How’s it going everybody? Welcome to another edition of SLTD Wrestling’s Fantasy Fight Friday, where we look at a wrestling dream match and decide which superstar reigns supreme. I’m Thomas Robinson and to celebrate Survivor Series taking place in Canada, I will be settling the score between two Canadians that have both left it all in the ring in the pursuit of success. This fight will determine just who is the best as the Prizefighter takes on the Rated-R Superstar in this edition of Fantasy Fight Friday. This fight sees Kevin Owens fight Edge.
Survivor Series taking place in Toronto made this match-up all the more fitting. Edge and Kevin Owens both have Canadian blood running through their veins, being among the elite that Canadian professional wrestling has to offer. Kevin Owens is currently the man on RAW, holding the Universal Championship going into the Toronto Survivor Series event. Being billed from Toronto Canada, Edge is an appropriate opponent for Owens in the sense that both of these men are willing to put themselves through hell in order to accomplish their goals. With Edge’s TLC days and Owen’s independent days, both men have put their bodies in a lot of jeopardy over the years.
Not to mention that both men share a sense of opportunistic instinct. The Ultimate Opportunist Edge has made a career out of acting at the right time while Kevin Owens has been able to squirm his way into his own fair share of victories in his short WWE career. Suffice to say that this will be an exciting one. Can a Owens victory pop-up out of nowhere or will Edge execute the perfect plan to get one over on his opponent?
Before we can decide on a winner, let’s run down the careers of both Canadians.
In one corner, we have Kevin Owens. Kevin Owens is the embodiment of the old saying of size doesn’t matter. There’s a certain belief that only those that look a certain way will reach the very top of professional wrestling. Kevin Owens is a big man that is capable of athletic feats that some of the best luchadors can pull off. Raised in Quebec, Kevin’s first language was French and it wasn’t until he started watching Monday Night RAW as a teenager when he started to learn the English lingo. He would mimic the promos cut by the stars and would soon try his best to walk the walk in the wrestling world and… did pretty well!
Making his name for companies like CZW, ROH and PWG, Kevin Steen would become a huge star in the independent circuit. With the WWE on an independent talent kick following the success of Steen’s long time friend Sami Zayn, Steen got the call to join WWE’s developmental territory NXT. It didn’t take long for Owens to make a big impression, as he back-stabbed and beat his old friend Sami to capture the NXT Championship in just two months after debuting. His WWE career would sky-rocket, having taken his title to the main roster and beating John Cena in Owens’ first match following his call-up. He followed that up with two Intercontinental Championship reigns and more recently, his first world championship with the company as the longest reigning Universal Champion as of now. Owens has already gained huge success but his pride maybe his downfall. He’s cocky and that can sometimes led him into trouble, like he would go onto lose the next two matches in his three-match saga with Cena in 2015. He’s big and he’s cocky but it’s hard not to be when you can move and attack like the Anti-Christ of Pro Wrestling.
In the other corner, we have Edge. Much like Owens, Edge also dreamed of being a wrestling superstar ever since he was little. Having attended WrestleMania VI in Toronto, Edge was determined to follow his dream. After some time in the Canadian independent circuit, Edge gained a contract with WWE. They obviously took a liking to the boy, having offered to pay for his outstanding college debt of $40,000. That’s quite the signing bonus! It took some time and brooding but Edge eventually shot to stardom as part of a tag team with his long-time friend Christian. The duo won many tag team titles, although Edge had a few singles accomplishments of his own including Intercontinental title reigns and King of the Ring wins. When Edge and Christian broke up however, Edge went at it alone and… also did pretty well!
Edge developed a mean streak as a singles star, willing to do whatever it took to realise his goals. He won the first ever Money In The Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 21, earning the right to challenge for the world title at any time and became the first of many to cash in his briefcase on a wounded champion to win the WWE Championship. It wouldn’t be his last though as he would go onto win eleven world championships, being a record seven-time World Heavyweight Champion while he was at it. He’s been a King of the Ring winner, a Money in the Bank winner and even won the Royal Rumble in 2010. He also had the privilege of ending his career while he was at the top, retiring as World Heavyweight Champion. It’s an insane portfolio for Edge, making him seem like one of the greatest around. The big issue however is that he’s not a perfect wrestler in terms of wins and losses, with only a few of his biggest wins being as a result of him being the better man. Many, many, many, many times as Edge had to rely on help or dumb luck in order to win when it counts. After all, they don’t call him the ultimate opportunist for nothing. However, there’s few that’s willing to do as much as Edge has done to climb to the top.
Canada usually struck gold when it came to professional wrestling talent and these two men have demonstrated that. However, which of these would get the job done in a one-on-one dream match?
While Edge is much taller than Kevin Owens, Owens wins the power game. After all, Owens was able to accomplish such things as hitting MARK HENRY with a pop-up powerbomb! Edge doesn’t have a lot of power feats to his name on the other hand. What benefits Edge is that he’s arguably the smarter wrestler in this battle. Edge has schemed and plotted his way to the top time and time again, being able to find any means necessary to get the job done. Owens, on the other hand, can usually let his ego get in the way of his judgement. His gimmick in WWE is that he’s a great worker that is simply lazy. Taking that into account, he could easily leave an opening for Edge to capitalise on.
Edge and Owens are both pretty quick guys, with Edge probably being the quicker of the two. Owens is likely to deliver more damage. Endurance is hard to call, as is a number of different factors. This match could easily be a toss-up. In the end, I think the big question is whether Edge can withstand the power and punishment from Kevin in order to get the best out of him in his one-on-one match. My answer is no. I don’t think Edge would have what it took to beat Owens one-one-one. He is smarter than Owens but he has to take hard-hitting moves that could provide a lot of strain for his body. After all, Kevin Owens’ pop-up powerbomb finisher targets the neck and body. With Edge’s well-documented neck problems, it wouldn’t take long for Owens’ attacks to take their toll. Edge was rarely ever booked to win cleanly over a heel while Owens does it a lot more frequently these days. Edge could rarely ever beat Cena clean while Kevin Owens did it in his first match on the main roster. As accomplished and as smart as Edge was, sometimes smarts can only get you so far. The winner for this battle is Kevin Owens.
Who do you think would win this dream match between Kevin Owens and Edge? Leave your vote here and we encourage you to join the discussion by commentating below or tweeting us @SLTDWrestling with your pick of who would win!
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