Edge beat Randy Orton at WrestleMania in a thriller

5 Reasons Edge beat Randy Orton at WrestleMania 36

Edge faced Randy Orton in a last man standing match at WrestleMania 36. The feud leading into the match was one of the most heated this year and stemmed from Orton laying out his former friend after his return to the WWE.

Ad

The match itself was pretty brutal and saw both men fight their way from the ring to all across the Performance Center. The finish saw Edge take out Orton with a conchairto to finally vanquish 'The Viper'.

Ad

The match was solid and Edge winning was definitely the right decision. Why? Well, let's take a look.

Ad

Ad

#5 WWE need to recoup their investment in Edge

Ad
Edge signed a lucrative 3-year contract
Ad

Edge’s return at the 2020 men’s Royal Rumble showed us that he’s still got it after 9 years away from the ring. The Rated-R Superstar massively impressed upon his return, looking like he hadn’t lost a step in his time away.

Ad

Reports emerged soon after his debut which gave a peek at Edge’s WWE contract. According to the reports, Edge had signed a three-year deal with WWE on a massive $9 million a year deal. This is a lot of money and made Edge one of the top paid stars in WWE despite being a performer.

Ad

This is also a huge investment in WWE’s part. Edge has looked tremendous so far but WWE need to continue his momentum if they have to make good of the investment on him. The first step in that was to have Edge go over Randy Orton at WrestleMania in his first singles match since his return.

We don’t yet know when WWE will be back with live audiences but one thing is for sure, WWE did everything they could at Mania to keep Edge strong in the eyes of fans.

#4 It was the right decision at a time like this

Edge winning definitely provided a feelgood factor
Ad

With the entire world in the throes of the unprecedented Coronavirus pandemic, life has changed for most of us. Dark times call for escapist entertainment. At a time like this WWE have done their best to put over babyfaces at WrestleMania this year, whenever possible.

Edge and Orton’s feud has been the most heated in the lead up to WrestleMania 36. Orton viciously attacked Edge on the RAW after the Rumble, drawing an unprecedented level of heat from fans. Orton even laid out Edge’s wife Beth Phoenix with an RKO.

Although this storyline saw Orton do some of his best work in years, the right decision in the current circumstances was indeed letting the babyface win. A large section of WWE fans will be in self-isolation at home right now, including myself, and in my opinion, letting Edge overcome the odds and vanquish the person who attacked him so mercilessly worked perfectly. Edge can now move on to whatever's next for his WWE run.

Ad

#3 Edge needed to get his revenge

Edge finally paid Orton back in kind
Ad

The segment on the post-Rumble episode of Monday Night RAW where Randy Orton laid Edge out with a conchairto was one of the best on WWE television this year. Orton told Edge that he wanted to get Rated-RKO back together again and as Edge lowered his guard, laid him out with an RKO, followed by the aforementioned conchairto.

This wasn’t it for Orton’s heinous behavior in the lead up to WrestleMania. In a segment on RAW with Beth Phoenix, he laid out Edge’s wife with an RKO. Edge did get some revenge in the form of an RKO but he needed to win the match at WrestleMania to stamp his authority and he did just that.

It was a pretty emphatic win but what made it even better was the finish of the match. Edge laid out Orton with a conchairto in the same way that Orton had done to him in January to win the match. The finish was symbolic and capped off Edge’s revenge almost perfectly.

Ad

#2 Edge is a mainstream star and brings star power

Edge starred in the show Vikings (Courtesy: SI)
Ad

A lot of WWE’s current generation of Superstars don’t have the same star power and mainstream recognition as their counterparts from the 80’s and the Attitude Era. Superstars like The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan are household names.

Edge came up during the Attitude Era as part of one of its most popular tag-teams. He then went on to become one of WWE’s top stars during the Ruthless Aggression Era, winning multiple world titles along the way before he was forced to retire early. During his time away from WWE, Edge ventured into acting and pretty successfully so. He’s starred in a few movies but his best work came in television and is best known for his role in the TV show Vikings.

Edge has mainstream star power and with that sorely lacking in WWE today. Edge can bring eyeballs to the product and WWE need to protect that, which is exactly what they’re doing. Edge has been booked perfectly since his return.

Ad

#1 To protect Edge

Edge is one of the biggest stars WWE have right now
Ad

Edge’s last WWE match before his retirement in 2011 came at WrestleMania 27 against Alberto Del Rio. However, Edge shocked the WWE Universe soon after when he revealed that his neck injuries were forcing him to retire.

After months of rumors, Edge then made his return at the Royal Rumble earlier this year, putting in an impressive performance. One thing to remember is that a lot of younger WWE fans or newer fans may not really remember Edge in action, although they obviously would have heard of him. It was important that WWE booked Edge strong to show that the Rated-R Superstar is still at the top of his game.

The match with Randy Orton at WrestleMania, and especially the brilliant finish, will remind fans just who Edge is and just what he’s capable of when taken to the limit. We don’t yet know what’s in store for Edge in the rest of his current run, but he could not have asked for a better start to his return.

Meet the man who called CM Punk the softest man alive HERE

Ad
Edited by
Nishant Jayaram
 
See more
More from Sportskeeda