WWE’s 34th annual Royal Rumble event will take place on Jan. 31 at the WWE ThunderDome inside St. Petersburg’s Tropicana Field. Unfortunately, despite WWE’s best efforts, the show will reportedly take place without live fans in attendance. Spectrum Sports 360’s Jon Alba reported via the Living The Gimmick Patreon page that the company has no plans to run the show with a live crowd, even with Florida’s rules regarding mass gatherings. Both NXT’s Capitol Wrestling Center (fka the Performance Center) and AEW’s Daily’s Place Amphitheater have been operating with limited live crowds for several months, but all of Raw and SmackDown’s crowds have remained virtual since the ThuderDome was first introduced in August.
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“I’ve been checking up over the matter over the course of the past few weeks, and basically, and multiple people with knowledge of the situation indicate there are no plans for fans at this stage,” Alba wrote. “With the Rumble about three weeks away, if fans are going to be involved, there would have to be a pretty comprehensive plan.”
Just dropped on @theLTGpodcast:
Multiple sources indicate there are currently no plans for #WWE to have fans at the Royal Rumble.
More details: https://t.co/HKAJ05Xmi8 pic.twitter.com/xdaio8SKCT
— Jon Alba (@JonAlba) January 7, 2021
He mentioned that part of that plan would have to include reconstructing the ThunderDome in a way where both live and virtual fans could watch the show, which would be quite a challenge even without the short deadline
Alba also pointed out that Raymond James Stadium, the reported new host of WrestleMania 37, will host a limited crowd for Super Bowl LV on Feb. 7. WWE has not run a pay-per-view with a live crowd since the Elimination Chamber event back on March 8, 2020.
As of now only a handful of wrestlers have officially announced they’ll be competing in the two Royal Rumble matches. In the latest betting odds released by Bovada, Daniel Bryan and Bianca Beliar are favored to win.
Check out the latest betting odds for both matches below:
Men’s Royal Rumble
Daniel Bryan +300
Keith Lee +450
Big E +600
Brock Lesnar +800
Edge +1000
Goldberg +1200
Bray Wyatt +1600
Seth Rollins +1600
Kevin Owens +2000
Drew McIntyre +1200
Roman Reigns +2000
AJ Styles +2000
The Rock +2000
CM Punk +2500
Braun Strowman +2500
Sheamus +2500
John Cena +3300
Randy Orton +3300
Adam Cole +4000
Aleister Black +4000
Karrion Kross +4000
Matt Riddle +4000
Andrade +5000
Finn Balor +5000
Samoa Joe +5000
King Corbin +5000
Lars Sullivan +5000
Johnny Gargano +5000
Bobby Lashley +5000
Tommasso Ciampa +6600
Kofi Kingston +6600
Ricochet +8000
Walter +8000
Buddy Murphy +8000
Rey Mysterio +8000
Mustafa Ali +8000
Velveteen Dream +10000
Tyson Fury +10000
Pete Dunne +10000
Angel Garza +10000
Xavier Woods +10000
John Morrison +15000
Shinsuke Nakamura +15000
Erick Rowan +10000
The Miz +10000
Conor McGregor +10000
Dean Ambrose +10000
Rusev +10000
Elias +10000
Robert Roode +20000
Dolph Ziggler +20000
Humberto Carrillo +25000
Shane McMahon +25000
Vince McMahon +25000
Women’s Royal Rumble
Bianca Belair +400
Alexa Bliss +600
Rhea Ripley +800
Ronda Rousey +1000
Bayley +1000
Charlotte Flair +1200
Shayna Baszler +1600
Sasha Banks +1600
Nia Jax +1600
Sonya Deville +1600
Io Shirai +2000
Asuka +2000
Paige +2500
Lana +2500
Carmella +2500
Liv Morgan +3300
Ruby Riot +3300
Kairi Sane +3300
Nikki Cross +3300
Mandy Rose +3500
Naomi +4000 +3300
Ember Moon +4000
Natalya +4000
Dana Brooke +4000
Lacey Evans +5000
Toni Storm +5000
Peyton Royce +5000
Tegan Nox +5000
Candice LeRae +6600
Dakota Kai +6600
Kay Lee Ray +6600
Mercedes Martinez +6600
Sarah Logan +6600
Deonna Purrazzo +8000
Mia Yim +8000
Tamina +1000
Jessamyn Duke +10000
Chelsea Green +10000
Marina Shafir +10000
Piper Niven +10000
Billie Kay +10000
Xia Li +10000
Zelina Vega +10000
Stephanie McMahon +15000
