Edge, losing his edge?

[The D]

Ability-wise...2010 has been visible proof that Edge's best days are behind him. His latest injury almost killed his career, and he'll never be the same. He's still one of my favorite superstars, but he's definately past his prime, and I can see him retired in a few years. The 2000s were his decade of dominance.

But it's not like WWE creative has helped. Instead of making him a main-event babyface on SmackDown, they turn him back into the Ulitmate Opportunist on Raw. A played-out character role combined with an injured, aging body is the reason Edge is what he is today - an older, tired, shadow of what he once was. If you catched RAW last week you'd see a noticeable difference in how Edge looks, guant, loss of muscle, very pale etc.. So my question is, was his latest injury a sign that he should retire soon? Or does he have a few good years left in him?

 

[SpoodBeest]

Edge has been lackadaisical since his return at the Royal Rumble. That injury he received has slowed him down so much that it is questionable if he was 100% when he returned to wrestling. Ever since the Rumble I have noticed that Edge's in ring game has been severely diminished, and it's sad to say that it's probably not going to get any better. Edge is most certainly not past his prime, but he may be calling it a career early than he probably has planned.

His face run is what made him so boring to watch outside the ring as well. I have never heard Edge as cringe worthy on the mic as he was during his time as a face. That "SPEAR SPEAR SPEAR" chant was one of the most idiotic fan phrases i've seen be put to use, and all Edge could do was pathetically bring up how he was able to come back from an injury, and that Chris Jericho was going to pay for humiliating him, and so on and so forth. The man simply could not cut it as a face, for whatever reason. Whether it be that he was just so use to being a heel, he forgot how to use his mic skills in a face role or if he is just that damn horrendous in a face position. Either or the face run was as big of a letdown, as they get.

Then he got drafted to RAW, was quickly turned heel against WWE's most over faces in Randy Orton, and has been so lackluster ever since. His promo work, while not as bad as it was when he was a face is not anything like it was before he got injured in 2009. Hus matches are still a little meh, but again due to that nearly crippling injury he recieved and thats about it. Edge has been lackluster since his return and he may retire sooner that originally believed because of that horrible injury he had last year. At least that covers up while his ring work has been bland, can't use that as an excuse for his abysmal promo work he has been doing recently.

 

[Chill]

I would agree that the Edge we see now is not the same Edge we saw before he tore his Achilles tendon. When he returned at the Rumble he was out of shape (certainly by comparison with his appearance prior to his injury) and as the following weeks would demonstrate, he clearly lost a step in the ring. He is not as fast or as crisp as he once was, it's just now that we begin to appreciate how serious this type of injury is.

In saying that, I don't think he goes out there and embarrasses himself with his performances, it's probably just more noticeable with Edge because of how good he was before the injury. I do beleive that Edge's days of putting on some of the best matches could be over, through no fault of his own, it's just that the injury has affected his physical ability to do that - but he is still a very useful and talented member of the roster and let's not forget he was involved in an exciting triple threat last week on Raw which shows that he is still able to bring it. However, I feel that it becomes more apparent that Edge has lost a step when he competes in singles matches, as he has to do more (obviously) which in turn takes a larger toll on his battered body.

In many ways, I believe Edge could occupy the role Kane undertook the last few years of his career, i.e. an over veteran with name value who is able to work with and help put over younger names. Imagine an Evan Bourne or Sheamus picking up a few credible wins over Edge, I think it could do some good for legitimizing them with the fans as Edge has done a hell of a lot since 2005 that a win over him (a clean win especially) would be seen as a significant feat. Certainly, I think this would be the best way for Edge to see out the last few years of his career. I'm not saying Edge has become bad in the ring but he isn't the in ring performer he was last year even and that's why I think he'd now be best served helping build the stars of tomorrow.

As for his promo work, I think it's obvious he doesn't work well as a face (he never quite has either, his IC Champ face run against Randy Orton in 2004 is an example), he really struggles to garner the type of reaction that a WWE face requires and his latest face run leading up to 'Mania is evidence of this I feel. Not to mention he went up against arguably WWE's most over heel in Chris Jericho and still couldn't provoke the type of reaction I was expecting. Needless to say WWE realised Edge just isn't cut out to be the good guy and quickly turned him heel, which as his past work demonstrates, is clearly the role in which he is most valuable. However, even though he is heel now, he still isn't provoking the same kind of hatred he once was when he was dominating Smackdown not that long ago and I think that his promos have also lost a step in this regard.

Edge is still good, but his best days are now behind him and his latest injury has a lot to do with it...

