This Monday, on Raw's Homecoming to USA, where the attitude era was sworn in and many memories were made, WWE will be showcasing a 3 hour show in hopes of perhaps starting over and washing their hands clean of the Spike epidemic. They are going all out as well with the returns of superstars such as Steve Austin, Mick Foley, HHH, Roddy Piper, and Hulk Hogan as well. We are even going to be treated to a 30 minute Iron Man Match between Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle! Despite all of this however, there is only one reason that I would want to turn in this week, and it involves a match with everything on the line. Although everyone and their mother's were writing this feud off just a few weeks into its existence on Raw, I have loved every minute of the real-life drama this storyline encompasses and it is quite like nothing else that anyone has witnessed before. It is something special, something unique and something that is simply unforgettable.
Edge vs. Matt Hardy will be taking place on Raw this week. Although this matchup has happened several times already this year, there is far more at stake this week than ever before. Edge's Money In The Bank titleshot will be up for grabs in a ladder match. Not only that, but the loser of the match will be forced to leave Raw, which inevitably means be moved to Smackdown. There hasn't been this much on the line in a single match as long as I can remember. A feud that has been culminating for the entire year will come down to one single match on Raw. The feud that has transcended all that everyone knew in the face of wrestling will all come to a screeching halt. Regardless of your own personal feelings towards either one of these men, you have to give them credit where it is due. Edge and Matt Hardy together have both elevated themselves into a brand new echelon and have changed the way WWE does business as well. Edge and Matt Hardy have been able to give us exciting wrestling and wonderful promo work, and it's up to us now to give them the appreciation that they deserve.
But why no love for Angle vs. Michaels one might ask? Why not another feud that has been created and has given us some of the best wrestling of the year? Don't get me wrong, I am not going to shun or say no to any form of spectacular wrestling, but we are talking about completely different feuds. On one level, the Angle and Michaels feud is strictly a professional feud. That is to say that although both have gotten their cheap shots in against one another, but it's strictly business as to who is simply the better, if not the best wrestler. Edge and Matt Hardy's feud goes beyond the conventional feud and shows the world what is possible between two people. The anger that fuels this aggression is beyond the wrestling society and boils down to two guys who literally despise each other. Simply put, it is personal. They don't care about what they do to each other, they just want each other to die. The tension has existed long before Matt even made his return to WWE after being released earlier this year. The story began long before Matt ambushed our screens unexpectedly.
This has long been in the works before the actual lying and cheating took place. Matt Hardy and Edge were two of the best friends behind the scene. They got along well with each other ever since each was a part of the tag team division and put on hellacious matches such as the TLC greatness that was at Wrestlemania X-7. Both of these men have been around the block a few times and know each other very well. So it's not only the thought that your girlfriend cheated on you with a co-worker in the business, but one of those co-workers you liked to call a friend. The wrestling business can be lonely sometimes, especially when you're at the top in WWE. Many people are looking out for themselves and their own best interests because they never know when it could be their own time to take over the spotlight. So when you are able to find those that you can call a friend, and a really good one at that, it's a rare commodity. They came into the business around the same time and together were able to revolutionize the tag team division. Many years later, they are continuing to revolutionize the business one way or another.
Shortly after Matt Hardy shelled out his life story to the internet fans the fires began ablazing. Sure, some will criticize Matt for airing out his dirty laundry, but when there's an audience, people will definitely want to listen. As wrestling fans, we fuel the need for information, regardless of how useful or useless it may be. We crave and have a desire to know as much as we can and we gave Matt the landscape he needed to showcase his problems. He began to tell the story, and it followed through to the fans. The fans then responded resoundingly. It all began at a little place called Madison Square Garden, the true home to WWE. The fans their are some of the most "intelligent" fans there are in the business. Collectively they all know what's going on in the business inside and out, and if some don't know they are able to learn very quickly. With Lita attempting to conduct a promo with Trish Stratus, the crowd was breathing down her neck with "You Screwed Matt" chants left and right. From the birthplace of WWE, thus came the enormous outpour of support for Mr. Hardy. Despite all this though, people want to write off this match because they believe to know the finish. There's so much more to a feud though than how a finish is planned and sometimes people are too shortsighted to see that.
Everyone wants to believe that Edge's Money In The Bank titleshot will not change hands this week and that Matt Hardy will be the one shipped off to Smackdown. I can admit that although it is unlikely that WWE will allow the MITB shot to change hands, isn't there always that possibility that it will happen? Isn't there that belief that for shock value reasons WWE will allow it to go forward and move Edge to Smackdown rather than Matt Hardy? Of course it is possible, and anyone that wants to think otherwise is downright blind to the truth. Beyond all that has happened, Edge and Matt Hardy have created a new etch for themselves on the face of wrestling that will last forever. Besides Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio, Edge and Matt Hardy is quite possibly one of the best feuds WWE has going today and there's no reason that Matt Hardy won't win this Monday on Raw. Doesn't everyone remember Vince McMahon's favorite catchphrase? "Anything can happen in the WWE." That's the truth right there, and Matt and Edge have an even greater obligation this week to put the finishing touches on this feud so that everyone can simply say thank you.
Thank you to both men for the effort you have put into making this an exciting feud and what a wonderful story both men have told. Thank you for taking wrestling to a whole new level. Thank you Edge and Matt for all the energy you have put into this feud despite the anger and animosity you obviously feel towards one another. Thanks to both of you for making Raw enjoyable despite all the other possible garbage that WWE could have potentially put on. This feud has definitely shined through all that Raw has been through this year and it's easy to see why. These two have put literally their lives into this and it shows. No matter what people may believe, the fact remains that this match will mean a lot to wrestling and especially to those two in the ring on Monday. Fans need not think about the now and look at the big picture. Don't just write off the match and not care about it because the winner is supposedly decided. Think about what could potentially happen this week and think of the rammifications. Think about what could possibly be one of the most intense matches on Raw this year. Although the big picture is important, wrestling is also about moments. These moments are what we remember throughout the years as fans. We remember events we were live for, we remember those unforgettable one-liners, we also remember all those things that make us grateful to be wrestling fans. Although moments are a simple glimpse into the world of wrestling, Matt Hardy and Edge go beyond that. They will be remembered as those who gave Vince McMahon and company a whole new way to look at business. To Vince, business is looking good these days.
