Will Edge Make WrestleMania ‘Rated R’ ?

by Sterling Mclymont · April 5, 2021

It’s officially WrestleMania week. As we embark on the final stops before Tampa Bay, let’s take a close look at the man who expects to cement his legacy on wrestling’s grandest stage: Edge

Back in January, Edge won the Royal Rumble to earn himself a world title opportunity in the main event of WrestleMania. Shortly after, he made his intentions clear by challenging the Universal Champion, Roman Reigns. For many, this was a dream match. Roman Reigns adopted the Spear for his finishing move, a move Edge made famous throughout his hall of fame career, so the mere idea of a ‘spear vs spear’ main event garnered interest amongst the WWE universe. For the moment, the stage had been set for a one on one bout. However, Daniel Bryan had a few things to say about that.

At the Fastlane pay-per-view event, Daniel Bryan faced off against Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship. After a highly contested back and forth match, Daniel Bryan would make Roman Reigns tap out. However, ringside shenanigans would cause the referee to miss it. With Edge involved in the chaos at ringside, Roman would capitalize on this and find a way to retain his championship. With Bryan feeling justified in his claims to the championship, this led the way for the main event of WrestleMania to be in question heading into the following week’s episode of Friday Night Smackdown.

The following week’s episode of Smackdown saw Daniel Bryan, Edge, and the champion Roman Reigns making their case for the main event of WrestleMania. Edge having won the Royal Rumble, felt justified in demanding his one on one match with the champion. Bryan having tapped out Reigns just 6 days prior to this also felt justified. I’m sure all the fans saw this coming, but WWE official Adam Pearce went ahead and made the easy decision here: the main event of WrestleMania would now be a triple threat featuring all three men.

Enter the Rated R Superstar. The following week, Edge unleashed the villain that we all loved to hate from years past. Edge came out to the ring and spoke about the road that led him to this moment and how he felt as if Daniel Bryan had outplayed him. With nothing but pure passion, laser focus, and grit in his voice, Edge announced that the Rated R Superstar is back. He went on to remind his WrestleMania opponents that he is a hall of famer, a WWE legend, and the self proclaimed ‘ultimate opportunist.’ With malicious intent behind his words, he warned both Reigns & Bryan that the next time he has them down with the chance to finish them off, he won’t hesitate.

Edge’s legacy is on the line at WrestleMania, no doubt about it. With Raymond James allowing fans into the event, this will be the first Mania Edge has worked with fans since his return last year. We’re all aware of the backstory. We know that Edge worked day and night to return to the ring after being forced into retirement 11 years ago due to neck injury. I believe that April 11th is the culmination of the journey back. WrestleMania falls on 11 years to the day that Edge retired. What a moment this would be for Edge, but even deeper, what a moment this would be for the performer, Adam Copeland. Only time will tell, but Edge has no other choice than to make WrestleMania ‘rated R.’