 

[The Holy One]

I have been an Edgehead since 2001 but I have noticed that his ring work has diminished as of late, but I don't think this really has impact him as much as his stale persona. I was really behind him during his face run b/c I was interested to see him in a new way. I thought it was working out very well and if the Spear line is idiotic that didn't stop arena after arena from chanting everytime he lined up for the spear. For those who said he isn't effective as a face, they need to look at his work from 2001-2003. Edge was the second top faces on Smackdown next to the Undertaker. He held his own in fueds against Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle, and Brock Lesnar (a very credible list imo). So to say he can't be a good face, I disagree b/c I felt he should have stayed on Smackdown and became the face of Smackdown as Cena is to Raw and with the Undertaker out this could have happened. I think this heel turn has hurt Edge the most b/c it's the same persona that was wearing out before his injury. I hope that he becomes a face again b/c this is the only way I see Edge becoming relevant again.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

I believe that Edge said recently that he only had about two years left in him at most. But...that could have been another interview I was thinking of. Either way you're absolutely right. I don't think he's lost his edge on the mic or with his character. He could still be the "ultimate opportunist". But in the ring he's just not the same old Edge. I think they should really start considering a final feud for Edge and build into a great Wrestlemania fair well (not that I think every Mania needs to be a fair well episode like it's turning into). I just don't want to see Edge get injured again and have to end his career like that. It just wouldn't be right for a guy of his caliber.

Here's the thing. Before the PG era, Edge was awesome. He really was the "Rated R Superstar" and it worked well with John Cena's character too. There was a reason they put on one of the best feuds of the decade for the better part of a year. The two of them just worked. Edge was Rated R, and he wasn't afraid to do ANYTHING in the ring or in his promos. He was hardcore, he was edgy, he was sexual...there was nothing PG about his character. Honestly, is there a single Edge title run that didn't come from him taking advantage of a bad situation for the other guy? Money in the Bank wins, cheating, Vickie Guerrero...I mean the guy has never had a "legit" title win, but he's still one of the best in the business. Honestly, I think Edge still has what it takes to be the best, but the current product is just not what he needs to shine. He's always been best when there's no rules, and he can go out there and do whatever he wants. The guy had a live sex scene on Monday Night Raw because he won the WWE title. I mean...he was a man's man.

But there's no doubt in my mind that his most recent injury has set him back. I wasn't a far of his face push, because that's just not Edge. He's not a good guy. Never was, never will be. The crowd agrees, if you go back and look. He's usually one of the most over guys in the business, but his face run was just...bleh. Even going up against the most hated heel in Chris Jericho. The guy is still great. He's still one of the best in the WWE. But if he gets injured again, it's over. I would rather him go out on top before too many people start to realize he's past his prime. Edge has done it all, and they're just going to suck the well dry with him if they keep going. Another WWE title run just isn't going to work for the guy right now, because we've been there, done that, and it's just not his time anymore. Edge should do exactly what he's doing right now, and help put other guys over, before getting one last awesome feud and a retirement at Wrestlemania. It would be really cool if he could actually win the match, and there was no stupid "you lose, you quit" clause. And yeah, my pick for an Edge retirement match...John Cena or Christian (IF they can legitimize Captain Charisma). Edge and Christian, and Edge vs. Cena are arguably the high points of his career, and are the two guys he works best with (except maybe Matt Hardy, but I don't think they'll want to go there again). If it's John Cena, they could have one more match of their great feud. If it's Christian, the could have a great match and Edge could pass the torch to his old friend that still has many years ahead of him.

 

[Chardee Macdennis]

I never liked Edge, so I may be biased here, but yes, he's not what he used to be. I've always thought he was overrated on the stick, but very good in the ring. He hasn't been able to perform in the ring the way he once did and it shows. His mic work (to me) is still very bland, but at least I used to enjoy his matches even if i didn't pull for him. I though his entire run with Lita was extremly overrated and that was his best out of ring work to date. The guy is certainly still capable of putting on a decent match to get young talent over, but his days as a contender for the top belt are over. Sorry.

 

[Dave]

Ability-wise...2010 has been visible proof that Edge's best days are behind him. His latest injury almost killed his career, and he'll never be the same. He's still one of my favorite superstars, but he's definately past his prime, and I can see him retired in a few years. The 2000s were his decade of dominance.

But it's not like WWE creative has helped. Instead of making him a main-event babyface on SmackDown, they turn him back into the Ulitmate Opportunist on Raw. A played-out character role combined with an injured, aging body is the reason Edge is what he is today - an older, tired, shadow of what he once was. If you catched RAW last week you'd see a noticeable difference in how Edge looks, guant, loss of muscle, very pale etc.. So my question is, was his latest injury a sign that he should retire soon? Or does he have a few good years left in him?

