To be fair, wrestling legends populating the upper card is nothing new this time of year. But as my WrestleMania headliners in 2021? Edge, Kane, Goldberg, Victoria … I would go nuts if I found that group of action figures at a garage sale. It was a huge victory for sentimentality-and for HGH and testosterone injections-but one has to wonder if there’s a limit to nostalgia’s charms.
![nbc universal shuttering its games division nbc universal shuttering its games division](https://www.nbcsports.com/sites/rsnunited/files/article/hero/NHL_on_NBC_USATSI_6313388.jpg)
But even with that in mind, Sunday’s parade of powerlifting Ponce de Leóns strains credulity. Wrestling fans are trained to believe in immortality: If Hulk Hogan’s moniker didn’t convince you that superstardom is eternal, maybe his 40-year in-ring career did. (Mysterio’s son Dominik, who made his first on-screen appearance as a child in 2003, is now a full-time wrestler.) James isn’t alone in that division: Jeff Hardy, Randy Orton, and Rey Mysterio are all icons of bygone eras who are still plugging away. James debuted way back in 2005, left in 2010, came back in 2016, and was on the WWE active roster as of last fall she’s segued seamlessly into living-legend-dom. The women’s Rumble showcased Jillian Hall (left WWE in 2010), Alicia Fox (2019), Torrie Wilson (2008), Victoria (2009), and Mickie James. The men’s Royal Rumble match included appearances by Carlito (who debuted in WWE in 2004 and left in 2010), Christian (who’s 47, debuted in 1998, and retired in 2014), Kane (53, debuted in 1995), and Hurricane Helms (46, released in 2010). And Goldberg and Edge weren’t the only mummies unearthed on Sunday. If Drew runs the gamut through WrestleMania, he will have defeated the 54-year-old Goldberg, the 48-year-old Edge (who, after a near-decade of retirement because of a degenerative neck condition, returned to the ring a year ago), and his erstwhile buddy Sheamus, who’s 43 and a 12-year WWE veteran.