10 Best Matches From The WWE ThunderDome Era

2. The 2021 Women's Royal Rumble

Kofi Kingston Street Profits
WWE.com

The 2021 Women's Royal Rumble proper interest ahead of the show thanks to the rare hope surrounding both favourites. So much so that it's almost sad to reflect on quickly things can change.

Bianca Belair's run as a babyface on SmackDown seemed to perfectly coincide with a WrestleMania Championship match against Sasha Banks. Meanwhile, Rhea Ripley's entry at Number 14 all-but confirmed the long-awaited main roster call-up had come.

When both made it to the final four alongside #30 entrant Natalya and perpetual dream-crusher Charlotte Flair, it was clear that WWE were redoing 2018's excellent conclusion, but when the Hart Family legend and 'The Queen' it the deck to leave the two relative newbies one-on-one, the drama peaked with old fashioned perfection.

All of the buzz was heightened by an electrifying, all-time Rumble closing stretch between Belair and Ripley. Gripping until the last, Belair won the hardest of hard-fought battles, having gone just under an hour after entering at #3. It capped off an enjoyably worked and fabulously booked festival in the way only the Rumble can (and always should) feel.

 
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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett