The women’s Royal Rumble match is in the books, and folks, the first domino has fallen on the Road to WrestleMania (points to WrestleMania sign). After entering the match at #3, and going for what felt like five hours, Bianca Belair came out on top, tallying four eliminations in the process. She has now qualified for a Women’s Championship match of her choosing at WrestleMania.
After the match, an emotional Belair celebrated the well-deserved victory with tears streaming down her face – shouting out her parents and proclaiming “I did it” straight from the heart. I’m not crying – you’re crying.
"I did it!" Yes, you did.
— WWE Network (@WWENetwork) February 1, 2021
The realEST of emotions from the 2021 #RoyalRumble Match winner, @BiancaBelairWWE pic.twitter.com/2Krh8cKR3c
It was an absolutely brilliant match with a brilliant finish. The emotional investment in this match peaked when Belair made it to the final three with Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley. Folks started to grumble, thinking Flair might steal this one, but Belair and Ripley teamed up to eliminate her. Then, holy shit that finishing sequence….*chef’s kiss*
This was a case of classic wrestling storytelling. Belair has been a bit of a prodigy ever since she joined the NXT brand. She’s waited patiently for the spotlight, and now she’s getting that spotlight as we head into the biggest wrestling show of the year. She gets the classic “iron woman” designation, entering at #3 and outlasting the rest of the field. Then, there’s the emotion of that moment – if you didn’t have a tear in your eye watching that post-match speech, then you have a heart of ice and stone.
This is, in short, what it’s all about, folks.
The women’s Royal Rumble was a great match all around, though. There were a ton of little storytelling nuggets to build off of. They furthered the drama between Flair and Lacey Evans. Tension mounted between the Women’s Tag Team Champions. There were plenty of surprises. Alexa Bliss got tossed early, which felt a bit like a tongue-in-cheek nod to the WWE Universe. I’m sure there’s a lot more that I’m missing as I’m blogging this shit in the heat of the moment. *Shrugs* – it was a damn near perfect Royal Rumble match. Now, let’s not waste that momentum by only having two women’s matches at WrestleMania this year. Plenty of stories to tell, and plenty of spots to do it.
We’ll have to see where this goes and which champion Bianca Belair will be challenging at the biggest show of the year. But, for now, this moment should be celebrated for the feel-good historical moment that it was.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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