{"id":83760,"date":"2021-01-26T15:47:16","date_gmt":"2021-01-26T20:47:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=83760"},"modified":"2021-01-26T15:47:16","modified_gmt":"2021-01-26T20:47:16","slug":"one-year-return-edge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2021\/01\/26\/one-year-return-edge\/","title":{"rendered":"On This Day: One Year on From the Return of Edge"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>2020 was perhaps the only year to both simultaneously be the longest<em> and<\/em> shortest year of our lifetimes.\u00a0 Therefore, it is odd to think about<strong> Edge<\/strong>&#8216;s genuinely heartwarming <em><strong>Royal Rumble<\/strong><\/em> return in 2020 as both feeling like a lifetime <em>and<\/em> a minute ago, at the same time.\u00a0 Whereas it is usually unheard of to say a year peaked in January, that argument can definitely be made for 2020 and Edge&#8217;s surprise return only fuels that argument.\u00a0 Whether it feels like a minute or a year since, today marks one whole year (that being twelve calendar months) since Edge made his WWE return.\u00a0 So join us as we journey back through 2020 (sorry) to revisit the return that many believed was impossible.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Edge and the Retirement That Broke Hearts<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Rewind to <em><strong>WrestleMania XXVII<\/strong><\/em> way back in 2011.\u00a0 Edge had just successfully defended his World Heavyweight Championship against <strong>Alberto Del Rio<\/strong>.\u00a0 A long-time veteran of the WWE, having served well over a decade, the then-37 year old Edge showed no signs of slowing down.\u00a0 That reign as World Heavyweight Champion was his seventh, a record, and &#8211; combined with his WWE Championship reigns &#8211; made him an eleven-time World Champion within the WWE.\u00a0 His world championship record is one to rival the likes of <strong>Triple H<\/strong>, <strong>John Cena<\/strong>, <strong>Ric Flair<\/strong> and long-term friend-and-foe, <strong>Randy Orton<\/strong>.\u00a0 All of this long-term success, combined with his victory over Del Rio at <em>WrestleMania<\/em>, meant that what would come next would shake the WWE to its very core.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Edge shocks WWE Universe by announcing his retirement: Raw, April 11, 2011\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zF4Eua3M6R0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>On April 11, 2011, Edge would effectively retire from the professional wrestling &#8211; vacating his World Heavyweight Championship before transitioning into a career in television, featuring in such shows as <em>Haven<\/em> and<em> Vikings<\/em>.\u00a0 Of course, he would also c0-host the largely entertaining<em><strong> Edge &amp; Christian Show That Totally Reeks of Awesomeness<\/strong><\/em> alongside long-time friend and tag team partner,<strong> Christian<\/strong>.\u00a0 His retirement was not the &#8220;work&#8221; many thought it was; it was a genuinely heartbroken Edge, confirming to the audience that he could work his dream job no more.\u00a0 In 2012, he would enter the<em><strong> WWE Hall of Fame<\/strong><\/em>, further confirming the audience&#8217;s fears; that they had seen the last of Edge inside a wrestling ring (at least an active wrestler).\u00a0 Fast-forward to 27 January 2020.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>The Return That Was Not Meant to Be<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Edge returns at Royal Rumble and delivers vicious Spears: Royal Rumble 2020 (WWE Network Exclusive)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zrLt2KGRMPs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Royal Rumble 2020<\/strong><\/em>.\u00a0 A little older, a little grayer; but the same old Edge who was &#8211; despite being a top heel throughout the majority of his solo run &#8211; a truly beloved WWE superstar was finally back.\u00a0 Perhaps the number 21 &#8211; his<em> Royal Rumble<\/em> number in 2020 &#8211; is to be symbolic.\u00a0 As we all know, Edge&#8217;s return would come to a heartbreaking halt, thanks to a tricep injury gained during the match billed the <em>Greatest Wrestling Match Ever<\/em> against Randy Orton at <em><strong>BackLash<\/strong><\/em>.\u00a0 Maybe the number 21 symbolizes that 2021 is going to be Edge&#8217;s year.\u00a0 If he can stay healthy and avoid any further injury, there is no limit as to what he can achieve.\u00a0 Whereas he is certainly in the late autumn of his career, Edge can still achieve anything because even now, he remains a highly talented and popular performer and largely maintains the backing of the WWE Universe.<\/p>\n<p>In terms of shocking returns, it may well go down as one of the best ever.\u00a0 Yes, there were rumors during the week of <em>Royal Rumble 2020<\/em> that Edge was about to return &#8211; but they did not lessen the impact.\u00a0 The nature of Edge&#8217;s injury &#8211; that being a serious neck injury &#8211; is usually one that finishes careers off for good.\u00a0 Just like <strong>Daniel Bryan<\/strong>&#8216;s return two years earlier, it was one that many believe would never happen and if you were to re-watch<em> Royal Rumble 2020<\/em> and read the expression on Edge&#8217;s face as he storms down the ramp &#8211; the sheer emotion he displays shows that maybe he never saw it possible.\u00a0 Nine years is a long time to be retired in pro-wrestling and as time went on, as one year became two and two years became four, it looked like Edge would never wrestle again.\u00a0 But he did and he went on to have an excellent appearance in the<em> Royal Rumble<\/em> and a very good feud with Randy Orton.\u00a0 We can only hope 2021 brings us new feuds and matches for the Rated R Superstar.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>What Lies in Store in 2021<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-83719\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/01\/edge-2021-royal-rumble.jpg\" alt=\"Edge 2021 Royal Rumble\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/01\/edge-2021-royal-rumble.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/01\/edge-2021-royal-rumble-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>On last night&#8217;s episode of <strong>Monday Night RAW<\/strong>, Edge announced he will be returning once more in the <em><strong>2021 Royal Rumble <\/strong><\/em>match.\u00a0 The Edge of today is different to the Edge of 2011.\u00a0 Older, wiser, and maybe a little bit slower, but the heart is still there.\u00a0 Now a family man happily married to former Women&#8217;s Champion, <strong>Beth Phoenix<\/strong> and already wearing a WWE Hall of Fame ring, alongside being an eleven-time World Champion, Edge has nothing left to prove.\u00a0 He is here to go out on his own terms; his career won&#8217;t go down in history as one brought to a tragic, premature end by an injury.\u00a0 When the time is right, Edge will choose how his career should end and &#8211; for as long as we still have him &#8211; we should enjoy the ride.<\/p>\n<p><em>Stay tuned to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/\" target=\"_self\">Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/a>\u00a0for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.\u00a0WWE fan? You can check out an almost unlimited array of WWE content on the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/watch.wwe.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">WWE Network<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Looking to talk wrestling, pro football, or any number of sports? Head on over to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/boards\/index.php\" target=\"_self\">LWOS Boards<\/a>\u00a0to engage in conversation with fellow fans!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>2020 was perhaps the only year to both simultaneously be the longest and shortest year of our lifetimes.\u00a0 Therefore, it is odd to think about Edge&#8216;s genuinely heartwarming Royal Rumble return in 2020 as both feeling like a lifetime and a minute ago, at the same time.\u00a0 Whereas it is usually unheard of to say [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2482,"featured_media":66652,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4,3],"tags":[247,459,600,328,58,397,396,47],"class_list":["post-83760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","tag-alberto-del-rio","tag-beth-phoenix","tag-christian","tag-edge","tag-randy-orton","tag-royal-rumble","tag-wrestlemania","tag-wwe"],"modified_by":"Alex Richards, LWOF Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2482"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83760\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}