Truth or Consequences: Losing his Edge

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Evening, ladies and gents – and welcome to the latest edition of Truth or Consequences. It’s been a busy week this week, as I’ve been diligently burning my tape collection onto DVD, in prepration for my new tape trading site that will be going up any time now. It never occurred to me just how much crap I’ve got in my pile of wrestling tapes but I’m loathe to throw anything else but, hey, it’s wrestling isn’t it?

But I digress – this week, I’m going to be talking about Edge, a guy who has been number one contender ever since WrestleMania and still hasn’t cashed in his Money-in-the-Bank shot. I know opinion is divided on Edge in any case, so I thought I’d throw in my views on this hotly contested subject.

But first, some e-mails…

Fixxer315 disagrees with me on the benefits of a midget division…

Gotta disagree with you on the midget thing. I feel bringing in a “juniors” division has got to be one of the dumbest ideas not involving so-called “Divas” that McMahon has brought to the WWE in recent years.

It has nothing to do with their athleticism. I know that Mexican Minis can be quite entertaining in their own right. And they might be beneficial in the latino markets. However, there are at least four solid reasons why pushing a division for them is a bad idea.

1. No matter how athletic they are, they will never get over on a regular basis with most US fans. The only fans that might like them are the little kids (and the fact that McMahon is catering to them is troubling for a whole different set of reasons). I cannot imagine anyone over the age of 11 in their right mind saying “Midgets are wrestling? I gotta see that!!”

2. They might try to push them as a serious division, but given McMahon’s predilections, they will degenerate into a comedy act before too long.

3. They are a waste of TV time that could be easily given to regular wrestlers that might have the chance to get over. Instead of pushing midgets, why not push the cruiserweights (and by push, I mean take the frigging handcuffs off and let these guys wow the WWE crowd like they used to wow the independent feds, and WCW).

4. Do you remember the last time McMahon tried to use midgets on a semi-regular basis? The year was 1997, and guys like Max Mini got air time. This was indicative of how empty the WWE was of ideas that didn’t involve Stone Cold or the Hart Foundation.

Now is there a role for midget? Possibly, but I really hope they keep it on Velocity and house shows. Do not – I repeat DO NOT put that kind of crap on SD. And if they put it on an SD PPV, McMahon will have officially lost his f*cking mind.”

Thanks for the e-mail, Fixxer. You make a number of interesting points, but I still disagree. I guess it’s because I really like midget action and, given a chance, I suspect that they could get over with the mainstream audience, so long as their not used as comic relief, as they have traditionally been. Of course, that’s the problem, isn’t it? As you quite rightly point out, Vince McMahon sees midgets as a sideshow attraction, which will probably scupper the division before it even gets moving. Let’s face it, if he had the legendary Mascarita Sagrada (Max Mini, to you) under contract already, he would probably have made his debut being pulled out of JR’s sphincter on Raw this past Monday.

AngryChairr sends in a few more points regarding the Hitman…

“Just one more thought about Bret. We’ve been assuming that Vince was gonna go the Ultimate Warrior route on him, but really, could he? I’m not talking about whether or not he’d actually do it. We know he would. I’m just wondering if he could.

Who could Vince get to bad-mouth Bret besides Shawn and Hunter (although I’d venture to guess even Shawn is smart enough to avoid that at this point)? Insulting the Warrior is one thing. The man turned himself into a in-joke for wrestling fans years ago. But Bret still holds a lot of sway with both fans and wrestlers alike. In a lot of ways, he’s still sacred to wrestling fans because he didn’t degenerate into complete self-parody like so many other have.

And do you honestly think we’d see people like Chris Benoit or Chris Jericho on a WWE DVD insulting Bret Hart? Or even younger guys like Paul London and Christian? Which of the older stars still with the company, besides Ric Flair, would be willing to insult Bret? I think they’d be hard-pressed finding people outside the usual cast of characters (Hogan, Flair, HHH, etc.) to actually talk down towards Bret. Then again, Vince does have a massive checkbook…

As a side note, I would sacrifice my first-born to see an interview on the DVD with Hulk Hogan talking about what a poor work ethic Bret Hart had.”

That’s an excellent point, AC. Bret is well respected, not only by the fans, but by wrestlers in general. You mentioned Benoit and Jericho, but there are dozens of others who just wouldn’t stab him in the back like that – Mick Foley and Steve Austin have both said how much they admire and like The Hitman and, let’s not forget, Edge and Christian, who were trained by Bret’s father, Stu in the Dungeon. Flair would probably have a go, if he got the chance but then, we already know that there’s no love lost there. I don’t ven think Trips would have a go at Bret Hart as, for the life of me, I can’t think of any personal animosity between the two. I agree with you that Shawn probably wouldn’t get involved either now, whether because he belives bygones really are bygones, becuase his faith instructs him to rise above such matters or simply that he no longer considers Bret ot be a threat to his own status as the Showstopper.

Thanks.

