Up-and-coming Canadian sports-entertainer Edge became an underdog hero to millions last Sunday when he catapulted into the spotlight by winning the 2021 Royal Rumble. 

The rumble win has rocketed this scrappy WWE rookie into the main event picture — and time will tell if the so-called Rated-X Superstar can handle the pressure of main-event status. 

Edge (real name Adam Hardcastle) has been generating some buzz around his hometown of Toronto, where he has been performing with the Apocalypse Wrestling Federation (AWF) for trainer and promoter Ron Hutchison. 

Not long ago, Edge entered an essay contest in a Toronto newspaper and won the opportunity to train under Hutchison, who also trained Edge’s brother Christian (real name Jason Hardcastle) and future wife Beth Phoenix (real name Elizabeth Condor). 

Not everyone is pleased with Edge’s rapid rise from obscurity to stardom at the Rumble. “Is this kid ready for the big time?” wrote veteran wrestling journalist Dan Mutzler. “He may be too green.”

But after winning the Rumble, Edge insisted he is “ready to take the ball and run with it,” and then pointed at the WrestleMania sign, just like he has always dreamed of doing.