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Views from the Hawke’s Nest: Edge: A Decade of Decadence Disc 1

September 14, 2014 | Posted by TJ Hawke
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Views from the Hawke’s Nest: Edge: A Decade of Decadence Disc 1  

Your host is Edge, completely in character.

Breakdown
September 27, 1998

Edge vs. Owen Hart
This was Edge’s first PPV singles match.

They went back and forth until Owen cut him off with a powerslam on the floor. Owen worked him over for a bit. Edge finally came back with an Electric Chair facebuster. Edge got a nearfall with a DDT. Owen got a nearfall with a bridging German. Owen went for the sharpshooter, but Edge reversed it into a small package for a good nearfall. A “fan” appeared on the floor. Owen caught Edge with a pinning combination: 1…2…3

The “fan” was Christian, who must not have debuted yet.

This was a professional wrestling contest. It was perfectly competent, but it was devoid of passion and emotion.
Match Rating: **1/2

No Mercy
October 17, 1999

Edge & Christian vs. The Brood (Jeff & Matt Hardy w/ Gangrel) [Ladder Match in the Terry Invitational Tournament]
$100,000 of monopoly money and Terri’s managerial services are on the line.

The referee kicked Gangrel out early on. Christian hit Jeff with a reverse DDT off the ladder. Edge was draped on a ladder, and Jeff gave him a swanton. Edge was climbing, but the Hardys threw a ladder at him. The Hardys picked up a ladder, but Christian gave the ladder a crossbody. Edge gave Jeff a downward spiral off the ladder. Sorry for the lack of pbp, the match does not have much of a story to get over beyond, they’re doing every spot. Matt hit Edge with a neckbreaker off the ladder. They did the ladder spot that broke Joey Mercury’s face seven years later. No one’s face broke here. All four men were climbing. Both ladders fell, and all four men crashed and burned. Edge knocked Matt off a ladder, who then knocked Christian and Jeff’s ladder over. Jeff managed to get on Edge’s ladder and knock Edge off. Jeff was eventually able to climb and get the money.

This was essentially a preview of the complete craziness that these four men would be a part of for the next two years. This did not reach the insanity of their future ladder matches, but it was incredibly entertaining in its own right. Historically, this is a very significant match. The multiple-person (ie: more than a singles) ladder match had not really been done yet (the Steve Austin vs. Shane & Vince ladder match does not count). This was tremendously innovative at the time.
Match Rating: ***3/4

Wrestlemania
April 2, 2000

Edge & Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz (Jeff & Matt Hardy) vs. The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray & D’Von Dudley)© [Ladder Match for the WWF Tag Team Titles]
Jeff hit Bubba with a Whisper in the Wind. Bubba came back with a Bubba bomb. Jeff went for a 450 on Bubba, but he landed on the ladder. OUCH. Christian hit Matt and Bubba with a plancha from a ladder in the ring to the floor. Edge speared Jeff off a ladder. Bubba gave Christian an Ace Crusher off a ladder. D’Von ate a double superplex from E&C off a ladder. Everyone ended up on a ladder. All the ladders fell down. Ouch. 3D to Edge. The Dudleys made a raised platform out of a table and two ladders. D’Von went to splash Jeff through a table, but Jeff got out of the way. Bubba powerbombed Matt through a table. Bubba set up a table on the floor next to a ladder. Jeff ended up doing a swanton through Bubba and the ladder. Matt and Christian ended up on the raised platform. Edge pushed Matt off and through a ladder. Edge & Christian grabbed the belts!

Fantastic match. WWE’s track record with group ladder matches that go for 15+ minutes speaks for itself at this point. This match was obviously a huge influence on these types of matches. These three teams would do this match even better at the following Summerslam and the following Wrestlemania.
Match Rating: ****1/4

Summerslam
August 19, 2001

Lance Storm© vs. Edge [Intercontinental Championship]
Woah, Edge was looking ab-tastic here.

