Who Will Edge and Bianca Belair Challenge at WWE WrestleMania 37?

Bianca Belair and Edge each outlasted 29 other Superstars to win the 2021 Royal Rumble matches, granting them title shots against the champions of their choosing at WWE WrestleMania 37.

Both scratched and clawed from the early stages of their contests, with Belair as the third entrant and The Rated-R Superstar going the distance from entry No. 1, proving they have what it takes to present the best possible challenges to these champions.

But which champions will they pick? Are the current titleholders even likely to retain those belts ahead of WrestleMania? What are the smart bets on the matches that will take place at The Showcase of the Immortals?

NXT is Not an Option

Last year's women's Royal Rumble winner, Charlotte Flair, was goaded into picking NXT women's champion Rhea Ripley. It proved to be worth The Queen's while, as she took Ripley's spot atop the black-and-gold brand's women's division.

This year, it's unlikely NXT is even acknowledged, let alone chosen by either Belair or Edge.

There been little interaction between NXT and the Raw and SmackDown rosters as of late. NXT wasn't even involved in Survivor Series, for instance, and the language has reverted back to Raw and SmackDown being the "main roster" while NXT isn't considered on the same level.

That's a shame, but since NXT is still technically the developmental brand, it's also understandable. As such, both Belair and Edge shouldn't step down despite how great their potential opponents could be.

Edge vs. Finn Balor (or possibly Pete Dunne or Karrion Kross, if they take the title from him soon enough) and Belair vs. Io Shirai or the Superstars chasing her championship could be great, but this needs to be a Raw and SmackDown affair this year.

Bank on The Boss

At the moment, Belair's options are Asuka for the Raw Women's Championship and Sasha Banks for SmackDown's top title. Neither The Empress of Tomorrow nor The Boss is a bitter rival of Belair, so there's no need for her to go straight after either of them.

However, the smart money is on Banks being Belair's choice for numerous reasons.

Given the state of the women's division on Friday nights, Belair has been a focal point since being traded in the 2020 WWE draft. WWE hasn't put the spotlight on anyone else but Bayley, Banks and Carmella, who were all already there and are former champions.

The Street Profits even swapped tag team titles with The New Day as a convoluted means of keeping Montez Ford on the same brand as his wife, meaning Belair on SmackDown was a priority above even the men's tag team divisions having an easier transition.

It wouldn't make sense for Belair to go back to Raw, leaving Banks with no contenders worthy of facing her at WrestleMania since all her options wouldn't be of a high-enough profile unless she was to have yet another rematch with Bayley.

Raw's women's division, unfortunately, doesn't seem to revolve much around Asuka. Over this past year, she's taken a backseat to so many others that it's doubtful she will hold the title come WrestleMania. Instead, it's likely to pass over to Flair, who could rekindle her feud with Ripley through Elimination Chamber and Fastlane to set up something for the red brand's title.

Belair vs. Banks also presents a clash of similar styles. Both are incredibly confident, passionate and agile women who are always dressed to stun and have the skills to back up their attitudes. They have teamed up several times over the past few months, which can be used as a foundation to tell the story of their rapport and how they respect each other, but neither one will back down in the face of the challenge.

Edge is Harder to Decipher

With Edge, the choice is much less clear. An argument can be made for him to face either Drew McIntyre or Roman Reigns, assuming they are still the champions by the time WrestleMania comes around.

If Belair does go with Banks, WWE may want Edge to challenge the Raw champion. That way, there's one Royal Rumble focus on each show, which helps balance the stories being told. It avoids having Elimination Chamber and Fastlane focus on establishing No. 1 contenders for the same brand while the other show simply waits around for the inevitable.

On the other hand, if both Royal Rumble winners spend the next few months on SmackDown, that may make Fox happy. More star power is never a bad thing, and Edge is a proven commodity who has arguably made SmackDown more of his home in the past than Raw.

Perhaps WWE wants to tell a story of dueling spears given Edge and Reigns have the same finisher and only one can prevail. Then again, the universal champion has been winning matches more with the guillotine submission as of late, which lessens that impact.

Edge vs. McIntyre would be interesting, but it presents challenges. The Scottish Warrior is a staunch babyface. Pairing him with The Rated-R Superstar forces one to play more of a heel role, which may not be the best move for either of them.

Fans will likely gravitate toward rooting for Edge to win, as he's the legend with the comeback story and something different to the guy who's held the title for pretty much all of the past year. That puts McIntyre in a position where his stock goes down if he were to retain the belt, and people would be upset that WWE didn't give Edge the victory.

A heel turn for McIntyre would solve that problem. But why turn him if Reigns is already a perfectly good heel option available without going through that effort?

McIntyre can still fight Sheamus if their friendship implodes, Bray Wyatt could move on from his feud with Randy Orton to focus on the title or someone else can be built up in the next two months to pose a viable challenge. Even someone like John Cena could swoop in and fight McIntyre if need be.

Reigns doesn't have many options on SmackDown other than Daniel Bryan, who may be in line to fight Seth Rollins based on The Messiah eliminating him in the Royal Rumble and taking away that title opportunity.

That could lead to nothing, but so much focus was put on Bryan never having won a Royal Rumble that if he won an Elimination Chamber match or another arbitrary No. 1 contender's contest, it wouldn't feel as important and his match with Reigns would be overshadowed.

Also, the more The Tribal Chief talks about the responsibility of putting food on everyone's table, the clearer his direction becomes. He would argue that Edge shouldn't challenge him because he doesn't want to be the guy who puts Edge back on the shelf, unable to provide for his family—but he's prepared to do it, if need be.

There's no clear story to be told with Edge vs. McIntyre. However, that could be its benefit, as WWE might have something surprising up its sleeve about those two.

If Edge leaves Raw, he gets away from Orton. That may be a positive, as eliminating him in the Royal Rumble could be the conclusion to their feud and both can move on. Then again, that sacrifices a more definitive finish for the sake of new opponents, so your mileage may vary on which is better.

Ultimately, Belair vs. Banks seems like a guarantee, while Edge's choice is up in the air. It could become clear as day the moment Monday Night Raw begins, or it may be dragged out on The Road to WrestleMania.

There may be more reasons to expect Edge to challenge Reigns, but a match with McIntyre could be just as fun and interesting to see.

Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.