Welcome to the latest edition of the column thats tougher than a two dollar steak and just as tasty, The No Smark Zone! This week we will delve deep into the Edge character and I will explain how ONE PERSON in the business paved the way for Edge to be as good as he is today. But before we get into that deep conversation, its time for the NSZ Fact Or Fiction!
On the panel this week we have the "Aussie Vanilla Thrilla" Brian Kendricks Biceps. Next up we have the most active member in the WWE section, the man who carries the WWE section on his back like Barry Horowitz carried the WWF, MikeRaw. Batting third we have the drunkest member of the IWF, next to me, Soulpower. And batting clean up, he smells like weed and bananas and banana weed, our apey redman, Monkeystyle. Oh yeah, and ME!
The reason for the push of Shelton Benjamin, Kofi Kingston, and Mark Henry has less to do with the comments of Michael PS Hayes and more to do with the larger societal aspect of a black man running for president of the United States.
Soulpower- Fiction:I think the reason for the push is that... Wait for it... They're working hard and are actually getting over! Benjamin has actually improved in his promos, and as seen these past few weeks, he's excelled in the ring on SD. Kofi has been getting over with the fans almost since his debut, and after years of trying, Mark Henry has actually gotten people to care about him. Simply put, these three men are pushed because they earned it.
Kaedon-Push. Its not all Fact or Fiction but I think there is a little bit of truth to it. The fact the matter is wresting has, and always will mimic society. Take for example the greatest heel in the past 5 years, JBL. I believe whole heatedly that if there werent so many people who hated the President, that gimmick would not have taken off so much. It was a very calculated thing and I think there is a bit of it in this as well. Especially considering there is NO upside to Mark Henry and very little with Benji. Yea, he can have a good match, but thats it.
Brian Kendrick's Bicep's-Fiction. The Hayes suspension and sudden push of the black population of WWE (minus Cena >_>) would be way too coincidental to me if it was unrelated. I know the whole Obama thing is important over there in the States (well, from what I can tell), but I really don't think it weighs as much into the pushing of superstars such as Shelton and Henry as the racism of Hayes does.
MikeRaw-Fiction. I used to think it wasn't because of the Michael Hayes this, but it really is. Now, that's not saying wwe is racist, I dont think they are at all. But to me, it's a fact that really, Benjamin and Henry,moreso Benjamin, aren't good enough to be main eventers, and wouldn't be, so wwe was just usin g them in the midcard (without being racist). But after this Michael Hayes stuff, they want to go out of their way to make sure pweople know they aren't racist.
Monkeystyle-Fiction. I don't think its either. Kingston is talented and popular, Benjamin is talented as well, but I also think this is another chance to see if he can step up. And Henry has been around for a while and is a believable champ on a C show.
The “insiders†seem to have been neutralized this year with a lot of big surprises such as John Cena returning, Punk winning/cashing in MITB, and Randy Orton going over at WM not being spoiled.
Soulpower-Fact:To be honest, it makes no difference. The "insiders" will continue to take guesses, and every once in a while they'll be right. But its safe to say that this year hasn't been one of their best when it comes to the "insider news".
Kaedon-Fact: And I have loved EVERY SECOND OF IT! I dont know what the WWE are doing in terms of keeping a leash on their people but its working. No one knew about Cena, no one knew Punk was cashing in or winning MITB. Or how about the draft? It has been a great year and I am looking forward to wrestling even MORE if this shit keeps up.
Brian Kendrick's Bicep's-Fact. WWE are trying to get the so called smarks off their game with their sudden decisions. They tried to start this with Y2J's return, but unfortunately, failed miserably. They have persisted though this year, and have thrown off all of the people who attempt to know the business.
MikeRaw-Fact. These gusy are idiots. Some stuff is true, but there's no doubt that the majority is just speculation on their part, and they are able to do it, because they always have an excuse. Example: If they say Cena will return, and he does, good for them, but it was a guess. But if they say Cena will return and he doesn't, they can always just use a lame excuse such as "Oh well, plans changed..."
