- WWE would have ruled out the public entry at Tropicana Field due to the increase in COVID-19 cases detected in the state of Florida.
- More than 17,000 positive cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the state of Florida.
Royal Rumble 2021 will take place on January 31 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. So far, only the first entrants have been announced for the male and female royal battles, respectively. Goldberg challenged Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship, but the company has not made the contest official.
Until now, WWE had not reported on whether fans will be able to access the facilities of the venue or if the show will be held behind closed doors, although Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida, authorized all stadiums in the state to operate at full capacity, leaving the decision in the hands of the companies.
Spectrum Sports 360 journalist Jon Alba has reported on his Living the Gimmick podcast that Royal Rumble 2021 will finally take place without an audience. Despite the fact that WWE has been studying the possibility of allowing fans access to Tropicana Field, the decision was finally made to hold the show behind closed doors due to the health situation caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
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
As I've noted, it's pro wrestling, plans are always subject to change. But the plan as of now, Jan. 7, does not include fans in attendance at Tropicana Field.
FWIW, Florida had 17,783 new positive COVID cases announced Wednesday. #WWE #RoyalRumble
— Jon Alba (@JonAlba) January 7, 2021
“As I said, this is professional wrestling, plans are always subject to change. But at this time, the plan for January 7 does not include a fan presence at Tropicana Field. For what it’s worth, Florida announced 17,783 new positive cases of COVID on Wednesday, “were his words.
WWE Royal Rumble will take place on January 31, 2021, from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Fans will be able to see the event via PPV and through WWE Network, as well as in the ThunderDome virtual audience mode. Here is the billboard for the event to date.
Billboard WWE Royal Rumble 2021
Men’s Royal Rumble
Daniel Bryan, Bobby Lashley, Ricochet, Randy Orton, and 26 participants to be announced.
Women’s Royal Rumble Match
Nia Jax, Shayna Baszler, Charlotte Flair, and 27 participants to be announced.