New on Sports Illustrated: Royal Rumble Gives WrestleMania an Edge: Unchecked

Edge winning 2021 Royal Rumble ups the hype for WrestleMania

The Royal Rumble gives WrestleMania an Edge, as he was both the number one entrant and the top choice the WWE had to be the last man standing and headline its biggest event.

And I don’t believe either die-hards or casual fans can be upset that he got the win. For one, the WWE has a marquee card to sell and a new partnership with Peacock, so someone with name recognition made sense.

While at the same time, though they went with the returning older star, it’s not like Edge is back with no purpose. He was forced to retire due to injury and never lost his championship, so becoming a repeat Royal Rumble winner, 11 years to the day after he did it the first time, gives him a readymade WrestleMania storyline.

I also thought they did a good job of storytelling in the midst of the 30-man match, from his reunion with Christian to preventing a cheap Randy Orton victory.

Then there’s the fact that I personally find the Royal Rumble itself to be amongst the greatest ideas ever conceived. As for WrestleMania, either Drew McIntyre or Roman Reigns would make for a strong matchup, but sign me up for an Edge-Reigns program. The biggest star and best heel in the business currently taking on the returning vet with built-in rooting interest on his side.

And both those guys could sell the hell out of that on the mic and in the ring. To me, that’s a match for a general audience, featuring the Rated-R Superstar.