They have definitely been put in their place
Monkeystyle-Fact. Can't argue. I don't think they've all been pleasant surprises, but they have been surprises none the less.
With the pushing of newer talent in the WWE, and the emergence of Edge as the number one superstar on the roster, the second half of the year is set to be as good, if not better, than the first half of the year.
Soulpower-Fiction:I'm a big fan of pushing new talent, but the fact that there is some talent out right now that would make the second half better (Edge, Kennedy, Cena, Umaga, and yes... El Randy Orton). I do believe that Shawn vs Jericho will end up being the best match of the year, but as a whole, I think the second half won't be as good as the first (Besides, nothing will top the moment of Flair v HBK at WM)
Kaedon-Fictionish. With John Cena out for who knows how long, Randy Orton out till at least November and SDs shitty main event scene due to the lack of ME heels (Edge being the only one), I dont see, right now, how the next 6 months could top the first 6. Could it happen? Yeah, it could, but I doubt it will.
Brian Kendrick's Bicep's-Fiction. The first ghalf of the year was great, and probably the best from a booking standpoint that WWE have pulled out in a long time. I really can't see the year getting much better. In fact, with the injury to one John Cena, I can onky see it getting worse.
MikeRaw-Fact. It's obvious. I mean, for years, we had the core of HHH, HBK, Y2J, Batista, Cena, etc, and they did the job fine, and entertained us, and for the most part, they would still do that if it was only them the last half of the year. So even without all the new guys the rest of the year would be decent. But now, with new guys like Kofi, Kendrick, R Truth, etc for the midcard, it really makes the whole card solid, to support the main eventers. WWE is also putting on some more entertaining matches with the midcard guys. And then you still have a great core of main eventers, with Edge, Taker, HHH, Batista, HBK, Orton, Cena and new additions like Punk, MVP and Hardy to the Main Event scene to put on great storylines. I'd also like to point out that the storylines have been much more in-depth nowadays, so the second half should be very good.
Monkeystyle-Fiction. You can't really say for sure. The WWE has this bad knack of ruining potentially promising situations. Short answer I know, but there really isn't much else I can give you.
The WWE did the right thing having Batista go over John Cena because it gives Cena a chance to come back for the rematch as the face, and because it doesn’t make him seem as “invincible†and not having him just steamroll through everyone.
Soulpower-Fact:The man that went over didn't have neck surgery a couple of days ago.. Yes, I would say the WWE did the right thing.
Kaedon-Absolutely 100% fucking FACT. Not only for THOSE reasons but for others. It gives Cena a carte blanche when he comes back. He could come back as either a face or a heel, which in and of itself is an enticing possibility. But indeed it also does show that unlike other wrestlers *cough*BretHart*cough* he is willing to lose despite his ego.
Brian Kendrick's Bicep's-Fact. Cena gets a lot of his boos from constantly winning. So having him lose is a good move, at least to me. Plus, him saying that he deserves another crack at Batista would be great. This could be a great way to build up to WM, when Cena makes his return.
MikeRaw-Fact. This gives Cena good time off. And as we all said, it allows him to return and depending on how the crowd reacts, it can be as a heel or face, which is very good. But ya, it was good, and again, shows that Cena will do the job if it's good, and this was good for business.
Monkeystyle-Fact, but not for those reasons. I think it gives Cena a chance to come back as a bitter, angry character bent on injuring Batista to even out the score. Whether this character is heel or face in indeterminable in my opinion. The people could just as easily love him as hate him. Anyway, that is my wishful thinking, I guess.
There really are no stars in the WWE right now that are ready to be “breakout stars†as opposed to late last year and early this year with CM Punk, MVP, and others “arrivingâ€.
Soulpower-Fact:There's some good young guys. THE Brian Kendrick, Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne, but none of them look like they'll get to the level of Punk and/or MVP (Except Bam Neely, that is).
