FanPost

Edge thought new stars were dumb and naïve. He thought wrong.

WWE.com

When I graduated from college, all I wanted was a full-time job. I found one with a marketing firm in North Atlanta. My job was to coordinate the schedules of part-time workers for Sony. They would help sell Sony products in electronics stores like Best Buy and Fry's.

It was low-paying, repetitive grunt work. Still, the other four graduates and I were stoked!

We were a part of a new team, there would be opportunities for advancement, and the work would give us valuable experience. We were a family, and our bosses cared about our development.

We believed we would be future leaders for a growing team. I even bought some new dress shirts and fitted pants for the job. I was always told to dress for the job you want, not the job you have.

The first day of work, we smiled and nodded throughout the entire orientation. Happy to be there! An employee told a story of how working there helped his career. We were slowly using the department's own buzzwords around the office.

We were a bit dumb and naïve. It took us a few months to see through it and accept the job for what it was: we would do the menial work so someone else could reap the benefits. There was little development to be had.

We were fine with that. We accepted our jobs for what they were, and eventually looked for opportunities that were just as beneficial to us as it were to our employers.

The day I resigned, my manager was incredulous as to why I would leave and told me she fought hard to get me hired. I don't know how surprised she truly was about me leaving. I don't know how long our company actually thought we would go along with what they were selling.

Edge is that company.

Judgment Day (sorry, The Judgment Day) was always built on a farce. Edge wasn't interested in assembling a group of people to help them reach their potentials. He assembled a group of next generation superstars to help Edge reach his potential of becoming WWE Champion again.

As sudden as Edge's heel turn and idea was, it made perfect sense. The clock has been ticking on Edge since returning in 2020. The man is 48 and looking great, chasing something he never truly lost and doesn't have all the time in the world to get what he's after.

He called out AJ Styles using Omos as a means of raising Styles' stock. Omos saw his partnership for what it was and turned on Styles. We thought Edge wanted to bring the "bulldog" out of Styles. Instead, Edge wanted to do Style's idea better.

Edge tried to use Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest the same way Styles tried to use Omos, thinking that teaming with a future of Hall of Famer was enough to satisfy an edict of elevating talent. The only thing Ripley gained was use of the word "peasant." Priest got a nice dress shirt out of the deal.

And I don't want to completely poo-poo that, because Priest has been crazy handsome since following Edge's style and dress code of business casual. Dress for the job you want, right?

Point is, Edge thought this new cast of WWE superstars would be a bit dumb and naïve. He failed in his thinking. Edge should've known Priest and Ripley would eventually see things for what they were and make a change.

So they fired their boss. I love it.

Edge's hypocrisy with building The Judgment Day was never directly stated, but is logical considering what Edge has dealt with since returning. He was getting further away from a championship and thought he found a shortcut through the newer stars, buzzwords, and a suit. That's smart storytelling.

Priest and Ripley were on board, all the way up until they weren't. Working with Edge wouldn't get them anywhere they wanted to go. Even after a win, they felt the time to make a change was now, not later. Again, that's smart storytelling.

I don't know where Finn Balor fits in this, but I am fascinated by him essentially replacing Edge. Is Balor the leader, or is this a group of equals? It's easy to see why Ripley and Priest ditched Edge, but what sold them on including Balor? I'm genuinely interested to get answers.

The turn was my favorite part of Raw. While we still need to hear from Balor, the turn made sense based on the story told so far and the motives of the characters involved. Even if it's random, it's a smart adjustment. And if it means more winning for Ripley and less usage of vocabulary derived from the 15th-century, I'm on board. I dig this story!

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Cageside Seats readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cageside Seats editors or staff.