[2006-10-02-WWE-Raw] Edge vs John Cena (Cage)

[Kadaveri]

This match doesn't get anywhere near as much attention as the Unforgiven match a few weeks before but I think it's almost as good.

 

My takeaway from watching these is Edge deserves credit for being a 'gimmick match specialist'. He's not a very good wrestler otherwise, but he has loads of good performances in cage/ladder matches it seems unfair to dismiss it as mere smoke and mirrors. Dude just suits the more chaotic environment.

 

Cena is working with an injured arm, which Edge immediately attacks right at the start with nastiness. Cena's selling is good. I've said this for other matches but I appreciate how Cena can sell a limb injury but doesn't take it to excessive levels where he acts like it's totally disabled when nothing's that bad's happened to warrant that. It's escape rules so Edge is mostly trying to escape the cage rather than beat Cena outright. There's a great spot where Cena catches Edge trying to climb out with one arm and bulldogs him off the top.

 

My favourite part of the match is when Edge is almost over the top of the cage but Cena is pulling him down fighting with all his might. Crowd is popping for every bit of the struggle until Cena manages to pull Edge back into the cage. Lita and Lance + Murdoch now interfering all over the place to help Edge win but DX run out for the save. Lovely bit of choreography when Shawn Michaels superkicks Murdoch into the cage door which hits Edge in the head just as he was about to escape. Ha! Cena hits Edge with the FU and gets the win. Crowd is almost 100% pro-Cena here and loudly cheers this whole climax.

****1/4

[ohtani's jacket]

I thought this was an excellent TV match despite the cage match gimmick being overdone in the eight years prior. Much better than their Unforgiven match from an ebb and flow standpoint. I didn't love the interference at the end, but the marines being so staunchly in Cena's favor meant that it finished on a high note regardless of how it got there. Overall, I thought Cena did an outstanding job of selling the injury and Edge was practically Savage-esque compared to his usual ham acting.