Kaedon- FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACT- A good as all of the young guys are in the WWE, they are not ready to become main eventers, or get anywhere NEAR that level. Seeing "The" in a main event just seems fucking stupid to me and all of them really should be kept to the lower card until they progress more.
Brian Kendrick's Bicep's-Fact. No one is really standing out from the pack at the moment to me, and I can't really see any of the talent being a so called 'breakout' right now. Give it another six months and someone may stand out more, but for now, no one does.
MikeRaw-Fiction... Rhodes and Dibiase are going to be MASSIVE for this company. I think they will main event by next Summerslam (they already are sorta)... they have the look of good heels, and very good in the ring. Dibiase is great on the mic too, and Cody will improve. Those are the biggest two future stars right now, bbu tin the future, I think Kodfi will be a big player as well. So I say fiction.
Monkeystyle-Fact. Maybe its just because I am not paying as close attention as I usually do I really don't see anybody in the new faces who really impresses me. Its unfortunate but you don't need huge stars in every crop of new guys. Wrestling needs middle guys too.
Well theres another Fact or Fiction in the books. Thanks to everyone who helped out. This was the best one yet despite ape mans short answers :clap_1:
The Man Who Made Edge
I was going to get to this last week but the review of Summerslam went long. There is one person, in my not so humble opinion, that has paved the way for Edge to be where he is today. Make no mistake, Edge, right now, in pretty much every aspect of his game, is bar none the best superstar in the WWE today. And his character is superbly unique. He’s not the average megalomaniac a la HHH. He’s not the usual pretty boy, a la HBK. And, truth be told, way back when on the Lords Of Pain forums, the first of many forums I was BANNED FROM, there was a guy there who loved Edge. Had Edge in his sig doing a spear and whatever. He went on and on about how Edge was this visionary character and how he was going to be the shit in the WWE. I didn’t see it. This was back like, well it had to be 6 or 7 years ago at least (fuck am I old) so while it wasn’t apparent to me then, it was apparent to some.
But there was one person, whom I believe, set the stage for everything Edge does today. He played the same mesh of chicken shit, cocky, tough, cool, and evil genius. He started out, working the territories, like so many wrestlers of his era and learned from the likes of Roddy Piper, “The Grappler†Len Denton, Jake “The Snake†Roberts, and many other greats. He’s always been considered a “small†guy which, along with a truly LEGENDARY drug habit, was the thing that I think truly fucked him over. I am, of course, talking about Raven. Scott Levy, his real name for the 5 of you who didn’t know, was Edge before Edge was Edge. And I will even give props to his work in ECW, a fed that almost everyone who knows me, knows I hate with an all consuming passion. But the fact of the matter is, Raven was allowed to get his most creative stuff in while he was in ECW.
As I said before, Edge is pretty much a hybrid of everything every heel has been, outside of being an “evil foreigner†like Nikolai Volkov. But you know how Vince feels about those Canadians….>_> But if you look at the greatest heel gimmicks in the history of the business, Edge uses part of them in his character. And the only person to come CLOSE to this in the past was Raven. When Raven first started out, he said he was greatly influenced by Ric Flair and The Fabulous Freebirds. Working heels. The guys who did all the “work†in the ring, especially when it comes to wrestling people like Magnum TA, Lex Luger, The Road Warriors, and Nakita Koloff. (and for those who don’t know those names, all you need to know is that all of them were very limited in the ring) Raven took the attributes he thought made them great, and came up with Scotty The Body. A cocky, young, insolent fuck who had a pretty average body, so add a little more Flair in there. And immediately when he got into a territory with some traction, Portland Championship Wrestling, Roddy Piper gave him what was essentially a chicken shit gimmick. He told Raven that he was going to be an announcer and that when they come up on TV, they were going to show him picking his nose, and he would then be called “Snotty†The Body. The fans could now make fun of him and he, like a champ, sold the fuck out of it. And while on commentary he didn’t play a pussy, he backed down from the fans and, of course, the huge faces, all the time.
