Pages

Saturday, April 16, 2011

As Edge's Door Closes, Will Christian's Window Open?

Christian & Edge together at Wrestlemania 27
By Kevin Hunsperger

We all know by now that Edge has retired and surrendered the World heavyweight title.  It's something that has shocked many fans and has completely changed the landscape of Friday Night SmackDown!  Immediately after the announcement Monday night fans began speculating who would replace the Rated R Superstar as the show's top face and carry on as world champion.

Naturally a lot of people have turned to Edge's former partner and best friend, Christian.  Hell, even I believe he's one of the most deserving competitors of holding the world title.  I don't count his two reigns as ECW champion as a world title reign, sorry.

Alberto Del Rio's Wrestlemania debut
But I have real concerns that Christian will fulfill that destiny and become champ.  He's overcome a major hurdle by winning the battle royal on SmackDown! to earn the right to face Alberto Del Rio for the title at Extreme Rules.  Whoever wins the ladder match on May 1 will be the new world champion and the successor to Edge.  It's a big responsibility.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, I don't think that Alberto Del Rio is ready.  He's got a heck of a future ahead of him.  But in my opinion he is not the man to lead the company, yet.  It may be his destiny to win the title, but he's not world champion material at this time.  And I don't blame Del Rio for this.  The WWE has done a mediocre job of building him as a credible challenger to the world title.

Christian on the other hand I feel is more than ready to "be the man."  Like Edge, he's spent years performing in front of WWE fans.  We've watched him grow and mature as a performer.  He's gone from a blood drinking vampire in the Brood to a legitimate contender for the world title.  He just hasn't had his chance to shine.  Now that Edge is out of the picture, will he get that opportunity?  I certainly hope so.  But I still have reservations.  WWE has seemed to invest a lot of time and effort into promoting Del Rio.

Christian in Wrestlemania 26's MITB match
I've read the the rumors that Vince McMahon isn't high on Christian.  Maybe that's why he's been held back all these years.  I think the fans want to see a Christian title run.  Even if he were just "a transitional" champion to help get Del Rio ready for a run.  Eventually, I think that can and will happen with him.  Again, I just don't believe that time is May 1.  I'd actually like to see Christian in more than just a transitional role, but the bottom line is I want him to have at least one run on top.  But the reality of the situation is Christian is nearly 38 years old, the same age as Edge (and me) and while he shows no signs of being done, I think many of us were surprised that Edge called it quits so soon.  The WWE needs to keep that in mind as many of the guys on the top of the roster are well over 35 years old.

This blog is probably a statement of contradictions.  My gut tells me that Christian, although worthy, will not win the title at Extreme Rules.  I hope I'm wrong.  At the same time, I recognize the E needs to get some younger talent into the main event picture too.  But with a Christian title run, at least it's someone who hasn't worn the belt 8 or 9 times already.  Bottom line, it's time for a change, and we'll have a brand new champion come May 1st, someone who's never been the world champion (in WWE) before.

1 comment:

  1. nice i will miss edge but i regonize christans 2 ecw title reins cus then ECW was a brand not another company

    ReplyDelete