Historically, 70 percent of Superstars who have triumphed in the Royal Rumble Match proved victorious at The Show of Shows as well. But, for Alberto Del Rio, it was not meant to be. Though interference from Brodus Clay paved the way for Del Rio to lock in the Cross Arm Breaker, the heart of a champion allowed Edge to escape and apply his own excruciating submission move. While Christian delivered a mesmerizing DDT of retribution on Clay, Del Rio managed to use his resilience to escape. But this too backfired on the challenger, as Edge instantly hit his opponent with the Spear for the three-count.
However, much to the delight of the WWE Universe, the destruction did not end with the bell. Sensing that a World Title victory on The Grandest Stage of Them All required an extraordinary celebration, Edge and Christian turned the full scope of their mischievous attention to Del Rio’s classic Rolls Royce Silver Spirit. While his partner-in-crime kept the emotionally pain-stricken Del Rio at bay, The Rated-R Superstar left his defeated foe’s six-figure ride as broken as his WrestleMania hopes and dreams.
On The Road to WrestleMania, it seemed almost inevitable that Del Rio was on a path with championship destiny. In his short time with WWE, his monumental list of accomplishments included winning The Biggest Royal Rumble Match in History and brutally putting Christian out of commission. While the first catapulted him into the main event at WrestleMania, the second helped reunite the celebrated tag team of Edge & Christian – against a common enemy – for the first time in more than a decade.
Despite losing to the returning Christian several times in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania, the ruthless Del Rio painfully roared back time and time again. Aided by his protégé of devastation Brodus Clay, the elitist grappler punished both Edge and Captain Charisma weekly – armed with his devastating Cross Armbreaker, a steel chair and a relentless appetite for aggression.
Despite his incredible career, Edge had a lot to prove, having never successfully defended a World Title at WrestleMania. And as The Master Manipulator’s No. 1 contender was mapping his road to glory, the 11-time World Champion was busy raising the stakes – complementing his earth-shattering Spear with a dangerous new submission maneuver.
Then, just when it looked like the anticipation over the epic showdown could not get any greater, SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long dropped a bombshell. Nine days before WrestleMania, the esteemed head of SmackDown proclaimed that both Christian and Brodus Clay would accompany their respective allies to ringside at The Showcase of the Immortals. But, Teddy could not have predicted the insanity that would ensue as a result.
Amidst the towering grandeur of WrestleMania, The Rated-R Superstar proved, without a doubt, that your destiny can change just like that. It’s too bad that Alberto Del Rio “didn’t already know that.”
