The year 2020 has been overly negative in every aspect. Even in the wrestling world. What am I talking about exactly? Well back in June, Randy Orton faced off against WWE Hall of Famer Edge at Backlash in the “Greatest Wrestling Match Ever.” From an advertising standpoint, it’s a very good match as both superstars are amongst the most decorated in the wrestling industry. This match served as the follow-up from their clash at WrestleMania 36.
The result saw Randy Orton beating Edge by pinfall after a punt to the skull finisher. It fell short by far in terms of the greatest wrestling match ever, but the performers that they are, they gave it their all. With no fans in attendance due to COVID, it was very bland from an entertainment aspect.
Now there are two certainties when it comes to professional wrestling: there are winners and losers, and the injury rate for superstars is almost 100%. In Edge’s case, as long as I’ve been a wrestling fan, he’s proven that injuries can and will happen. In 2009 he suffered a torn achilles tendon – out for 8 months. He returned in January of 2010 to win the Royal Rumble match. In 2011, as stated by car accident law firm in McAllen, Edge retired from in-ring competition because of a long-term spinal injury which would cause him to be paralyzed should he have continued wrestling. After nine years, he made his triumphant return in January once again at the Royal Rumble. Unfortunately, he wasn’t victorious this time. One could be filing a Canadian injury claim and get the necessary help when it comes to injury cases.
However, Edge is once again sidelined with an injury. After the match, he was helped by medical staff and was later diagnosed with a torn tricep muscle. So if anyone was playing “What Injury Does Edge Have Now?” go ahead and mark ‘torn tricep.’ I hate seeing people get hurt, especially when they’ve had career-threatening injuries in the past. Injuries that interrupt life and work work deserve legal support from injury attorneys in Baltimore, Maryland. I like to think, on a more positive note, that it allows the WWE writers and creative team to come up with an interesting storyline to compete with AEW or to at least capture a more dedicated audience. Or nostalgic, for those who aren’t favouring the current WWE product…
Nostalgia Tells a Great Story…Doesn’t It?
If you read the dirt sheets or Bleacher Report or wrestling media outlets, they’ll talk about what’s next for Edge. Some could say he’s done but I think it’s all speculation, as it usually is. For most of his career, he’s turned good guy to bad guy and back again more times than I can remember. So I think the question of ‘will he come back’ is out the window, now it’s just a matter of how will he come back? Babyface (good guy) or a heel (bad guy). Here is an expert explaining premises liability and how one can get legal aid when it comes to injuries.
The Rated-R Superstar moniker was given to him back in fall of 2005 when he was finally given the main event singles push. Which led to him winning the WWE Championship at New Year’s Revolution in 2006 against John Cena. This was the beginning of an era which would see Edge rise to the top of the company.
Edge and Cena were bitter rivals for most of 2006 from January to September. Edge captured the title in January, then lost it to Cena two weeks later. Edge stole the title on Raw against Cena and Rob Van Dam. At SummerSlam in Cena’s hometown of Boston, Edge (black and red) hit Cena in the head with brass knuckles to retain the title. The culmination of this bitter rivalry, for the time being, was a TLC match at Unforgiven in Toronto (Edge’s hometown) where Cena drove Edge (blue) through two tables of a 15-foot ladder to win the WWE title.
So does a walk down memory lane serve to be an effective story upon his return? Well, perhaps. But it wouldn’t make much sense given that John Cena has propelled into a more Hollywood role, now landing the new hosting spot on the TV show Wipeout. Who knows how long it would take to coordinate a schedule for another long term storyline? I think it would be cool to go back to that rivalry, but what we’ve seen in the past, I don’t think there should be any room to potentially ruin that classic feud.
It Needs to be Phenomenal
The 2020 Royal Rumble was one of the only live events where fans were allowed in the arena. We saw so many cool moments: MVP returned, NXT superstar Keith Lee made a surprise appearance. Most importantly, spoiler alert, Edge returned. He didn’t just return to fulfil his legacy. But he came back and left us in awe as he stood in the middle of the ring face to face with “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles.
