That doesn't make Drew look as strong. He beat an established tag team clean in a handicap match and barely broke a sweat doing so. He's being booked like an irresistible force.

If he beats Rated RKO only because Orton turns on Edge, Drew didn't really beat Rated RKO.

I thought he meant Gallows/Anderson vs Rated RKO.

How does that help Drew get over as an Uber Face?

It doesn't, but at least it doesn't bury the good brothers and the rest of the tag division.
I understand they want to build Drew as an unstoppable force, but surely there are other ways to do so, aren't there?

Yes, this. It has nothing to do with Drew. Have him blast through some of the 24/7 chasers. Tag division is incredibly thin at the top already.

Gallows and Anderson absolutely suck and if AJ is hurt they have nothing for them anymore so, might as well make Drew look like an absolute monster by beating someone we know who has actually had some success instead of squashing local talent.

I get needing to protect edge with a top tier quality worker but they don't have any new matchups for a guy who's been out of the company for nearly ten years?

It seems like they're going to get to them since he signed a 3-year deal. This is a good first feud that already has some history behind it and obviously the first angle did really well.

There was some rumor that he was supposed to help Orton in a feud with the Club, which is why he threw AJ out of the Rumble. Edge and AJ were supposed to have more of an interaction in the match until AJ got hurt.

I know most fans are into the Edge return, but in gonna voice my opposition position- anybody coming back from a 15 year retirement should get smashed.

Could you imagine any other "sport" where they bring in an all star that retired in 2005 (or whatever) and they smoke the current talent? Of course not. It's absurd and buries the current roster.

Huge thumbs down.

George Foreman?

I'll do the same.

I say this as a big fan of Edge and him being my wife's favorite wrestler ever: I didn't see him on RAW but in the Rumble he looked like a midcard geek. I understand they want a marquee match-up for WM but how many people really want Edge vs. Orton as opposed to all the fresh programs he could've been inserted too?

Maybe more Ali than Foreman then.

Jordan?

Anyway, that's a stretch and I'm with Feldman.
Edge has lost his... edge.

Segway: was Kane in the Rumble?

segue

I enjoyed Edge very much in the Rumble and still think he exudes star power despite the fact that age has run his face over with an 18-wheeler. Didn't see Raw, so I don't know if that might have changed my opinion of what they're doing with him now.

He's only like four years older than Brock and still is in good shape. And he was always a very strong wrestler in kayfabe. This is like when Mario Lemieux came out of retirement or something, don't think it's that preposterous.

Never bought Edge as a main-event face

Feel like he was the OG Seth Rollins - great whiny, cheating main-event heel with an entourage to do his bidding for him

Agree about Edge having limited value as a main-event face.

I do think he's way, way better as a top heel character than Rollins is. Rollins can't promo worth a damn in either role.

Hopeful thinking that writers actually have a memory - but Rollins did try to Curbstomp Edge onto the MITB once - so a future feud could make sense there

I do think that Edge is best served right now to either be a cowardly, conniving heel or to be a face who is trying to carry out the inspirational story of overcoming a younger, stronger, sometimes larger heel. In either of these roles, he can mitigate or outright eliminate the booking concerns that Feldman set forth. I do agree that him being a straight-up worldbeater right now is not following the best philosophy.

It's difficult to realistically get the crowd to boo him right away after an epic return, so I'm pretty forgiving of them working within that reality, but you could turn him directly after Mania.

If they're going to use him sparingly, his deal has been rumored to be 25 appearances per year (every two to three weeks + PPVs), he'll probably be able to maintain his face status by not being overused.

I also agree that he's more of an All Star level guy than an MVP contender to put in baseball terms, but considering the only MVP type guys they've developed over the last 15 years are Cena and Reigns, there aren't that many guys that can return and feel like a massive deal, especially after almost a decade away. It's not like the 80's and 90s where you had a handful of names even your parents probably recognized.

You're at the point where your Hogans, Flairs, Austins, Rocks, Undertakers, HHHs, HBKs, Harts, Stings, etc...are all so old that they can only do so much. The next generation of guys still in their mid to late 40's, who can return and at least do something are...Edge, Cena, Lesnar., Goldberg....uhm....uhh

Maybe they could build stars that feel like big deals instead of relying on these guys in their 40's.

That's exactly the problem I was emphasizing and it's going to be even worse with the next decade going forward because with AJ already in his 40s, who's going to return in another 10-15 years...Roman? Seth? They certainly have the talent there now to make 5 or 6 household names over the next few years. And I don't think any of them are named Baron Corbin. Hopefully this is where they're headed with Drew at least.

How sexist, think of the Bayley comeback pop in 20 years.

Woah, what just happened with Asuka and Natalya:

"What's up *****! You wanna shoot on me?"

That was some stiff ****. If Natalya wasn't legit pissed, she was just really good tonight.