And finally an e-mail from a guy who’s actually worked with some midgets…

“I enjoyed your ariticle about Midget Wrestling. I remember seeing such wrestlers as Lord Littlebrook, The Haiti Kid and Little Beaver when I was just a wee lad. A little less than a year ago, I worked a Lucha show in Chicago and was lucky enough to meet Max Mini. I remember watching him fly around the ring and it was then and there that I no longer saw midgets as comedic props in the ring, but true entertainers.

Thanks,

Chris”

Cheers, Chris. As I mentioned above and in last week’s column, Max Mini is a truly awesome performer and its cool that you got to meet him.

That’s it for the Inbox this week…keep on e-mailing me at the link below.


After you read this column, why not take a quick trip around the rest of the Pulse and some of the fine writing on offer…

Jed Shaffer reviews The Professional Wrestlers Workout and Instructional Guide.

Jeremy Lambert discusss what’s wrong with the WWE at the minute, as well as looking forward (at the time) to TNA’s Bound for Glory PPV.

Ian Burnside also discusses Bound for Glory, as well as chatting about the weekly goings on the wrestling world, including the forthcoming WWE Board Game, Jesse Ventura’s possible sit-com (no, really) and Taboo Tuesday.

Dan Hevia stands in for Eric S and discusses Bound for Glory, Raw and the lack of excitement that Taboo Tuesday is inciting in him.

Vin Tastic discusses the ‘E’s handling of the Ultimate Warrior DVD and takes more than a few shots at Mr. McMahon in the process.

InsidePulse own Diva, Bambi Weavil talks about how WWE misuses its talent and how Vinnie Mac is humiliating one of his most loyal performers on National television.

David Brashear channels his Destrucity, as he takes a look at the lamest stable in history, the one Warrior nation.

Phil Clark and JD Speich discuss the WWE’s treatment of the United States title.

Gordi Whitelaw produces a truly phenomenal column on the importance that context and history has to a wrestling match.

Reading is a good thing, people…so check ’em out.


Crap Wrestling Joke of the Week

Q. How many members of WWE Creative does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A. None – everybody knows that lightbulbs can’t work the WWE style.


It’s my birthday in a month and, not being ashamed to whore myself, feel free to check out my Wishlist at Amazon and send me some birthday joy.


So, onto the meat of this week’s column and the potential of Edge to lead the WWE into the next boom period, whenever that might occur.

Now, let’s get a couple of important points out of the way first.

I have never had any problems with Edge as a performer. In fact, he was one of my favourite wrestlers during the whole Edge and Christian-Hardyz-Dudleyz feud. After his split from Christian, Edge seemed to go from strength to strength, becoming part of the infamous SmackDown! Six that made Thursday nights (or Saturday nights as it was here in the UK) a pleasure to watch, as opposed to being tantamount to two hours of torture, as it is at the minute. From mid-2002 onwards, the Edgster was on a roll, teaming with Hogan and then Rey Mysterio and putting on matches that regularly approaching the ****+ point.As 2003 rolled around and WrestleMania XIX was on the horizon, Edge seemed to be a shoe-in to be the number one contender against whomever won the Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar confrontation. Then tragedy struck and Edge needed to take time out to get his neck surgically repaired, causing him to miss his six-man tag match at No Way Out 2003 and any subsequent title contention, not to mention the next 12 months of action. Make no mistake – Edge was the man.

Secondly, I couldn’t care less about the whole Matt Hardy-Lita-Edge love triangle. Be it a work or a shoot, it’s none of my concern, beyond the fact that it produced a couple of decent matches (and, really, other than the cage match, decent is all that they were). Certainly, his backstage shenanigans have no bearing whatsoever on my belief that Edge is no longer a main-event wrestler.

No, that is based on the fact that Edge seems to have lost his way ever since his return at last year’s Draft Lottery, spearing Eric Bischoff out of his boots on the road to, well…complete and utter mediocrity. Think this isn’t true? Let’s have a look at Edge’s PPV offerings since his comeback, shall we?

Backlash 2004 – Edge vs. Kane (*1/2)
Bad Blood 2004 – Edge and Chris Benoit vs. La Resistance (**1/2)
Vengeance 2004 – Edge vs. Randy Orton (**3/4)
SummerSlam 2004 – Edge vs. Chris Jericho vs. Batista (**)
Unforgiven 2004 – nothing
Taboo Tuesday 2004 – Edge and Chris Benoit vs. La Resistance (**1/2)
Survivor Series 2004 – Team Triple H [inc. Edge] vs. Team Orton (***1/4)
New Year’s Revolution – Elimination Chamber (***3/4)
Royal Rumble 2005 – Edge vs. Shawn Michaels (***)
Royal Rumble 2005 – Royal Rumble Match (***1/2)
WrestleMania 21 – Money in the Bank Ladder Match (***3/4)
Backlash 2005 – Edge vs. Chris Benoit (****)
Vengeance 2005 – Edge vs. Kane (3/4*)
SummerSlam 2005 – Edge vs. Matt Hardy (**1/2)
Unforgiven 2005 – Edge vs. Matt Hardy (****)

