Last week, I gave my thoughts on Edge’s retirement. Before I discuss today’s business, I just wanted to thank those of you who offered your own heartfelt responses on here for your comments and kind words after what was a very emotional Monday night for Edge and all of his fans.
With that said, it is now time to move forward and take a closer look at the World Heavyweight Championship picture over on SmackDown! that was the main focus on the blue show after Edge vacated the Big Gold Belt in the middle of the ring during his final farewell.
After an interesting and actually eventful 20-man battle royal to decide Alberto Del Rio’s new opponent at Extreme Rules — where Justin Gabriel eliminated fellow Corre member Wade Barrett and Michael Cole sacrificed his weaselly self to take a 619 from Rey Mysterio to get back in the good graces of Jack Swagger — we were left with Christian vs. the All American American as the final two combatants for that coveted title shot.
Christian found a way to get Swagger over the top rope despite Del Rio’s interference, and even though I wasn’t surprised by this outcome, I still found myself to be thoroughly satisfied with the result.
Maybe it’s because Booker T did a solid job on commentary bringing to light the idea (or fact) that Christian has been underrated for years yet he has the desire to win, or perhaps it’s because simple, logical booking actually showed up on a wrestl… — I mean, sports entertainment — program.
While both of those elements certainly contributed to my satisfaction, there is a third ingredient that really did the trick: the best man won.
You see, this victory wasn’t about trying to get the fans who feel emotionally displaced by Edge’s retirement to root for Adam Copeland’s best friend. And regardless of their post-match interaction, it wasn’t about WWE feeling like they were forced into giving Christian the nod because he is nothing more than Edge’s proxy.
Instead, this win was about Christian and Christian alone.
It was about Christian working his ass off for TNA during TNA’s best years, then coming back to WWE and working his way all the way back up through the ranks from ECW when it was on its last legs to the big-time. It was about Christian spending the past few months building up the Edge-Del Rio title match at WrestleMania by working all the matches Edge couldn’t — and even winning some of them — making everyone clamor for a Triple Threat by the time WrestleMania approached.
Simply put, this is about WWE finally pulling the trigger on Christian because he proved — over the course of the past few years and months and weeks and days — that he was the best man for the job.
And we’ll see soon enough — both literally and figuratively — if Christian gets to finish that long and arduous climb to the top…
Around the Pulse
Since this was a SmackDown-centric column, I’d be remiss if I didn’t give shout-outs to Kelly Floyd for reporting on SmackDown! and to M.C. Brown for thinking about it.
Meanwhile, Blair A. Douglas has quickly become my favorite TNA Wrestling recap specialist, mainly because he’s the only person I know who will say that which needs to be said about last night’s Lockdown PPV. His “critics are raving” and “Interinactivity” segments from last Thursday’s Impact edition are also amazing reads.
If that’s not enough to satiate your appetite for all things TNA, the aforementioned M.C. Brown has put more thought than you ever would into Orlando, Florida’s favorite wrestling roller-coaster ride! Well, you know, at least since Melina was last in town. (Sidenote: Shout-out to Val Venis and EXW! EXW! EXW!)
It’s been ten years since the last episode of WCW hit the airwaves (I’ll never forget Shane McMahon showing up on Nitro), and three of our esteemed columnists — Mike Gojira, Steven Gepp, and James Alsop — have churned out some of the best retrospective commentary you will find anywhere. Mike’s Stomping Ground looks back at some incredible moments; Steven’s View From Down Here pin-pointedly compares WCW to TNA; and over the past two weeks, James’ Keynotes and Keyholds offerings have been nothing short of brilliant. You can read Part 1 here, and Part 2 here.
Last but certainly not least, there was No Chance that I O’Really wasn’t going to mention some other columns in this non-Kue’s Korner of my world, otherwise I’d be risking a Backlash of Rager-like proportions … so check out Joel Leonard, Rhett Davis, Jonah Kue, Pulse Glazer and Chris Sanders, respectively!
That’s all from me this week — CB.