Then you look at Edge when he became a heel with Christian. And then you look at Edge when he turned heel and faced Matt Hardy. While he didn’t play a bitch, he played a cowardly, chicken shit, slimy heel. And much like Raven did when he was Snotty, he milked the crowd for everything they had.
Raven really started to become this hybrid heel© when he got to ECW though. And let us be clear about this, if there is one person who turned ECW around, its not Paul Heyman, its Raven. Heyman was going down the Russo road of “there are no faces and heels, everyone is a tweener†bullshit. Raven came in and made him realize that there needs to be clear faces and heels for there to be heat so that you can sell tickets and make money. There was no doubt that when Raven was a heel in ECW, he was a straight up heel. When he started out there, he started out his hybrid heel Raven persona as a megalomaniacal prick who pushed around a poor kid who just wanted to be his fan (Stevie) while at the same time he would play a chickenshit who would run away when the time was right or throw Stevie to the wolves, or the Pitbulls as it was at times.
Similarly, when Edge became a mega heel, like when he started out towards the Money In The Bank at WM 21, the whole thing was being predicated on being pretty much the same character. He was completely obsessed, a la HHH and Flair, with being the World Champion and he would do it by any means necessary. If that meant going into Money In The Bank vs. 5 other guys (a bad ass move) and then taking advantage of a wounded guy who was about to win to become know as “The Ultimate Opportunist†(chickenshit) that’s what he would do. I really don’t think anyone else before them had done it.
But the biggest, and most shining comparison I can draw between these two comes in their biggest and most memorable angles. Both of them displayed there greatest propensity to be hybrid heels AAAAAAAND they both drew on the most basic of heat. When Raven was feuding with The Sandman in ECW, he was getting a bit of a face reaction because, and its been proven over and over again through the years, no matter how good of a heel you are, the fans will start to like you. Its happened with everyone who is great, and will always continue to happen. But Raven was getting some face pops and he didn’t like it so he, Paul E, and Sandman came up with the most basic, simple thing you could think of, stealing a guys wife. Raven turned the blue collar, working class heroes wife, and turned her basically into a whore. I mean at least she looked like one, and from what I hear in the back she acted like one. Not only did Raven take his wife, HE STOLE HIS KID TOO! That’s heat! Fuck I wish that kinda shit would happen again. Because, while I wasn’t a fan of the product as a whole, they hit that shit out of the park. I saw the reactions and it was a deep down “Oh you motherfucker†kinda thing.
Much like Raven did, only, not for real, Edge stole Matt Hardy’s girlfriend (while he was married). Now this wasn’t part of the story, but Matt was gone, building up heat on the indys, and the crowd eventually got hip to it. Now, I don’t know for sure if Edge had a hand in bringing Matt Hardy back, but I think he did because I believe Edge to be a very smart guy. He may be a girl stealing, back stabbing, steroid taking motherfucker, but he is as smart as they come. And he should be because he’s been in the business for a long time and he has had time to learn. So Matt comes back and they get into this feud that, just as Raven did back in ECW, plays off of this most basic of heat. Anyone, on some level, can identify with the concept of having the one you love essentially turned against you, especially if, God forbid, it happened to you the way it happened to Matt. And, lets be honest people. I don’t know how it was in ECW because I didn’t see them in terms of the entire scope of everything, but I’m sure Raven became the player in ECW as it made Edge a player in WWE. He wasn’t quite THE GUY after that feud but he became, at the very least, a legit semi-main eventer after that feud. In fact, I really don’t believe his cashing in the MITB later that year would have meant as much without that feud, and that heat, therefore his career doesn’t mean as much.
I guess what it boils down to is simplicity. For as long as I can remember in college career I was told “K.I.S.S.â€, which is not rock n roll all night and part tee ev-a-ree day. No, its Keep It Simple, Stupid. At the very core of these two men, they follow a very simple methodology. And that is almost always what works. Raven espoused this very thing in one of his shoots, all of which I have seen and heard many times over, and I recommend all of those who want to get a damn good insight into psychology, the business, and who really invented the snot rag gimmick in ECW, watch or listen to those shoots! Raven did what Edge is now doing long before he did. And one can only imagine what would have happened, had Scotty not gotten into drugs.
