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On SmackDown Live's historic 1000th episode, WWE Hall of Famer Edge hosted a 'Cutting Edge' segment, which featured Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair as its two guests.
The most important takeaway from this segment, according to many fans and critics is how Becky Lynch slammed and overshadowed Edge on the microphone.
However, when one pays close attention to the events that unfolded during this heated back-and-forth, it becomes clear that there is a hidden message somewhere inside this segment.
Thanks to the SmackDown Live creative team & the 'Rated-R Superstar' Edge himself, I have the opportunity to point out and expand a very interesting observation during SmackDown Live 1000, which might get you thinking deeply too...
#1 Not all wrestling characters have a happy endings
As previously mentioned in '5 Things You Might Have Missed From SmackDown Live 1000', we learned that there is now a distinct difference between Edge in character, and Edge in real-life after retirement.
In real-life, Edge is happily married to Beth Pheonix. He hangs around with his best pal, Christian, and even has a stable life after retirement.
However, it was not until SmackDown Live 1000 we realized that the 'character' Edge was in a completely different boat altogether. We now finally know what 'really' happens to Edge's character after retirement.
Edge as a 'character' gets a divorce from Vickie Gurrero & indirectly burns all of his friendships in the business because of his attitude. Nowadays, the 'character' Edge states that he sits in loneliness, full of regrets, staring at the titles for which he cheated & sacrificed so much.
Edge as a 'character' does not fare well after retirement, proving that taking shortcuts and backstabbing other people to get to the top has its own drawbacks in the longer run. This was a completely different and unexpected U-Turn from what we have assumed about the character from all the random appearances on WWE TV after retirement, excluding SmackDown Live 1000.
This was a hidden meaning embedded in-between the comprehensible layers of this segment, which to me reveals that not all wrestling characters have happy endings.
#2 Becky Lynch indirectly falls into the same trap
Edge reminiscences about his own experience and tried to explain to Becky that she is falling into the same dark path just like him.
When you watch closely, it is hinted upon that deep-down inside, Lynch does understand what Edge is talking about, except the ultimate irony of the whole segment is that she does the same thing that Edge would have done in his prime.
She buries Edge on-air and asks him to return to the back, and not hurt his neck on the way out. The audience doesn't negatively react to her verbal cues, proving that the same events repeat all over again.
Props to Becky Lynch for being one of the best things about WWE in the latter half of 2018.
It all comes off as 'cool' and 'edgy' in the heat of the moment, but after Edge's answer to what his character has been up to since retirement, it is important to ask: Will Becky Lynch's 'character' fall into the same dark trap after her glory days are over in the future?
This segment has given us a lot to think about when you inspect it closely.
#3 What Edge's character arc tells us about WWE characters in general
The whole segment was not only about Edge, but it also served as a reminder of other WWE character-arcs in general.
Charlotte Flair's role in her feud against Becky Lynch is restricted to being a babyface with a moral code. Charlotte is not the one who is provided with verbal comebacks each and every week. On the other hand, it is Becky Lynch who comes up with all the 'cool' lines and it is her who gets cheered by the fans not because of her morality, but because of her anti-hero/cool heel response to something that is right to stand for.
Think about that scenario for one second, and what does that remind you of?
For me personally, the Becky-Charlotte feud is reminiscent of the Stone Cold-Bret Hart feud leading up to WrestleMania 13 way back in 1997.
Bret Hart was the clean-chit babyface with a moral code whose character description didn't necessarily include verbal comebacks for the sake of the moment. Therefore, Stone Cold Steve Austin was the complete opposite of Bret Hart, possessing certain characteristics just like Becky Lynch two era's later.
That leaves us with Edge, who is the most important crux of this article. As mentioned before, Edge's character reminds us of a legend who realized and regretted the depth of his bad decisions only after his career was cut short (This is not in reference to Edge in real-life).
That leaves us with one important question: Is there any possibility of Edge putting forth another chapter in his career, which might end it all on a better note? This one last chapter doesn't necessarily means that an in-ring return is the only answer. Either that or will things remain as it is?
Do you think there is potential in WWE exploring a Becky-Edge dynamic/potential storyline in the future? Leave your thoughts in the comments section and stay tuned for more...
