ZenBlog

If recent reports are correct, we will see Christian Cage back in the WWE as early as the Royal Rumble and by no later than Wrestlemania.  While I can't wait to see Cage take the stage (I'm a certified peep), WWE has a feud with money written all over it if they wait until Wrestlemania.  Why?

Brother vs. brother.

Brother vs. brother is nothing new, per se.  In fact, they tried Edge and Christian on for size in a classic-style feud in 2001, but the ill-timed WCW invasion burst that one.  However, for the last few weeks, a feud that has been rattling around in my mind would throw a new twist into the classic younger vs. older or the case of the one jealous of all the success of the other.

At No Way Out, Edge takes the title off of Jeff Hardy after interference from Matt, setting up a Hardy feud.  During No Way Out, the promos start for Cage's return. They tease the identity, but people know who it is.  The only question is how.

When Wrestlemania starts off, they begin with the classic Money In The Bank match to start the show right.  Yet, on the last entry, nobody comes down the ramp.  After a minute, the cameras show the backstage area, with the wrestler laying motionless on the floor.  Pan out and you see Edge's boots, and then Edge. 

Odd, you say, because Edge is the champ and there's no reason for him to take place in the match...until you hear an off-screen voice tell Edge he'll see him after the match.  About 30 seconds later, the strains of Waterproof Blonde's "Just Close Your Eyes" hit the speakers, and the roof blows off as the Instant Classic makes his return home.  After an amazing match, Cage climbs the ladder and grabs the briefcase, ensuring a title shot within a year.

Backstage, we see Edge and Christian celebrating, when Edge starts  politicking Christian on how good it would be for Christian to head to Raw, where he could grab the World Heavyweight championship.  As Edge looks off elsewhere, the smile that Christian holds turns to a mysterious look of scorn, and the segment ends.  Later on, you see Christian come in on Edge as he prepares for his title match, and Christian promises he'll be there.

Fast forward to the match itself (I see HHH vs. Hardy vs. Edge).  After an intense match, Edge cheats and pins HHH, leading Hardy to snap and beat Edge with a foreign object.  At that point, Christian's music hits again and Christian carries the MITB briefcase to the ring, cashes it in, and pins Edge for the WWE championship.

We've set up the how.  But why?

On Smackdown, Christian reveals that, yes, he left WWE because he knew he was getting held down and wouldn't get a shot.  What he didn't know (but found out later through sources) was that Edge, being on Raw as well, saw his rise in 2005 and played backstage politics perfectly to ensure Christian would never get his shot, and furthermore was in Christian's ear telling him to go to TNA where he would get a chance.  He could forgive it once, but Edge was still trying to hold him back for his own selfish gain.

It does several things.  One, it gives Christian instant seriousness, which was lacking in his first run with WWE (even though I loved his character).  We see a depth of his character we haven't before. 

Second, it continues to set up Edge as the Ultimate Opportunist, playing the game to degrees we didn't even realize. 

Third, it brings Cage out of the shadow and actually gives him credibility against Edge, since he manipulated Edge into helping him get into MITB and then used his contract to take the belt off Edge.

The most important reason, though: I think there is real passion to be tapped there.  As much as I'm sure Christian loves Edge as a friend, I wouldn't blame him if there was any animosity there for how Edge was always the one talked about as a future champion while Christian was held back for being just a little smaller. 

With Cage as the aggressor, and with verifiable reasons, this has the potential to keep elevating and deepening Edge's character, finally give Christian Cage the credibility he has earned and deserves, and can be taken in so many different directions that they could still be feuding in some regard at year's end. 

Plus, how many rivalries do you know of that were born on the grandest stage of them all?

Edge's main-event talent is already proven.  Many of us have suspected Christian's had it all along, and maybe in even greater degrees than Edge, but was held back by a lack of size. 

Take a proven talent, a talent with huge potential that has yet to be allowed to be proven, and a good friendship and good backstory, and I think you have the potential to have an epic encounter when these two finally hook up for the feud that should have been in 2001.

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