Things we learned at Royal Rumble: Edge goes distance for historic win

With the 2021 Royal Rumble in the books, let’s look back at six things we learned from a history-making night at Tropicana Field.

1) Bianca Belair is the future of wrestling

If you weren’t convinced before, you certainly are now. Bianca Belair entered the Women’s Royal Rumble at the No. 3 spot and then stayed in the ring over 56 minutes to win the match, reminiscent of Ric Flair in 1992.

Her performance isn’t just noteworthy based on surface observations – Belair’s work in the Rumble represented what wrestling fans have to look forward to for several years to come on top of the women’s division.

And after all that, Belair unleashed a fantastic, raw, emotional post-match promo where she shed tears and thanked her parents while saying, “I did it.” That was as real as it gets, and it’s that kind of vulnerability that allows fans to get closer to a wrestler.

Belair is a star, and the Rumble is just the start of her stardom.

2) Edge goes distance for victory 11 years in the making

Edge declared he was entering the Royal Rumble to win and go to WrestleMania to reclaim the championship that he never technically lost when he was forced to retire due to injury in 2011.

Well, the native of Orangeville, Ont., has fulfilled Step 1 of his plan, and will now headline WrestleMania. Edge’s Rumble victory comes 11 years to the day after his first and only other Rumble victory.

This Royal Rumble win comes from the No. 1 spot – a far cry from his previous Rumble win in which he came in at the No. 29 position – and makes Edge just the third wrestler to ever win from the No. 1 spot, joining Shawn Michaels and Chris Benoit.

3) WWE’s Women’s Division is tops in all of pro wrestling

When Becky Lynch stepped away from WWE following her pregnancy announcement in late spring of 2020, the Raw women’s division immediately felt thin. Asuka took hold of the Raw Women’s Championship, and there haven’t been many, if any, legitimate challengers for her since.

The 2021 Royal Rumble reminded everyone there is plenty of depth, with much of it coming from NXT.

Rhea Ripley is the perfect example. She came within an inch of winning the Rumble, falling just shy as the last elimination. However, her performance in the Rumble befit that of a champion. Ripley has nothing left to do in NXT and is ready for a new challenge.

That challenge could, and should, be on Raw against Asuka.

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4) Missed reunion opportunity during men’s Rumble

First of all, it was great to see Christian return to the ring. It’s good he’s healthy enough to return to wrestling.

Now, with Edge entering at No. 1, there was plenty of time to bring Christian out for a reunion. And while there was indeed a short reunion – a small embrace in the ring – it was quickly forgotten.

There was a better opportunity early in the match when three wrestlers hoisted Edge over their shoulders, seemingly ready to throw out the Canadian. It was at that point that the countdown clock started, and that’s where Christian should have returned. That way he could help Edge avoid elimination, thereby helping his long-time tag partner towards his goal of winning the Rumble.

The reunion was swept under the rug, feeling like it wasn’t important. It also feels like an afterthought that Christian was among the final five superstars in the match.

5) Kevin Owens is the best Canadian wrestler in WWE

For all of 2020, I bestowed this accolade upon Sami Zayn for his work as Intercontinental Champion. And while I think Sami is still one of the top wrestlers in all of WWE, Kevin Owens continues to prove he belongs in the main event picture byway of his championship performances. His latest example came in the Universal Championship match on Sunday.

Before the match, I imagine Owens walked around Tropicana Field eyeing various areas of the baseball stadium of which he could use to cause mayhem. In one of those strolls, he must have marked down the location of a forklift, because he went on to use that forklift to leap off of and through a table.

Owens is a big-time performer, both in the ring and on the microphone, and Sunday was another example.

6) Goldberg never needs to wrestle again

This feels like an evergreen statement. I don’t know too many people who were excited to see Goldberg wrestle Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship, but I know several who were happy McIntyre walked away as the winner.

As mentioned on Aftermath, this was almost a lose-lose for McIntyre. If he were to lose, he loses to an old man. Now that he’s won, he’s beaten up an old man.

McIntyre looked absolutely massive next to Goldberg, thereby immediately taking away any sort of physical intimidation edge Goldberg usually has. Also, Goldberg just looked old. Oldberg, indeed. McIntyre sold a spear he took through the barricade before the match started, but it didn’t feel like he was actually in any danger of losing.

Drew McIntyre as the WWE Champion heading into WrestleMania is what’s best for business.

— All photos courtesy WWE