When is Royal Rumble 2021? Date, entrants, odds and how to watch WWE main event from the UK

Wrestling fans are gearing up for the first main event of the year, with a host of WWE stars set to feature.

The 34th Royal Rumble will see the top 30 male and 30 female wrestlers compete to remain in the ring at the end of the contest for a title shot at Wrestlemania.

Each wrestler enters the ring at timed intervals and battles not to get thrown over the top rope, with those whose feet touch the floor eliminated from the competition.

The classic battle royal was won by Drew McIntyre and Charlotte Flair last year - but who will come out on top this time around to book their place at The Show of Shows.

What date is Royal Rumble 2021?

The Royal Rumble will take place on Sunday 31 January and is being held at the ThunderDome, Tropicana Field, in Florida, in the United States.

The pre-show starts at 10pm, with two hours of build up before the main event, which can be viewed for free on the WWE YouTube channel.

It will be a late one for UK viewers with battle commencing at midnight UK time and continuing into the early hours of Monday 1 February morning.

Who has confirmed their Royal Rumble entry?

A flurry of WWE's biggest names have confirmed their place at Royal Rumble 2021.

In the men's event, the confirmed list includes: Edge, Jeff Hardy, Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, Bobby Lashley, AJ Styles, Otis, The Miz, Jey Uso, Cesaro, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, and Shinsuke Nakamura.

Reigning women's champ Charlotte Flair will look to defend her crown against the confirmed: Nia Jax, Bianca Belair, Bayley, Mandy Rose, Dana Brooke, Peyton Royce, Alexa Bliss, Shayna Baszler, Liv Morgan, Ruby Riott, and Tamina.

Drew McIntyre is competing against Goldberg in a singles match for the WWE Championship.

The other belt on the line is the WWE Universal Championship which will see Roman Reigns take on challenger Kevin Owens in a last man standing match.

Will there be any surprise entrants at Royal Rumble 2021?

It wouldn’t be the WWE without a fistful of surprises to keep fans on the edge of their seats.

Edge shocked fans with a video address on 25 January in which he confirmed his entry to the Royal Rumble.

He had been injured since June 2020 when he suffered a torn triceps in a match against Randy Orton at Backlash.

Edge said: "It was Henry Ford who said ‘if you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.’ Well, I think I can. I’ll see you at the Rumble."

What are some Royal Rumble odds?

Daniel Bryan is the odds on favourite to win the men's event this year, with online bookies Paddy Power and Bet Fair offering 6/5 on.

Edge is followed closely behind at 7/2 with the same bookies, Kieth Lee is also 6/1, Brock Lesnar 15/2 and Big E also at 15/2.

For the women's event, Bianca Belair is 7/4 across several online bookies, including SkyBet, who have Alexa Bliss at odds of 10/3.

Rhea Ripley can be backed at 4/1 from William Hill while reigning champion Charlotte Flair is seeing her odds shorten to 6/1.

What TV channel and streaming service is Royal Rumble on?

As one of the WWE's main events, the Royal Rumble is on pay-per-view television in the UK through the BT Sport Box Office.

The event can be bought through the BT Player, on BT Sport's website or through the BT Sport app at a one-off cost of £19.95.

Fans wishing to watch the Royal Rumble through their TVs can do so via the BT, Sky and Virgin boxes or via the Google Chromecast.

The event will be streamed through the BT Sport Box Office app on mobiles for fans wishing to watch on a different digital device.

Fans can also watch the Royal Rumble through the streaming service WWE Network at a cost of £9.99 per month, which can be cancelled at any time.