[2020-06-14-WWE Backlash] Randy Orton vs Edge

[KawadaSmile]

This might've been the best match of the week.

Orton and Edge work SUPER sneakily here, and you can feel the sense of struggle in basically every move. Everything is earned, instead of feeling like it was rehearsed. There are many nice, unique things here, and it FEELS like a big match, *almost* worthy of the meme-like moniker it had.

Randy is the clear star here for me, but Edge was great. Each strike he did felt vicious, and his selling for even a basic headlock, considering his injury, was masterful.

Every little detail made sense, and it just made for a terrific experience. The camerawork and commentary was on point, too.

I know some people don't like the piped in crowd noise, but it really didn't bother me much.

[ShittyLittleBoots]

Yeah... The whole marketing line sure did them dirty, but ignoring that, this was essentially exactly what you (or at least what I) would expect from a Edge vs. Randy Orton match, but it's stretched out to 40+ minutes & they add a shitload of more finishers n' kickouts to fill out that time. If you like the two, you probably liked this, but I can't say that I am a fan. By far the best stuff in the thing was the beginning minutes with Orton at first trying to embarrass Edge, and it eventually turning into Edge returning the favor by successfully baiting Orton a couple of times. That was a legitimately pretty charming lil' dynamic they got going for a little bit. All the finishers from other wrestlers they busted out; Angle Slam, Pedigree, Unprettier, 3 Amigos, a goddamn Rock Bottom, just felt cheap & them going "look at how smart we are pal!!!" -- not my kind of stuff to say the least. And then there's WWE adding the piped-in crowd noise, which was ridiculous, and then there's also the PC wrestlers crowd, of which chants make the whole thing feel extremely masturbatory. I totally get why some people loved this, but this was so not for me. *

[fxnj]

Obviously not the greatest match ever, but I enjoyed it more than any or almost any of the matches from 2010's NJPW getting pimped as the greatest ever, so that's good enough for me. The tagline actually made a lot of sense for me in how the match seemed like it was laid out around on the premise of maximizing every aspect they could in WWE's epic match formula while adding on some fun twists along the way. Very much a self-conscious epic, but one that was upfront about it and didn't insult your intelligence or waste your time. The grappling was a real highlight for how they had such smooth and tight execution and rewarded attention to detail in how they sold. Even Orton's usually boring chinlock looked awesome here. Despite the 45 minute runtime, the match never felt slow or like they were just throwing stuff out there to kill time. Both guys also on-point with their facials with Orton being deliciously evil and Edge looking like he's on the verge of death from how Orton destroyed his neck. I loved all the unique angles we got to see and the fan reaction shots. Even the tributes to other workers felt tastefully done and befitting of their characters, like Orton drawing from his heel mentor by doing the pedigree and Edge responding with the rock bottom in reference to Triple H's babyface rival. The fatigue selling down the stretch was great, too, and they worked hard to make every near fall feel earned. Really cool touch as well how there were no rules broken, including no closed fists, until the very end of the match,