Lance got control of the match and was going after Edge’s midsection. Edge got a small package for a good nearfall, but Lance went right back to work on the midsection of Edge. Lance got a nearfall with a Finlay Roll. Abdominal stretch from Lance. Lance went for a springboard move, but Edge caught him with a power slam. Edge a made a comeback. Edge got a nearfall with a Liger Bomb. Lance got the Calgary Crab, but Edge made the ropes. Edge then got a Calgary Crab of his own. There was a ref bump. Christian ran in and accidentally speared Edge. Lance superkicked Christian and pinned Edge: 1…2…NO! Edge hit Lance with the Edgecution: 1…2…3!

This was a rock-solid opener. The midsection work was logical and helped with the great spear nearfall. Edge was still finding himself as a singles wrestler at this point, but the pieces were obviously there.
Match Rating: ***

Survivor Series
November 18, 2001

Edge© vs. Test© [US & IC Unification match]
This was The Alliance angle blowoff show.

Test, Test, this is a Test. Edge got an early advantage. Test eventually cut him off with a hotshot and a lariat. Test worked him over after that. It went on for a bit, and it was not particularly interesting. Test eventually went for a top rope move, but Edge caught him with a dropkick. Edge then made a comeback. Edge avoided a pumphandle slam and then got a nearfall with an Edge-O-Matic. Test came back with a spear and pumphandle slam: 1…2…NO! Edge reversed a powerbomb attempt with a hurricanrana. Spear from Edge: 1…2…NO! Test avoided the Edgecution, but then got caught with the prawn hold: 1…2…3!

Edge and Test had decent chemistry, but they did not put together an interesting match. It was formulaic, and they couldn’t get the crowd to care until they traded nearfalls.
Match Rating: **1/2

Heat
February 26, 2002

Edge vs. Mr. Perfect
Perfect still looked to be in phenomenal shape.

Perfect cut Edge off early and then worked him over. Edge came back and hit an Edge-O-Matic: 1…2…NO! Edge then accidentally speared the referee. Perfect went to get a chair. The referee disqualified Perfect. Ooooookay.

I did not mind seeing a 2002 Perfect match, but this match did not contribute much to Edge’s story as a performer. I’m assuming Edge was either a big Perfect mark and wanted this match on the set, or WWE doesn’t like to pass up an opportunity to give Mr. Perfect’s family merchandise royalties.
Match Rating: *

Judgment Day
May 19, 2002

Edge vs. Kurt Angle [Cabellera contra Cabellera]
I have somehow never seen this match. Pumped!

Not much happened for a while, but then there was a holy fuck moment: Angle gave Edge an overhead belly-to-belly from the ring to the floor. Angle was in control for a while after that. Edge eventually caught Angle with an overheard belly-to-belly suplex and then made a comeback. Angle ended up on the floor, and Edge connect on a no-hands plancha. Edge seemed to hit his head hard on that one. Edge then got a good nearfall on a missile dropkick. They started going back and forth. Edge accidentally speared the referee. Angle then hit a German that Edge took a moonsault bump for. Angle got a chair, but Edge hit him with a spear. Edge hit another spear: 1…2…NO! Angle came back with a spear and an Angle Slam: 1…2…NO! Ankle lock from Angle, but Edge escaped. Angle got another ankle lock, but Edge reversed it into a small package: 1…2…3!

Angle attacked Edge after the match. Edge gave him the Edgecution. Angle still managed to run away from the barber. Edge chased after him backstage. Angle hit him with a garbage can. Angle said he would cut Edge’s hair. Angle went for the Angle Slam, but Edge reversed it into a sleeper. Edge put him to sleep and then shaved his head. Angle then cried. The true tragedy was that Angle suffered from a disease that prevented him from ever growing his hair back.

The first half of the match did not feel that important, but things picked up a lot after Edge hit the dive. The finishing sequence was Angle formula before Angle formula became too cliche, and it came off great here. This was a huge match for Edge’s career despite Angle seeming light years ahead of him as a performer.
Match Rating: ***3/4

Smackdown
May 30, 2002

Edge vs. Kurt Angle [Cage]
Angle was wearing amateur headgear so that it would keep his wig on.