On the panel this week we have the "Aussie Vanilla Thrilla" Brian Kendricks Biceps. Next up we have the most active member in the WWE section, the man who carries the WWE section on his back like Barry Horowitz carried the WWF, MikeRaw. Batting third we have the drunkest member of the IWF, next to me, Soulpower. And batting clean up, he smells like weed and bananas and banana weed, our apey redman, Monkeystyle. Oh yeah, and ME!
The reason for the push of Shelton Benjamin, Kofi Kingston, and Mark Henry has less to do with the comments of Michael PS Hayes and more to do with the larger societal aspect of a black man running for president of the United States.
Soulpower- Fiction:I think the reason for the push is that... Wait for it... They're working hard and are actually getting over! Benjamin has actually improved in his promos, and as seen these past few weeks, he's excelled in the ring on SD. Kofi has been getting over with the fans almost since his debut, and after years of trying, Mark Henry has actually gotten people to care about him. Simply put, these three men are pushed because they earned it.
Kaedon-Push. Its not all Fact or Fiction but I think there is a little bit of truth to it. The fact the matter is wresting has, and always will mimic society. Take for example the greatest heel in the past 5 years, JBL. I believe whole heatedly that if there werent so many people who hated the President, that gimmick would not have taken off so much. It was a very calculated thing and I think there is a bit of it in this as well. Especially considering there is NO upside to Mark Henry and very little with Benji. Yea, he can have a good match, but thats it.
Brian Kendrick's Bicep's-Fiction. The Hayes suspension and sudden push of the black population of WWE (minus Cena >_>) would be way too coincidental to me if it was unrelated. I know the whole Obama thing is important over there in the States (well, from what I can tell), but I really don't think it weighs as much into the pushing of superstars such as Shelton and Henry as the racism of Hayes does.
MikeRaw-Fiction. I used to think it wasn't because of the Michael Hayes this, but it really is. Now, that's not saying wwe is racist, I dont think they are at all. But to me, it's a fact that really, Benjamin and Henry,moreso Benjamin, aren't good enough to be main eventers, and wouldn't be, so wwe was just usin g them in the midcard (without being racist). But after this Michael Hayes stuff, they want to go out of their way to make sure pweople know they aren't racist.
Monkeystyle-Fiction. I don't think its either. Kingston is talented and popular, Benjamin is talented as well, but I also think this is another chance to see if he can step up. And Henry has been around for a while and is a believable champ on a C show.
The “insiders†seem to have been neutralized this year with a lot of big surprises such as John Cena returning, Punk winning/cashing in MITB, and Randy Orton going over at WM not being spoiled.
Soulpower-Fact:To be honest, it makes no difference. The "insiders" will continue to take guesses, and every once in a while they'll be right. But its safe to say that this year hasn't been one of their best when it comes to the "insider news".
Kaedon-Fact: And I have loved EVERY SECOND OF IT! I dont know what the WWE are doing in terms of keeping a leash on their people but its working. No one knew about Cena, no one knew Punk was cashing in or winning MITB. Or how about the draft? It has been a great year and I am looking forward to wrestling even MORE if this shit keeps up.
Brian Kendrick's Bicep's-Fact. WWE are trying to get the so called smarks off their game with their sudden decisions. They tried to start this with Y2J's return, but unfortunately, failed miserably. They have persisted though this year, and have thrown off all of the people who attempt to know the business.
MikeRaw-Fact. These gusy are idiots. Some stuff is true, but there's no doubt that the majority is just speculation on their part, and they are able to do it, because they always have an excuse. Example: If they say Cena will return, and he does, good for them, but it was a guess. But if they say Cena will return and he doesn't, they can always just use a lame excuse such as "Oh well, plans changed..."
They have definitely been put in their place
Monkeystyle-Fact. Can't argue. I don't think they've all been pleasant surprises, but they have been surprises none the less.
