Top 5 takeaways from WWE Royal Rumble 2021

#3 Edge's mission to prove his endurance continued at WWE Royal Rumble 2021

Edge at WWE Royal Rumble

When fans watched Edge's "WWE 24" special, he stated that he did not want to come back to rest on his laurels. Instead, he wanted to push himself to his limits ahead of the 2020 Royal Rumble. Since his return at last year's event, Edge went over 35 minutes at WrestleMania 36 and almost 45 minutes at WWE Backlash. He topped those feats on Sunday.

By starting as the first entrant, "The Rated R Superstar" faced another mountain that he had to conquer. His rivalry with Randy Orton was at the forefront, as Edge's former friend entered the match as the second entrant. But the WWE Hall of Famer interacted with many superstars in the match.

The aforementioned hug with his best friend Christian brought a jolt of emotion into the Men's Royal Rumble Match. It set a beautiful tone for the final stretch of this contest. Edge eliminated Seth Rollins and immediately received the RKO from a returning Orton. It seemed like Edge would fall short at the goal line. But Edge countered at the last second and threw Orton over the top ropes to win the match.

11 years to the day, @EdgeRatedR WINS his second #RoyalRumble Match! pic.twitter.com/1n1O2b6E4M

— WWE (@WWE) February 1, 2021

This Iron Man effort was remarkable, considering that Edge had been out for over eight months with a serious injury. It was amazing to watch a man who had been on the shelf come back to perform for over 58 minutes. That's a credit to Edge's stamina at his advanced age. WWE Royal Rumble 2021 will be remembered as a night where Edge fought his way back to WrestleMania to reclaim the title he never lost.