The Problem With Edge That No One Wants To Talk About
If "classic" and "buried" are the two most misused words in modern wrestling discussions, "star" is up there with it.
It has become a nebulous term thrown at any wrestler positioned in or around main events and major title scenes.
Drew McIntyre is a star, we're told, because he has thrived as WWE Champion on Raw under the most trying circumstances (he has), delivering weekly excellence in dystopian video conference stadium that eats lesser performers up (he has). Randy Orton is a star because he's a 14-time World Champion. Big E is a star because he's finally on the singles run fans always wanted, unhindered by The New Day's tag division trappings. Winning the Royal Rumble made Bianca Belair a star in one night. Karrion Kross must be a star: just look at him!
Throw any word around too often and it starts losing its meaning. "Star," like "classic" and "buried", is treated with such flippancy that the definition (within the context of wrestling) has become muddied.
McIntyre is tremendous, and deserves every drop of critical acclaim that comes his way, but Raw lost 19.2% of its audience in 2020 (far higher than the cable average of 8%) and he spent around eight of those 12 months on top.
Orton has lots of shiny titles and accolades but stopped being a genuine draw in 2008.
Big E is in the exact same spot he occupied seven years ago: Intercontinental Champion.
As talented as they are, Belair and Kross' pushes began five minutes ago. They haven't had a chance to drive business yet.
That's what a wrestling star is: somebody who pushes business in the right direction. None of the above can say that at the moment. Perhaps they'll be able to in the future, but not now. Arguing that this doesn't matter because "the brand is the draw" doesn't stack up either: the brand, WWE, has lost around 50% of its audience in five years.
As far as Roman Reigns and Edge go, there's enough evidence to call one of them a star in 2021. The other? Absolutely not.
CONT'd...