With the pushing of newer talent in the WWE, and the emergence of Edge as the number one superstar on the roster, the second half of the year is set to be as good, if not better, than the first half of the year.
Soulpower-Fiction:I'm a big fan of pushing new talent, but the fact that there is some talent out right now that would make the second half better (Edge, Kennedy, Cena, Umaga, and yes... El Randy Orton). I do believe that Shawn vs Jericho will end up being the best match of the year, but as a whole, I think the second half won't be as good as the first (Besides, nothing will top the moment of Flair v HBK at WM)
Kaedon-Fictionish. With John Cena out for who knows how long, Randy Orton out till at least November and SDs shitty main event scene due to the lack of ME heels (Edge being the only one), I dont see, right now, how the next 6 months could top the first 6. Could it happen? Yeah, it could, but I doubt it will.
Brian Kendrick's Bicep's-Fiction. The first ghalf of the year was great, and probably the best from a booking standpoint that WWE have pulled out in a long time. I really can't see the year getting much better. In fact, with the injury to one John Cena, I can onky see it getting worse.
MikeRaw-Fact. It's obvious. I mean, for years, we had the core of HHH, HBK, Y2J, Batista, Cena, etc, and they did the job fine, and entertained us, and for the most part, they would still do that if it was only them the last half of the year. So even without all the new guys the rest of the year would be decent. But now, with new guys like Kofi, Kendrick, R Truth, etc for the midcard, it really makes the whole card solid, to support the main eventers. WWE is also putting on some more entertaining matches with the midcard guys. And then you still have a great core of main eventers, with Edge, Taker, HHH, Batista, HBK, Orton, Cena and new additions like Punk, MVP and Hardy to the Main Event scene to put on great storylines. I'd also like to point out that the storylines have been much more in-depth nowadays, so the second half should be very good.
Monkeystyle-Fiction. You can't really say for sure. The WWE has this bad knack of ruining potentially promising situations. Short answer I know, but there really isn't much else I can give you.
The WWE did the right thing having Batista go over John Cena because it gives Cena a chance to come back for the rematch as the face, and because it doesn’t make him seem as “invincible†and not having him just steamroll through everyone.
Soulpower-Fact:The man that went over didn't have neck surgery a couple of days ago.. Yes, I would say the WWE did the right thing.
Kaedon-Absolutely 100% fucking FACT. Not only for THOSE reasons but for others. It gives Cena a carte blanche when he comes back. He could come back as either a face or a heel, which in and of itself is an enticing possibility. But indeed it also does show that unlike other wrestlers *cough*BretHart*cough* he is willing to lose despite his ego.
Brian Kendrick's Bicep's-Fact. Cena gets a lot of his boos from constantly winning. So having him lose is a good move, at least to me. Plus, him saying that he deserves another crack at Batista would be great. This could be a great way to build up to WM, when Cena makes his return.
MikeRaw-Fact. This gives Cena good time off. And as we all said, it allows him to return and depending on how the crowd reacts, it can be as a heel or face, which is very good. But ya, it was good, and again, shows that Cena will do the job if it's good, and this was good for business.
Monkeystyle-Fact, but not for those reasons. I think it gives Cena a chance to come back as a bitter, angry character bent on injuring Batista to even out the score. Whether this character is heel or face in indeterminable in my opinion. The people could just as easily love him as hate him. Anyway, that is my wishful thinking, I guess.
There really are no stars in the WWE right now that are ready to be “breakout stars†as opposed to late last year and early this year with CM Punk, MVP, and others “arrivingâ€.
Soulpower-Fact:There's some good young guys. THE Brian Kendrick, Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne, but none of them look like they'll get to the level of Punk and/or MVP (Except Bam Neely, that is).
Kaedon- FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACT- A good as all of the young guys are in the WWE, they are not ready to become main eventers, or get anywhere NEAR that level. Seeing "The" in a main event just seems fucking stupid to me and all of them really should be kept to the lower card until they progress more.
