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WWE walked into the new decade with uncertainty. After a spectacular Royal Rumble 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the company to improvise and adapt. The result saw the ThunderDome Era in full swing and a fresh approach.
At a time when AEW and the like are delivering great content on a regular basis, WWE has raised their game from the slight lull in the late 2010s. We are only two years into the new decade and the company has already given us plenty of great feuds and matches to enjoy.
However, there are some rivalries that stand out from this bunch. They are not only some of the best angles Vince McMahon and company have given us but also incredibly memorable and talked about.
These have defined the product since 2020, reminding fans that if they put their minds to it, the biggest wrestling promotion in the world sets the benchmark.
On that note, we look at four rivalries that have defined WWE in the 2020s.
#4 on our list of defining WWE rivalries in the 2020s: Edge vs. Randy Orton
The 2020 Royal Rumble match saw Edge return to WWE after nine long years away. He arrived to see some new faces and some familiar ones and was eager to prove that he belonged in the ring. He did just that, making it to the final three and eliminating three men, including Randy Orton.
The next night on RAW, Orton came to welcome his former tag team partner before dropping him with an RKO. What followed was one of the most intense rivalries in recent memory, as The Viper grew obsessed with ending Edge's career.
The two men waged war in a Last Man Standing match at WrestleMania 36 and then in 'The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever' at Backlash. Edge and Orton won the respective encounters, and the former got his revenge by winning the 2021 Rumble match at his rival's expense.
#3. Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar
Hostilities were renewed when Brock Lesnar emerged to confront Roman Reigns at SummerSlam 2021. It was one of the most shocking returns in recent memory and kick-started a rivalry that dominated the product for months.
Lesnar looked like the man who had Reigns' number throughout the feud. The Universal Champion struggled to come up with an answer to The Beast, and only beat him in Saudi Arabia thanks to his cousins, The Usos. Lesnar later went on to win the WWE Championship, setting up a winner-takes-all mega match at WrestleMania 38.
The Tribal Chief continued to get one-upped by his rival until 'Mania, where he created history and beat him, thanks in no small part to Paul Heyman's interference.
The rivalry seemed to have ended until The Conqueror returned recently and laid Reigns out, setting up a Last Man Standing match at SummerSlam.
#2. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks
Anyone who claimed WWE couldn't do long-term storytelling didn't see the slow and simmering rivalry between Bayley and Sasha Banks. The two women told a great story and contested one of the best feuds of this decade.
Bayley and Banks started as heel friends and tag team partners. Fans quickly noted that the relationship seemed one-sided, with Banks helping Bayley way more than the latter. However, given The Boss' turncoat history, they expected her to turn on her partner.
At one point, the duo held every title in the women's division before it fizzled out to just Bayley holding the SmackDown Women's Championship. Everyone was sure the lack of gold, coupled with suspicious side glances and lack of smiles every week, would cause Banks to betray The Role Model, but the swerve came when Bayley struck first.
Banks then challenged her former best friend for her championship and won it in a fantastic Hell in a Cell match. It was one of the best matches to take place inside the structure and every bit as good as the subsequent rematch that saw the new champion retain.
#1. Seth Rollins vs. Cody Rhodes
As good as Banks vs. Bayley was, it doesn't quite beat out Seth Rollins' rivalry with Cody Rhodes. The latter was pure wrestling art and easily the best thing WWE has given its fans in a long time.
Rhodes was revealed as Rollins' mystery opponent at WrestleMania 38 and claimed the win. The latter took exception to the defeat and demanded a rematch at WrestleMania Backlash but failed to win again.
From then on, there was no stopping The Visionary's rage and desperation. In his bid to prove he was better than The American Nightmare, Rollins went too far to get his rival to accept the idea of a third match. It would be contested inside Hell in a Cell, and we all know what happened there.
From the emotional promo exchanges to Rhodes wrestling the third match with a torn pectoral muscle and Rollins' vicious attack on the RAW afterward, this was everything fans wanted from a rivalry and more.
It is the best thing WWE has come up with this year and has set the benchmark for anything going forward this decade.