First of all, I would urge you to consider that Edge’s last injury has put a lot of good athletes out of ther respective sports. It almost killed his career, yes. However, he has come back from it and is looking as though he is trying to recover some of the form that he had before the injury. It is going to be a long process but he will do it in time.

As for your question, I would say that Edge is probably in the peak of his career right now. I would say that he has at least 5 good years left in him before he probably decides to call it a day. For me, Edge is look just as menacing and dangerous as he ever did in the Ultimate Opportunist gimmick. However, it is the constant heel and face turns that is getting people on his back. He came back to the WWE as a face and within a few weeks, he had been made into a heel that really lacks some direction right now.

I mean, Orton looks as though he is going to have his hands full with Sheamus over the next couple of months and that takes Edge out of the equation and the established feud that he had before Orton was named number one contender. So, they put him in a match with Jericho, another man who is floundering for an alignment and then put them in Cena’s team!? I mean, I just don’t get it.

Honestly, Edge is a brilliant wrestler and a great actor. He can pull it all off and still has some juice left in the tank. He just needs the WWE to have some faith in him again and he will pay off once again.

 

[Miss Flawless]

I am a HUGE Edgehead. His work is great.

But sadly, you're right, Edge's Achilles Tendon is a huge factor of why he is not so good in the ring anymore. He has about 2 years left for him. (If I'm not mistaken, I think he said this himself, and he also said he wants to retire in 2 years.)

As for him being face, umm, I dont think he's that good. I read his book and he said that (for him) it's easier to just piss people off then to give them what they want. This is why he is such a good heel, because for him, it's just natural.

I think, if he works on being The Rated R superstar again, (rather than the Rated PG superstar) I think people will get interested in his storylines again. But of course this can't happen...cause WWE is PG. :S

I still think Edge is good, but he isn't THAT good anymore.

 

[TheAnimal]

It is a hard injury that impacts speed, agility etc and snapping an achilies like that can mean it is weaker than it was before so more prone to recurring injury. Maybe he is scared of reinjuring it. It could be he is holding back a bit. I mean he did return a couple of months ahead of schedule. I think thats a big thing to be honest with his ring work.

As the Orton feud got going, Randy got injured which hindered them a bit, then they never got momentum with it after that i think. Also, with the focus on Nexus and Sheamus, he has been sort of left behind on Raw so i think he could have been kept on Smackdown and had a feud with Christian, Kofi, even Big Show, Kane and Matt Hardy again. There seems to be more fresh options over there for him rather than Raw. But he could be reinvigorated with the team Cena thing.

With the face turn, Edge is too bland and geeky as a fan friendly face. He needs to do it Orton style and still be the Rated R superstar the same way Orton hasn't changed a bit from the Viper. A psychotic Edge would get louder pops than an Edge getting people to chant "Spear" all day long.

I think it is very premature to write him off because he isnt at his best. One of the things to remember with him is he is a safe hand to make champ if nothing else. He wont run the company into the ground and is an accepted main eventer. If WWE had an injury crisis, if he avoided it then i could see him as champ again.

Maybe he has gotten comfortable? He knows he is a main eventer, always high up the card and a contender for titles so he doesnt need to prove anything really.

 

[TJ Matics]

Yes,
He certainly has,
The main thing for me is his finisher,
His Spear has been lookin unrealistic at best,
That spear Skip did this past Monday put Edge to shame,
I love Edge and'll always be a fan of his,
But he says he only has about 2 yrs left in him,
&2B honest,
I'll be surprised if he makes it that long

 

[Find'er Woo'er Ryder]

yes i can c him retiring in a few years only because he gets injured every 6 months i started watching wrestling again in 04 and since then he has been out of action at least 6 times for 5 months or more. he is on of the best on the mic but only if he is a heel i love the ultimate opprotunist character and i hope to see him get back in the wwe title picture after nexus is over

 

[OutsiderDX]

Nobody wants to point out that Edge is off The Roids. That's why his appearence has been deemed sickly. There is no way, the lack of physique isn't affecting Edge out of character. I don't see how he can go out and perform with the confidence and ego.

Wrestlers are human beings and feel the same insecurites as the rest of us.

I equate this to dating a girl when you look your best. You went to the gym, tan, looking great. You feel good and confident and your performance reflects that. Then you breakup and a few years later you date the same girl, but this time you are pale, a lil bit of a gut. There is no way you can be as confident and perform the same.

