8 Things 2021 WWE Royal Rumble Lifted From 2020
4. Major Raw Titles Go MIA
Tuning in to one of the Big Four WWE events, you might expect to see the major singles championships on the line, yet that wasn't the case for the 2020 and 2021 Royal Rumble PPVs.
The January extravaganza saw the Women's Tag Team Championships up for grabs during the Kickoff. Asuka and her unlikely partner Charlotte Flair were unable to overcome Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler after a donnybrook erupted over the cringe-worthy relationship between 71-year-old Ric Flair and younger-than-his-daughter Lacey Evans. After losing the straps, 'The Empress of Tomorrow' took off without also defending the WWE Raw Women's Championship.
Similarly, Brock Lesnar didn't defend the WWE title at the 2020 Royal Rumble event either. Instead, he chose to participate in the namesake battle royal with the idea that, again, he wouldn't have to defend his title at WrestleMania 36. Rather than give fans one 90-second squash match for the championship, the sports entertainment company gave them several 90-second squash matches in a row. How generous.
Too many championship matches can certainly dwindle the appeal (as well as lengthen a show), but it does seem odd that WWE is more willing to put major titles on the line during free TV than at its second-biggest event of the year.