After a devastating injury caused Edge to reach an early retirement from WWE back in 2011, it came as an enormous shock when he made a triumphant comeback at the 2020 Royal Rumble, returning to wrestle once again when it previously seemed like an impossibility. It has been just over two years since his second run with the company began, but has it been a success, failure, or otherwise? With his third WrestleMania since coming back in the offing, it is a good time to look back and debate about whether it has been good or not.
Edge’s Comeback Was Hampered By The Pandemic
The moment Edge’s music hit, and he made his entrance in the Men’s 2020 Rumble, will forever be etched in WWE folklore as one of the most emotional and sensational moments of all time. It is a moment that can be watched repeatedly, bringing joy every time at seeing someone realize that his dream of wrestling has been given a second chance. Seeds of a feud with Randy Orton began at the Rumble, as he eliminated his former Rated-RKO tag team partner. Their feud was jam-packed full of phenomenal promo work, making it one of the hottest programs going into WrestleMania 36.RELATED: Every Stable & Tag Team That Randy Orton Has Been Part Of, Ranked Worst To Best
Due to the pandemic causing there to be no fans in attendance for WrestleMania, it led to Orton & Edge’s Last Man Standing match to be changed into a backstage brawl around the Performance Center, but it ended up being slow, plodding, and painfully long, lacking the desired heat due to the lack of an audience. This was certainly a shame as the feud had been great. A rematch was set for Backlash, and it was billed to be the “Greatest Wrestling Match Ever”, which was a completely farcical tagline. However, Edge and Orton did their best in trying to reach unreachable expectations and put on a great match. Unfortunately, Edge was injured, ruling him out for the rest of the year.
Edge Has Had Some Great Main Events And Feuds
To that point, Edge’s return felt lackluster, largely due to not competing in front of an audience aside from his return. His second comeback took place at the 2021 Rumble, where he would win the match from the number one spot, which was a remarkable achievement, becoming one of few men to win the match twice. His character would become more of a tweener, with his desperation to be a champion again causing a darker side to come out, even though a face journey to reclaim a title ten years to the day that he relinquished his last, would have been easy to tell.
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His WrestleMania main event match against Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan was fantastic regardless of his character, as was his one-on-one match against Reigns at Money in the Bank. Those two matches took place in front of fans, and even in defeat, Edge looked great. Then came one of the better rivalries of the year, when he took on Seth Rollins in a feud that was seven years in the making. The pair had a trilogy of great matches, culminating in one of the best Hell in a Cell matches in recent memory.
The feuds with Reigns and Rollins were exactly what fans wanted to see – dream matches against the names of today. To follow up, Edge entered a feud with The Miz, which no one wanted to see. They did a fine enough job, but it wasn’t very inspired, even when Beth Phoenix and Maryse got involved, though it was nice to see Edge team up with his wife.
The Future Of Edge’s Comeback Run Doesn’t Look Promising
Edge recently turned heel, for little to no reason, with his character becoming something new. He now speaks in long monologues, and his entrance music has been changed for the first time in nearly two decades. These changes have seen some negative reception from fans, and it is clear to see why that is the case – it doesn’t feel necessary.
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Edge’s match with AJ Styles has the potential to steal the show, though, with Edge’s new character, it is unclear whether he will change up his in-ring style. Either way, there is still a lot that Edge needs to do. There are several big matches that could take place, but more importantly, one last World Title run feels like it needs to happen, especially after his last one was ended so abruptly. As a face, that journey and win would be great, but as a heel, it won’t hold the same emotion. Edge’s comeback has had good moments, some great matches, and big wins, but it has been coupled with underwhelming feuds, an inconsistent character, and a lack of proper momentum. Overall, his comeback has been good, but it could be so much better.