Brian Kendrick's Bicep's-Fact. No one is really standing out from the pack at the moment to me, and I can't really see any of the talent being a so called 'breakout' right now. Give it another six months and someone may stand out more, but for now, no one does.
MikeRaw-Fiction... Rhodes and Dibiase are going to be MASSIVE for this company. I think they will main event by next Summerslam (they already are sorta)... they have the look of good heels, and very good in the ring. Dibiase is great on the mic too, and Cody will improve. Those are the biggest two future stars right now, bbu tin the future, I think Kodfi will be a big player as well. So I say fiction.
Monkeystyle-Fact. Maybe its just because I am not paying as close attention as I usually do I really don't see anybody in the new faces who really impresses me. Its unfortunate but you don't need huge stars in every crop of new guys. Wrestling needs middle guys too.
Well theres another Fact or Fiction in the books. Thanks to everyone who helped out. This was the best one yet despite ape mans short answers :clap_1:
The Man Who Made Edge
I was going to get to this last week but the review of Summerslam went long. There is one person, in my not so humble opinion, that has paved the way for Edge to be where he is today. Make no mistake, Edge, right now, in pretty much every aspect of his game, is bar none the best superstar in the WWE today. And his character is superbly unique. He’s not the average megalomaniac a la HHH. He’s not the usual pretty boy, a la HBK. And, truth be told, way back when on the Lords Of Pain forums, the first of many forums I was BANNED FROM, there was a guy there who loved Edge. Had Edge in his sig doing a spear and whatever. He went on and on about how Edge was this visionary character and how he was going to be the shit in the WWE. I didn’t see it. This was back like, well it had to be 6 or 7 years ago at least (fuck am I old) so while it wasn’t apparent to me then, it was apparent to some.
But there was one person, whom I believe, set the stage for everything Edge does today. He played the same mesh of chicken shit, cocky, tough, cool, and evil genius. He started out, working the territories, like so many wrestlers of his era and learned from the likes of Roddy Piper, “The Grappler†Len Denton, Jake “The Snake†Roberts, and many other greats. He’s always been considered a “small†guy which, along with a truly LEGENDARY drug habit, was the thing that I think truly fucked him over. I am, of course, talking about Raven. Scott Levy, his real name for the 5 of you who didn’t know, was Edge before Edge was Edge. And I will even give props to his work in ECW, a fed that almost everyone who knows me, knows I hate with an all consuming passion. But the fact of the matter is, Raven was allowed to get his most creative stuff in while he was in ECW.
As I said before, Edge is pretty much a hybrid of everything every heel has been, outside of being an “evil foreigner†like Nikolai Volkov. But you know how Vince feels about those Canadians….>_> But if you look at the greatest heel gimmicks in the history of the business, Edge uses part of them in his character. And the only person to come CLOSE to this in the past was Raven. When Raven first started out, he said he was greatly influenced by Ric Flair and The Fabulous Freebirds. Working heels. The guys who did all the “work†in the ring, especially when it comes to wrestling people like Magnum TA, Lex Luger, The Road Warriors, and Nakita Koloff. (and for those who don’t know those names, all you need to know is that all of them were very limited in the ring) Raven took the attributes he thought made them great, and came up with Scotty The Body. A cocky, young, insolent fuck who had a pretty average body, so add a little more Flair in there. And immediately when he got into a territory with some traction, Portland Championship Wrestling, Roddy Piper gave him what was essentially a chicken shit gimmick. He told Raven that he was going to be an announcer and that when they come up on TV, they were going to show him picking his nose, and he would then be called “Snotty†The Body. The fans could now make fun of him and he, like a champ, sold the fuck out of it. And while on commentary he didn’t play a pussy, he backed down from the fans and, of course, the huge faces, all the time.
Then you look at Edge when he became a heel with Christian. And then you look at Edge when he turned heel and faced Matt Hardy. While he didn’t play a bitch, he played a cowardly, chicken shit, slimy heel. And much like Raven did when he was Snotty, he milked the crowd for everything they had.