Is this really the same Edge who wowed us in 2002? Of all the PPV matches he had (and remember – these matches are, almost by definition, meant to show superstars at their very best), there were only 4 that surpassed the ***1/2 mark and, of those, only two was a singles encounter. The other (Survivor Series, Elimination Chamber, Rumble Match, Money in the Bank Ladder Match) involved such stellar performers as Chris Benoit, Shelton Benjamin and Chris Jericho. The top-rate singles matches he had involved one against Chris Benoit (and, again, who can really have a bad match against The Crippler?) and the awesome Cage Match he had against Matt Hardy at Unforgiven. Seriously, though, that is a shambolic record, considering this guy was regularly the highlight of the night on SmackDown!, which begs the question – was Edge the weak link in the SmackDown! Six era, or has his neck surgery f*cked him up more than he would like to admit?

Of course, it’s not all his fault. Nobody, least of all Edge, could have predicted Batista’s rise to the top of the wrestling tree, which no doubt f*cked his push up a bit. After all, Edge was the first person eliminated in the Chamber at New Year’s Revolution, because that was, without question, Batista’s match. He made a good recovery in the Royal Rumble, coming in at Number 7 and making it through to the Final Four but, there again, it was a two-man show, since nobody with any sense would have put money on any wrestler other than Batista or Cena to win the Rumble.

Another problem with Edge’s push is the whole Matt Hardy thing. I really like Matt – I think he’s a sound bloke – but let’s face facts…as long as he’s with WWE, he’s going to be midcard-4-life. Matt had a tremendous opportunity to recreate himself in Ring of Honor and TNA, but he was drawn back to the WWE over promises of making more money (presumably) than he would outside of Vince-ville. Now, I’m not accusing him of selling out, or anything like that, but he must be kicking himself. Is all the money in the world supposed to make up for being treated like a complete schmuck?

Never mind – it’s Edge we’re talking about. Mr. Money-in-the-Bank, remember, who has put his title shot on hold, to beat up his girlfriend’s ex. Why should Edge hold such hatred for Matt Hardy? The other way around makes sense, of course, since Matt is the wronged party here (in kayfabe terms, at least) and it’s only natural that he should want to tear Edge a new one. However, Edge has no reason to hate Matt – he’s already stolen his girlfriend and seen him sacked from the company, so he is solely on defence in this feud. If he really does despise Matt, then the suggestion should be that he only lured away Lita through his contempt for Hardy, rather than for any affection he might have for her, which would have been an interesting twist.

I have mentioned this before, but the be all and end all for evey single wrestler on the roster should be to get their hands on either one of the major Heavyweight Titles. So why does Edge consider the complete demolition of a midcard wrestler to be his main priority?

Even worse, at Taboo Tuesday, his priority is now to teach SmackDown! a lesson? Why? It makes no sense from any kind of perspective. Since his heel turn, Edge has never been portrayed as Raw’s franchise player, who will fight to the death to protect ‘his’ brand. Hell, a couple of weeks ago, Carlito even pointed out that most of the Raw roster wouldn’t shed a tear if Edge got fired. Even if Edge challenged JBL at Taboo Tuesday and we had to choose a stipulation, that would have made more sense, since it was the playing of JBLs music that lost him another number one contender’s shot.but teaming up with Chris Masters for no real reason (I can only assume that Snitsky is having his back lanced that night) to take on anyone from the SmackDown! roster is completely nonsensical.

So what is Edge going to do with his title shot? There doesn’t seem to be anywhere to slot him into the storylines. Kurt Angle, Shawn Michaels and, in all likelihood, Triple H are lining up to be next in the queue for Cena’s strap and I think most people would rather see any one of those three matches before they see Edge have his match. I know I would. Edge has until WrestleMania 22 to cash in his Money-in-the-Bank suitcase which, by my reckoning, gives him three chances (Survivor Series, Royal Rumble and New Year’s Revolution) since Edge just does not belong in Mania’s Main Event (which I guess will be Trips vs. Cena). With the current storyline and the Taboo Tuesday stipulations, it would seem likely that Edge will be involved in the Raw vs. SmackDown! match at Survivor Series (particularly if Matt Hardy is on the SmackDown! side – yawn). I would further say that whomever is champion at the start of the year will be champion come WrestleMania, because WWE storylines from the Rumble onwards always seem to revolve around the Rumble winner and their title shot, which is a good thing, but it does mean that the belt is in limbo for that period so Edge will either waste his shot, or he’ll take it and lose and that could be extremely hazardous to his career.

I don’t wish Edge any ill-will but, for a man who was genuinely heading into the stratosphere prior to his neck injury, this new, surgically repaired Edge seems to have lost his way a bit.

That’s all for this week…let me know what you think at the link below, and I’ll be back soon with some more musings.

Until the next time…farewell.