Two generations of superstars, masters of their craft, feeding the fans something that is fresh and exciting. Styles has thrived in every major wrestling company in the world: New Japan, TNA, Ring of Honor, and of course the WWE. Styles has faced and defeated stars like John Cena, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho and the Undertaker. Would Edge be a sensible partner in a future storyline?
Let’s weigh the pros and cons. Pros: they bring the house down and put on 5-star matches every damn time. Cons: None. It’s really a win-win situation, Edge has said that it would be cool to work with AJ before things and it would be something the fans would love to see at multiple pay-per-view events. The only thing that could be negative in a potential angle, is the timetable which Edge is given to return.
So to get the scope of a tricep tear and its healing process, the average recovery time is about 4 to 6 months after surgery – that’s the ideal, fast track recovery. It could take a month or two extra considering some complications. Hopefully not. He was injured in June, so hopefully, the latest he’ll be back in November?? Fingers crossed With that, I would say if everything goes well, we could possibly see a comeback at Survivor Series. Which of course wouldn’t be a first for Edge.
In 2008, Survivor Series took place at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Being from the Boston area, this was my first pay-per-view event I had attended. It was quite overwhelming for a 10-year old kid since John Cena was set to return against Chris Jericho for the World title. But the WWE had a lot more in store for the fans that night.
Triple H was, faced Vladimir Kozlov and Jeff Hardy in a triple threat match for the WWE Championship. Hardy was “attacked” however, in his hotel in Boston and was unable to compete at Survivor Series. It turned into a singles match between Triple H and Kozlov – until General Manager Vickie Guerrero announced mid-match that it would, in fact, be a triple threat after all. I thought for a moment Jeff Hardy was cleared to compete then all of a sudden… “You think you know me?” and the roof blew off the Garden as Edge emerged to steal the WWE title. It was so loud I had to get my hearing checked from the noise level that night.
Fast forward 12 years, I think the success he’s had in years past could bode well for an impactful return. If the WWE writers are reading this (probably not), I’d look at this as a way to set something up long-term with Styles leading up to WrestleMania 37 in Los Angeles. Maybe let him come back and steal the title from AJ as a surprise participant. Or to ambush him beforehand, get heat early on, then work as a heel going into WrestleMania as a bad guy. He’s been out for a bit but after Backlash, he cut a promo saying Randy Orton “woke up the Rated-R Superstar.”
If we get Edge back in his natural habitat as a heel, I will pay any amount of money to see that match at Mania vs. AJ. If they advertise Edge/Orton as the “Greatest Match Ever,” how much higher can they set the bar for a dream match like Edge vs. AJ Styles for a potential championship at WrestleMania?
Worst Case Scenario
In a less than ideal situation, there’s a fair amount of young talent on the main roster who could use a push from a major star. Cena has been putting young stars over in the past to get them on the fan’s good side. Stars like Sheamus, Kevin Owens and Daniel Bryan just to name a few. Edge certainly has reached the status in his career where he could be put in that position as a stepping stone for young talent like Andrade, Adam Cole, and I would even say Finn Balor. Any of those would be a decent matchup being great technical wrestlers.
However, there could be a wild card thrown into the mix if things played out accordingly…Back in 2008, a young and hungry superstar named CM Punk cashed in his Money in the Bank contract against Edge on RAW. Winning the World Heavyweight championship. Not much followed up after that incident between the two which could have been something fun to watch. But Punk was not yet the established star he would soon become later on facing off against Randy Orton and John Cena in 2011 which has been called the “Summer of Punk.”
There has been a lot of unfinished business left on the table between Edge and Punk. CM Punk is not under contract with the WWE currently but works for FOX on a show called WWE Backstage. Wouldn’t it be something to see a double return and pick up where they left off?
The fans, when they were actually in attendance, chanted “C-M-Punk” at almost every show for six years since his departure in 2014. If Punk and WWE rebuilt the bridges that were burned on his way out, I think it could be a special moment to see him face off against Edge for one last match or a series of matches. But honestly, that’s just wishful thinking. For everyone, I would assume.
Who do you think will face Edge when he returns? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us @SLTDWrestling
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