 

[billm75]

Your body can't take this kind of punishment forever, and I thought I remembered reading an article here that Edge was talking about retiring in the next couple of years anyways. I still think he puts on quality matches, and does his part to hold up his end of the deal within the 'E'.

Is he as nimble and quick as he used to be? Absolutely not, but when you have the injuries that he's had, and your career in pro wrestling has been as long as his has, you can't expect him to give you a 25 year old's performance in a 40 year old's body. It's asking too much.

His wrestling lately seems to be less flash and "spots" and more methodical and thoughtful. It's different, but by no means is it bad.

Look at Shawn Michaels, he still gave his all right up until his defeat at WM this year, but he wasn't moving like the Shawn Michaels of the 90's/2000's.

I still enjoy watching Edge work, and would love to see him be able to stick around in some sort of public role after he retires from being in between the ropes.

 

[X]

Honestly Edge has bored me quite a bit for the last 3 years. The whole Rated-R, Ultimate Opportunist thing got old very quickly, especially in 2008 and 2009. He's been consistent in the ring still so no complaints there but his character as a whole has just bored me to tears for several years now, I was very happy to see him turn face again, but of course they fucked that up royally for no reason whatsoever and he's back to his lame heel shtick.

Edge is just nowhere near the same caliber of performer he was around 2001-2005 unfortunately, it happens after all of the injuries the guys had. He isn't losing his edge, he's lost it in my eyes. His character desperately needs an overhaul.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Everyone seems to agree that he's slowed down but it's probably not just from the Achilles heel injury; it's the cumulative effect of all the serious injuries he's had in his career. It's a shame, because he's not old.....and it's also a shame because he's a man who has paid his dues and the scope of the work he's done over the years surely guarantees him a spot in the Hall of Fame someday.

Unlike most everyone else, I prefer Edge as a good guy. He's always been someone the fans could get behind, especially when he was "divorcing" Vickie Guerrero. His injury interrupted their feud and it was a shame because it was entertaining as hell. Edge has always done well when playing off of someone; from Christian to Lita to Vickie, his characterizations are top notch.

We'll just have to enjoy him as long as we can because it doesn't seem his career is destined to last much longer..... at least, not at the high performance level we've come to expect of him.

 

[Uncle Sam]

I was a big Edge fan for a bit. Then I just... wasn't. He's not a bad wrestler - far from it. It just seems that there's a dwindling list of wrestlers that he has good chemistry in the ring with. He didn't even seem to gel well with fucking Christian in their match recently and I feel his feud with The Undertaker is very much overrated. His feud with Orton was totally and utterly unremarkable and I'm honestly not sure where he goes from here.

What is odd is that most people complain about how weak Edge's spear is. That is one thing I don't see. Looks fine to me. A move that's basically a rugby tackle is never gonna look powerful. Well, unless you've got James Storm to sell it by doing a flip.

 

[hardy8778]

edge is not his old self the face turns lately the hardcore version of himself is a real downer because if he was like that when he was first in the company he was this big loner type guy that would attack from the bleachers and now he is kust trying to be rated pg like the rest of the company

 

[wushady]

Nobody wants to point out that Edge is off The Roids. That's why his appearence has been deemed sickly. There is no way, the lack of physique isn't affecting Edge out of character. I don't see how he can go out and perform with the confidence and ego.

Wrestlers are human beings and feel the same insecurites as the rest of us.

I equate this to dating a girl when you look your best. You went to the gym, tan, looking great. You feel good and confident and your performance reflects that. Then you breakup and a few years later you date the same girl, but this time you are pale, a lil bit of a gut. There is no way you can be as confident and perform the same.

I agree with you a 100% about the roids I first noticed around Wrestlemania that his appearance was changing. Then at Fatal Four way when he came my friend looked at me and said he looks like a crackhead which he did. He's had some major injuries over the years. The Achilles being the worst that type of injury would slow anyone his age down.

I think he probably only has a few good years left, but I do think he'll be back on top before he retires. He obviously wont be in as good of shape as he used to be. He's a phenomenal athlete and one of the greatest wrestlers of his time. He may of came back too early, but he'll be on top again. He wont be in the same condition he was before, but I wouldn't count him out.

 

[WWE.IS.AWESOME]

Of course Edge is losing some steam. He has multiple injuries and it is slowing him down, especially with his last one. It probably shed years off of his career. Edge may be slowed in the ring a little bit, but his mic skills are as great as ever. He still has a couple good title reigns left in him.

How many years does he have left? Maybe 2-4.

IMO He isn't that much worse in the ring. And he is still in his prime. He really isn't THAT much worse all around.