Angle was in control after a spear attempt from Edge resulted in the latter crashing into the cage. Edge came back with a diving shoulder tackle, but then Angle came right back with three Germans: 1…2…NO! Edge’s forehead got busted open. Edge came back with an Edge-O-Matic for a nearfall. Edge then made a comeback. Angle tried to climb, but Edge suplexed him from the top rope. Edge went to climb, but Angle gave him a low blow and then a super Angle Slam. Angle was able to climb out of the cage after that. Hulk Hogan showed up and sent Angle into the cage repeatedly. The referee was knocked out so I guess Angle never officially won. Hogan put Angle back into the cage. Well, that was fucking stupid. There was commercial break.

Angle hit an Angle Slam: 1…2…NO! Edge avoided a spear and hit his own Angle Slam: 1…2…NO! Edge got an ankle lock, but Angle escaped. Angle was climbing out again, but Hogan opened the door so Edge could push Angle onto the door, crotch first. This is the stupidest psychology ever. Angle charged at Edge, but Edge dove off the top rope with a spear: 1…2…3

The crowd was into this a lot, but once Hogan got involved, the match went off the fucking deep end. This is TNA babyface psychology bullshit.
Match Rating: **1/2

Smackdown
July 4, 2002

Billy & Chuck© (w/ Rico) vs. Edge & Hollywood Hulk Hogan [WWE Tag Team Championships]
I’m counting on some classic homophobic WWE commentary for this one!

Edge and Hogan were running through the champs early on. Billy and Chuck eventually cut Edge off and then got the heat. Edge was on the floor, and Rico accidentally gave Billy a superkick. However, Billy recovered so quickly that it meant nothing. Stupid, amateur shit. Edge eventually escaped the beatdown, and Hogan made a big hot tag. Chuck caught Hogan with a superkick, which got the champs a nearfall. Hogan had to tag out to Edge. Rico interfered. Hogan decided to attack him and crotch him on the barricade. Edge caught Billy with a spear, but Chuck made the save. Chuck then ate a double big boot. They then hit successive Legdrops of DOOM: 1…2…3!!!

That was so much fun! They really could have gotten some more mileage out of Hogan if they kept in the tag division for a few years. I’m sure there were some political issues obstructing that, but it definitely would have been fun.
Match Rating: ***3/4

Unforgiven
September 22, 2002

Edge vs. Eddie Guerrero
Eddie cut Edge off fairly quickly with a tornado DDT from the middle rope. Eddie worked him over after that. Edge caught Eddie with a punch to the face, which looked to be the start of a comeback. However, Eddie managed to recover enough so that he was still in control. Edge came back with a couple of pinning combinations nearfalls and a neckbreaker. Edge then made the same comeback he was using all the time back then. Edge reversed a hurricanrana into a Liger Bomb: 1…2…NO! Eddie avoided a spear but then ate the Edgecution: 1…2…NO! Eddie got a foot on the ropes. Eddie avoided a missile dropkick and exposed a turnbuckle. Edge sent Eddie into that exposed turnbuckle though. Eddie managed to slam Edge’s face into the turnbuckle and then hit a sunset flip powerbomb and pinned Edge with a handful of tights: 1…2…3!

Eddie was so on point in this match. The only negative I can say about this match is that Eddie looked so much better than Edge in this match that I actually thought less of Edge after! It’s a slight exaggeration of course, but everyone needs to check out this match for Eddie’s performance.
Match Rating: ***3/4

Check out Edge in free matches!
Edge & Christian vs. The Hardys
Edge vs. Eddie Guerrero
The Rock vs. Edge & Christian
Edge vs. Ric Flair
Edge vs. Dolph Ziggler
Edge vs. Chris Jericho vs. Batista
Jeff Hardy, Edge, & Christian vs. The Dudleys & Al Snow
Edge, Randy Orton, & Kenny vs. Ric Flair, Triple H, & Shawn Michaels

Thanks everybody for reading! You can send feedback to my Twitter or to my email address: [email protected]. Also, feel free to check out my own wrestling website, FreeProWrestling.com. Check out a full/organized list of all the wrestling show reviews I’ve done at 411mania.

The 411: Two more discs to go!
 
Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]  legend

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TJ Hawke

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