Raven really started to become this hybrid heel© when he got to ECW though. And let us be clear about this, if there is one person who turned ECW around, its not Paul Heyman, its Raven. Heyman was going down the Russo road of “there are no faces and heels, everyone is a tweener†bullshit. Raven came in and made him realize that there needs to be clear faces and heels for there to be heat so that you can sell tickets and make money. There was no doubt that when Raven was a heel in ECW, he was a straight up heel. When he started out there, he started out his hybrid heel Raven persona as a megalomaniacal prick who pushed around a poor kid who just wanted to be his fan (Stevie) while at the same time he would play a chickenshit who would run away when the time was right or throw Stevie to the wolves, or the Pitbulls as it was at times.
Similarly, when Edge became a mega heel, like when he started out towards the Money In The Bank at WM 21, the whole thing was being predicated on being pretty much the same character. He was completely obsessed, a la HHH and Flair, with being the World Champion and he would do it by any means necessary. If that meant going into Money In The Bank vs. 5 other guys (a bad ass move) and then taking advantage of a wounded guy who was about to win to become know as “The Ultimate Opportunist†(chickenshit) that’s what he would do. I really don’t think anyone else before them had done it.
But the biggest, and most shining comparison I can draw between these two comes in their biggest and most memorable angles. Both of them displayed there greatest propensity to be hybrid heels AAAAAAAND they both drew on the most basic of heat. When Raven was feuding with The Sandman in ECW, he was getting a bit of a face reaction because, and its been proven over and over again through the years, no matter how good of a heel you are, the fans will start to like you. Its happened with everyone who is great, and will always continue to happen. But Raven was getting some face pops and he didn’t like it so he, Paul E, and Sandman came up with the most basic, simple thing you could think of, stealing a guys wife. Raven turned the blue collar, working class heroes wife, and turned her basically into a whore. I mean at least she looked like one, and from what I hear in the back she acted like one. Not only did Raven take his wife, HE STOLE HIS KID TOO! That’s heat! Fuck I wish that kinda shit would happen again. Because, while I wasn’t a fan of the product as a whole, they hit that shit out of the park. I saw the reactions and it was a deep down “Oh you motherfucker†kinda thing.
Much like Raven did, only, not for real, Edge stole Matt Hardy’s girlfriend (while he was married). Now this wasn’t part of the story, but Matt was gone, building up heat on the indys, and the crowd eventually got hip to it. Now, I don’t know for sure if Edge had a hand in bringing Matt Hardy back, but I think he did because I believe Edge to be a very smart guy. He may be a girl stealing, back stabbing, steroid taking motherfucker, but he is as smart as they come. And he should be because he’s been in the business for a long time and he has had time to learn. So Matt comes back and they get into this feud that, just as Raven did back in ECW, plays off of this most basic of heat. Anyone, on some level, can identify with the concept of having the one you love essentially turned against you, especially if, God forbid, it happened to you the way it happened to Matt. And, lets be honest people. I don’t know how it was in ECW because I didn’t see them in terms of the entire scope of everything, but I’m sure Raven became the player in ECW as it made Edge a player in WWE. He wasn’t quite THE GUY after that feud but he became, at the very least, a legit semi-main eventer after that feud. In fact, I really don’t believe his cashing in the MITB later that year would have meant as much without that feud, and that heat, therefore his career doesn’t mean as much.
I guess what it boils down to is simplicity. For as long as I can remember in college career I was told “K.I.S.S.â€, which is not rock n roll all night and part tee ev-a-ree day. No, its Keep It Simple, Stupid. At the very core of these two men, they follow a very simple methodology. And that is almost always what works. Raven espoused this very thing in one of his shoots, all of which I have seen and heard many times over, and I recommend all of those who want to get a damn good insight into psychology, the business, and who really invented the snot rag gimmick in ECW, watch or listen to those shoots! Raven did what Edge is now doing long before he did. And one can only imagine what would have happened, had Scotty not gotten into drugs.