 

[The Pagan]

I agree that Edge has slowed down since his last injury, but come on...Edge is still better than a lot of these other guys. I was hoping to see Edge (and some other guys) join Nexus and form a big heel stable like the nWo. I think that would just be awesome. Get the 7 Nexus members and a few veterans and maybe a few other new guys. Maybe it'll happen tonight

 

[Rated R's #1]

its going to hurt me to say this but it is true he is losing his edge. He has been my favorite superstar since the beginning no matter what he's done i have always liked him hes never actually been boring to me. But now in the ring he isn't looking so great. I am his number 1 fan and i will argue that with anyone but his edge is obviously gone for now in my opinion he came back what like 5 months ago give him time he'll be back but hopefully he can go back to the rated r cause thats when he was best if not i don't know. I certainly never want to see him retire but it will happen soon just hope i get to see him before that happens my favorite wrestler haven't even seen live

 

[Phoenix]

I think the problem here is that this is a thread that does get created in the events of a post-injury return and people deem it as something to grow concerned. When you see any other sportsmen coming back from a foot injury, it takes about a good 6 months to a year before they have the confidence to play without caution, this will apply to Edge as well. Match wise, he's being cautious because he doesn't want to aggrevate the injury and he wants to work in a safe environment so he can continue doing what he does best.

That being said, Edge has managed to pull out some punches, I thought he and Jericho pulled out a top match at Mania and he had a number of good matches on Smackdown before the Draft. Problem that Edge has is Creative not helping with his momentum, he was effectively forced back into action when his return was projected to be AFTER Mania, when you have that listed down for a return, you really have to take cautions when you're rushed months ahead of schedule. Not to mention that it seemed like that while Edge and Jericho was always fixed in for a feud, they didn't know how to book Edge as a face, booking him was too easy and the whole "Spear" chanting was part due to Creative lacking in ideas for turning Edge face when he's been forced back.

So forced back from injury early and lack of original and workable thinking...check!

While turning him heel works to an aspect to going into familiar territory, momentum has been lost from outside elements, firstly the Draft, Edge was fine on Smackdown, he didn't need to be on Raw and putting him back put things on the backburner. His feud with Orton was affected due to Orton getting injured, a second time these two feuding has been denied by injury and ended up being lacklustre. Since then he's been on this Nexus feud and from what I read of Raw (wasn't up to watch it), it seems that he's working himself into a nice situation, however he's just another guy involved with Cena vs. Nexus.

In the end, you look at it like this, rushed back from injury, lack of a workable face run, drafted, heel turn, feud opponent injured, stuck in a feud he's not truly part of, Edge's momentum since returning has heavily suffered because he's being thrown into different situations that don't work for his character. Despite a not-so-great face run, his feud with Jericho was great but it got affected by the Draft and Swagger taking the belt the following week. In the end, Edge is simply trying to work with what is being put in front of him and so far, he's had one good feud that was halted and it lost its main focus point (the World title) and his other was stopped due to Orton being injured. I wouldn't say it's Edge who's lost his edge since returning from injury, but just being booked poorly mixed with a run of misfortune.

 

[Donovan Viper]

This thread made me chuckle.
No offence to the original poster of it, but obviously they have never injured thier foot/ankle in any way shape or form.

Edge tore his Achilles Tendon, he is lucky to be even be running, let alone wrestling.
Obviously he doesn't want to aggrivate (sp) the injury, the build up of the spear could easily make him tear it again (crouch and just as he is about to run, he pivots on it which could easily aggrivate it and possibly tear again.)

Yes, it was a rushed return as no-one should have expected him to come back as early as he did, I was expecting Mania at the latest, even then a VT or a promo welcoming his return or something.
He is getting on in years aswell which doesn't help him.
Also have you noticed how much in-ring time he gets during tag matches?

All I am saying is, give the guy a break and just be greatful that he is still in the ring, some people take it for granted, he could have hung up his boots after that injury.

 

[President Evil]

Edge's best year in my opinion was 2006. The guy was on fire that year. He won the WWE championship for the first time in his career in that years Revolution ppv, had hot ass Lita with him, major legit heat from the fans, looked great, the guy was on a role.

But this last injury has taken so much from him, he looks thin, and the fans dont even seem to care he's there. I remember a few months ago when they had the Cutting Edge with Orton, it seemed like the old Edge was coming back, but nothing.

 

[Miss Flawless]

You realize it's the booking too, right? WWE has done nothing with him in the past month. Then, they decide to put him on Cena's team.

Then this week they decide to make EDGE the one to try to take Khali of the team. WTF? Seriously, if WWE wants the old Edge back, they have to do something interesting with him. Cause I really miss the old Edge and I'm a huge fan.