since she\u2019s already on the path, but Ripley makes sense too. Vince McMahon owes her after the nonsense he put her through with Charlotte Flair. WWE needs top women\u2019s talent and things are thin on both brands. This match is the perfect catapult for the next big star.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em><u>Drew McIntyre vs. Goldberg \u2013 WWE Championship<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-4026727344\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>The actual match needs to directly mirror the tone of the build \u2013 short, sweet, and to the point. Nobody wins if this thing lasts longer than four minutes. The goal here is easy to follow. Provide Drew McIntyre with a win over a top legacy star with some minimal name recognition in an effort to keep him front and center as a big attraction in front of a casual audience. That means punch, punch, spear, kick out, spear, kick out, counter spear, Claymore, Claymore, Claymore, 1, 2, 3. No need to get cuter than that.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em><u>Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens \u2013 Last Man Standing WWE Universal Championship Match<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The match of the night. If only now was the time to crown Kevin Owens as WWE\u2019s next babyface star, right? Seemingly by accident, WWE has built a hot Owens character that in any other circumstance would be taking the championship. Don\u2019t throw your chips in the middle with confidence on that coming to fruition, though. Reigns and Owens have been tremendously effective in their roles throughout the feud and have created an impactful story during the lull in WWE\u2019s calendar. It\u2019s still all about Roman Reigns. He\u2019s the focus. Big business is on the table for WWE with him holding the championship. Whether its Daniel Bryan, Seth Rollins, Edge, Brock Lesnar, or The Rock, all of those matches are more intriguing if Reigns is hot and unbeaten going in. He retains here because of that.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em><u>Sasha Banks vs. Carmella \u2013 WWE Smackdown Women\u2019s Championship<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>So, this is happening? I guess? I chalk this up as WWE making good on their responsibility to get their top women\u2019s star in Sasha Banks on the show. Banks vs. Carmella has more than run its course and this iteration is running on fumes. Look for Banks to dispatch Carmella with ease and begin the run to WrestleMania. Appearing likable within her babyface role should be a top tier goal for this match.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em><u>Charlotte Flair &amp; Asuka vs. Shayna Baszler &amp; Nia Jax \u2013 WWE Women\u2019s Tag Team Championship<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, there isn\u2019t much to assess here. We\u2019ve seen more of a focus on Charlotte Flair dealing with her father and Lacey Evans than we\u2019ve seen with her and her partner, Asuka. A lack of definition isn\u2019t necessarily new for WWE, but this sticks out like an extra sore thumb. Charlotte isn\u2019t made for the tag team world and it feels like WWE knows that now. Look for that recognition to get the titles off her and Asuka and onto the waists of Baszler and Jax.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em><u>Men\u2019s Royal Rumble Match<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-815359793\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Daniel Bryan or bust. That should be WWE\u2019s mantra when discussing how to book this year\u2019s men\u2019s Royal Rumble. He\u2019s their biggest shot at big-ish business for the company during the second pandemic WrestleMania. He\u2019s a safe play. All of WWE\u2019s fan base is behind him and the story he can tell opposite Roman Reigns can lead to a big match payoff at the biggest event of the year. It was obvious that Bryan needed to win the Royal Rumble ahead of WrestleMania 30. WWE blew it. They won\u2019t blow it here. If The Rock or CM Punk end up available and in the match for whatever reason, I amend. Until then, yes, yes, yes.<\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-3890634891\"><div id=\"pwtor-3250532949\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Well, let the strangest WWE Royal Rumble event in history commence. Piped in crowd noise, fake countdowns, a WrestleMania sign point worthy of WWE ThunderDome theatrics \u2013 pure craziness for a crazy time. So, get <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2021\/01\/31\/heydorns-take-dont-hold-me-to-this-wwe-royal-rumble-2021\/\" title=\"HEYDORN&#8217;S TAKE: Don\u2019t hold me to this \u2013 WWE Royal Rumble 2021\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":2288,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,6454,53],"tags":[693,71],"class_list":["post-112505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-heydorns-take","category-opinion_stafftakes","tag-royal-rumble","tag-wwe"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/DBryan_3x2.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112505"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112506,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112505\/revisions\/112506"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}