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Edge shows true grit on SmackDown in first match on blue brand in more than a decade
By Ryan Satin
FOX Sports WWE Analyst
Edge put his grit to the test this week in his first match on SmackDown in more than a decade, and "The Rated-R Superstar" didn’t disappoint against a new opponent.
The winner of the 2021 men’s Royal Rumble match defeated Jey Uso in the main event for the right to become the enforcer in the Universal Title match between champion Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan on Sunday at Fastlane.
Since returning, Edge has wrestled three matches against Randy Orton (someone he has history with) and appeared in two Royal Rumble matches, but this was his first opportunity to wrestle a singles match against a new opponent in WWE.
The thing that stood out most to me in his battle with Jey was the fact that Edge appears to be working smarter than ever before.
His in-ring approach to offense is clearly more methodical these days, almost as if to show he studied the game while away and now knows how to take advantage of people’s weaknesses even better than before. It makes him look like a true grizzled veteran.
No, not like James Drake and Zack Gibson. I’m talking the Harley Race kind of grizzled vet.
Edge’s selling was also masterful this week.
The art of selling for your opponent is something Edge used to talk about on his now-defunct podcast, and it seems, to me, that he wants to show the current generation of stars how much it can add to a match when done to perfection.
I honestly think it’s brilliant how the 47-year-old wrestler, who returned from what was thought to be a career-ending injury, uses our knowledge of that to make each moment of impact on his body appear to be chipping away time from his in-ring career before our very eyes.
It almost feels like we can see that he has one of those health gauges above him, like the kind in video games, and he’s using every last bit of his red energy bar to eke out a victory.
His whole vibe feels very old-school now, in a good way, which helps bring out the gritty aura he’s looking to exude.
As for Fastlane this weekend, I still think Edge screws Daniel out of a victory, forcing Bryan to fight for an opportunity to be added to the Universal Title match at WrestleMania.
In my article last week about SmackDown, I mentioned the idea of Daniel possibly wrestling someone on night one of WrestleMania for that opportunity, in a WM30-like manner, and that theory has started to gain steam on social media among other fans.
This discussion has led some people to throw out the idea of Daniel wrestling Edge on night one, with the winner facing off against Roman on night two for the Universal Championship. To me, however, this option seems less likely since it would practically render the Royal Rumble pointless if Daniel wins.
On the other hand, if Daniel loses in that scenario and Edge is still in the Universal title match at Mania (which I expect him to be), wrestling the night before lessens the pop he’ll receive from WWE’s first live audience in more than a year for his match against Roman.
Jey Uso seemed like a better choice for Daniel to go through to me, since he deserves a big match at WrestleMania for the work he has put in these past few months, but readers were quick to point out last week that Daniel already had to do that in order to get his title shot at Fastlane … so this same thing happening at Mania would feel repetitive.
Either way, I’m of the belief that Daniel should have to go through someone else besides Edge to get that WrestleMania opportunity. I also think the Universal title match at "The Show of Shows" ultimately becomes a Triple Threat match.
Additional thoughts on SmackDown this week:
— Regardless of what you think of Apollo’s change in character, one thing you cannot deny is that the man is owning every second he’s on-screen and making this new gimmick feel important.
This week’s sit-down interview segment between Big E and Apollo, as well as their brawl afterward, was a perfect example of that.
The same can be said for E, who is showing the angry side of his persona that everyone repeatedly said they wanted to see out of him and making it feel authentic to his character. The IC champ’s passion and anger are channeling through him on the microphone in a way we haven’t seen from the 35-year-old before, and it feels like the start of a new era for the wrestler.
Apollo and Big E have helped elevate this feud in a way that has made their upcoming match Sunday one to keep an eye on. Because they both have something to prove, it feels like this could turn out to be a memorable affair.
It also wouldn’t surprise me to see Crews defeat E at Fastlane for the Intercontinental Championship in order to set the stage for a rematch at WrestleMania.
— Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn also seem to be setting up a possible singles match at WrestleMania, and I couldn’t be more excited about the potential of what those two can do there since we all know they’ll make a valiant attempt to steal the show.
If Owens jumps off the pirate ship at the Raymond James Stadium, like he’s been promising to try, it’s only appropriate for Sami to be on the receiving end of that iconic moment due to their never-ending feud/friendship.
Plus, both performers are at the top of their game right now, and it would be a shame if they weren’t in singles matches on either night. KO had a stellar program with Roman Reigns over the past few months, and Sami Zayn’s conspiracy theory character is a weekly highlight of SmackDown.
To me, the only other SmackDown star doing character work on the level of Sami Zayn is Roman Reigns.
Let’s hope the Helluva Kick to Owens on SmackDown this week leads to what we all want: a match between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn at WrestleMania.
— My only real criticism for SmackDown this week was the decision to have Dominik Mysterio lose an impromptu match just minutes after getting a surprise win for his team over The Street Profits.
I realize Dominik is still growing as a performer, but I don’t understand who gains from a situation such as this.
The Street Profits are one of the most dominant tag teams in all of WWE.
A win over Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford in that manner should’ve been treated like a big deal in order to help the Mysterios look like a stronger team, Dominik especially.
Instead, however, Mysterio’s big win felt utterly pointless to me by the end of the next match because of his loss to Otis, and not one competitor seemed to be better off than before when it was over.
Ryan Satin is a WWE analyst for FOX Sports. Satin previously appeared on FS1's "WWE Backstage" and founded Pro Wrestling Sheet, where he broke countless news stories as editor-in-chief.
