When I look back on wrestling’s greatest rivalries of my lifetime, The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin comes to mind. Austin vs. Vince McMahon, Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels, and few others as well. But, when discussing these iconic matchups, I always make sure to shoehorn John Cena vs. Edge from the mid-2000s in there as well. It was a rivalry that had it all – heated promos, solid matches with escalating violence, deeply personal undertones, and a clash in ideologies among the fan base. It was the star of tomorrow…the next torchbearer…in Cena juxtaposed against the rebellious nature of Edge. It served the younger audience by being a bout of pure good vs. pure evil. But, it held the attention of the more mature audience in how it played off the “smarter” fans and how they viewed Cena as Hulk Hogan 2.0, being forced down their throats. Cena sold a million t-shirts to kids. Edge sold a million t-shirts to the 20-year-olds like me.
But, to fully understand why this particular rivalry resonated so soundly with a certain generation of fans, we have to flip the calendar back a couple of years to 2004. Like many great wrestling rivalries, the wheels were set in motion far before the conflict came to a head.
It was clear from the moment Cena debuted in 2002 that he fit the bill for what WWE was looking for in a bona fide blue chipper. But, like a lot of young guys in the business, it took him a bit to truly find his lane. He started his freestyle ‘Doctor of Thuganomics’ gimmick and it started to get over with fans. He was edgy, and in 2003, it became apparent that he was going to be a part of the next generation of talent that would take the torch and run with it. In 2004, he captured the United States Championship after opening WrestleMania XX by beating Big Show. He was well on his way. There weren’t a lot of surprises on Cena’s road to the top. He was seemingly anointed as the next big thing upon his debut, and by WrestleMania 21, he had won his first WWE Championship.
Meanwhile, Edge felt a little more creatively aimless. And, we loved Edge! Edge had been a key component in his fair share of WWE’s most memorable moments up to that point in time. But, he struggled through a couple of injuries. He had a mediocre run as Intercontinental Champion in 2004, and he just couldn’t seem to take that next step to firmly entrench himself in the main event picture. He’d win the inaugural Money in the Bank Ladder Match, assuring that he’d get an opportunity to wrestle for a world title at some point within the following calendar year. But, at the time, none of us knew how truly exciting that concept would go on to become. He had a middling feud with Kane, but 2005 was highlighted by his vitriolic feud with Matt Hardy. That may have been the first time we saw what a truly royal shithead Edge could be. By the time we flipped the calendar to 2006, “The Rated R Superstar” was born.
Little did we know that that revolutionary Money in the Bank contract was ultimately what would intertwine the two paths together. But, the stage was set for one of WWE’s most fiery rivalries and we didn’t even know it at the time. Cena was nearly a year into his first WWE Championship reign and was starting to grow stale among the more mature fans, who criticized his “five moves of doom” and were bored with the cookie cutter good guy attitude. Cena was no longer the guy who pushed the envelope. He was a vehicle to sell t-shirts to kids. Meanwhile, Edge had paid his dues in the eyes of a large sect of the WWE fan base – he had earned some of the spotlight, and his act at the time was catching fire. When he showed up at the end of New Year’s Revolution 2006, cashed in his Money in the Bank contract, and defeated Cena for the WWE Championship, we were off to the races.
Cena won the title back just a few weeks later at the Royal Rumble. Should that match have taken place at WrestleMania 22? Sure. You can argue that. But, with the benefit of hindsight, I’d say things turned out alright with Cena taking on Triple H and Edge taking on Mick Foley. That ‘Mania ended up being my personal favorite. Still, I understand the gripe about it. The two would go on to meet in a triple threat that also involved Triple H at Backlash that year. The two main evented SummerSlam 2006 against one another. And, they faced each other in an unforgettable TLC match at Unforgiven that September. It was a rivalry that never seemed to get old despite the fact that they ran it effectively for eight months – it’s rare that programs today get that kind of mileage.
Crowds were white hot for that feud. To some, it was a story between who was chosen and who had scratched and clawed to get to the main event. To others, it was their superhero taking on a dastardly villain who would stop at nothing to foil the hero’s plans. But, that’s what made that feud so special – it had a little something for everyone. It might’ve meant something different to every wrestling fan, but the bottom line was that it meant something. It really was the rare lightning in a bottle program.
This spark is something missing in modern wrestling – what’s the closest we’ve come in recent years? Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn? New Day vs. The Usos? Are we counting Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes? To me, it’s one of the things that is lacking from today’s product. I yearn for that off-to-the-races white-hot license-to-print-money feud.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, second on Football & Other F Words, analyst for Stacking The Inbox, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, the NFL Draft, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.
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