WWE Royal Rumble: Ranking Every Winner After Lynch, Rollins Wins

Credit: WWE.com

23. Edge

The 2010 WWE Royal Rumble did not have an obvious winner. Conventional wisdom would have John Cena winning the match, and Shawn Michaels was the fan favorite due to his obsession with challenging The Undertaker, but there was still quite a bit of doubt.

When the clock ran out on Number 29, said doubt turned to excitement. Edge made his return to WWE, having been out with a groin injury since July. After last eliminating John Cena, Edge made known his intention to challenge former tag team partner Chris Jericho at WrestleMania XXVI.

Edge came up short against Jericho is a great match, and continued the feud through the Extreme Rules pay-per-view, where Edge was victorious in a cage match. Edge bounced around through various “wacky” storyline for much of the remainder of the year, including a feud with the Anonymous Raw General Manager that culminated with Edge destroying the laptop used by the GM to communicate.

He also entered into a feud with Kane for the World Heavyweight Championship that mostly revolved around Edge (the babyface) kidnapping Kane’s father, Paul Bearer, and torturing him while Kane begged for his safe return.

Edge would win the World Heavyweight Championship for a record sixth time at TLC, in a match with Kane, Rey Mysterio, and Alberto Del Rio. This would ultimately be the last year that would close with Edge as an active performer.

While his year definitely began and ended on a high note, the odd booking in the middle keeps Edge’s Rumble push pretty low on this list.