Kane Rises, Edge Falls
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In 2010, the Undertaker lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Chris Jericho inside the Elimination Chamber on the Road to WrestleMania. After over 30 minutes of warfare that, at times, involved the likes of CM Punk, R-Truth, John Morrison and Rey Mysterio, the Chamber match came down to the Deadman and Y2J. After a massive Last Ride Powerbomb, the Undertaker motioned for the Tombstone Piledriver, but the “Heart Break Kid” Shawn Michaels came up through the steel floor of the structure. HBK leveled ‘Taker with Sweet Chin Music, allowing Chris Jericho to cover him for the victory and his third World Heavyweight Championship. While Undertaker would of course go on to end Michaels career at WrestleMania XXVI, Jericho successfully defend his title against Edge inside a Steel Cage.
The next Money in the Bank winner came in the form of Jack Swagger, who defeated Jericho for the title, taking advantage of a timely spear by Edge. After losing his obligatory rematch, Jericho took himself out of the title hunt to chase his rivalry with Edge, leading to a match between Jack Swagger and Randy Orton for the title at Extreme Rules. Swagger won the match by pinfall, although he took an RKO from the challenger after. The following month, Swagger cheated to retain his World Heavyweight title in a match against the Big Show, as he wasn’t able to deal any damage to the giant. Their rematch was booked for WWE’s brand new Fatal 4-Way PPV event, with the feud between CM Punk and Rey Mysterio, that had gone on for most of 2010, added to the mix. Mysterio won the match after Kane took CM Punk out of the equation, becoming a two-time World Heavyweight Champion in the process.
The next month, the Money in the Bank gimmick was given its own PPV, with briefcases for both the Raw and Smackdown world titles being awarded separately. Although he was technically a babyface at the time, Kane won the Smackdown briefcase and wasted little time, ending Mysterio’s reign that night at only 28 days. The self-proclaimed “Devil’s favorite demon” clung to the title for a solid five months, finding a new energy late into his career and proving to most that he could hang as a main event player in the WWE. Kane, still on the hunt for whoever put the Undertaker in a vegetative state, won his rematch against Mysterio at SummerSlam that year. However, after the match, Undertaker returned and cast blame on Kane himself, leading to a match that the champion won at Night of Champion. For several months, Kane enlisted the help of his storyline father, Paul Bearer, who turned on the Undertaker. The two had several matches, including one inside Hell in a Cell, culminating in Kane burying his brother alive at the 2010 Bragging Rights PPV, after a group called The Nexus interfered, attacking the Deadman to make a name for themselves. This was understood to be a major series of victories for the world champion, who by most was seen in the shadow of The Undertaker throughout his entire career.
Kane retained the title against long-time rival Edge at Survivor Series, but only because of a double-pin situation in which a tie is awarded to the champion. The following month, in a 4-way TLC match, Kane lost the title to Edge in a contest also involving former champion Rey Mysterio and Alberto del Rio, who had burst onto the Smackdown scene earlier in the year. By this time, Edge has long since “divorced” Vickie Guerrero, and the Smackdown general manager found a new flame in the up-and-coming Dolph Ziggler. After Edge dispatched Kane in a Last Man Standing match on the first Smackdown of 2011, Vickie began punishing her ex-husband and booked a match between him and Ziggler for the Royal Rumble, which Edge won. Weeks later on the 600th episode of Smackdown, Guerrero fired Edge and gave Dolph Ziggler the World Heavyweight Championship. This title reign is heavily disputed, as Smackdown’s real general manager Teddy Long returned moments later, reinstating the “Rated-R Superstar” and booking an immediate title defense, during which Edge won his 7th and final World Heavyweight title.
The 2011 Royal Rumble winner, Alberto del Rio, announced his intentions to face Edge for the title at WrestleMania. Before that could happen, the champion was forced to defend (successfully) against Drew McIntyre, Kane, Rey Mysterio, Big Show and Wade Barrett inside the Elimination Chamber. With that behind him, Edge moved onto the big stage, defeated the white hot del Rio in what would be his final singles match in a historic, Hall of Fame career. Because of injuries to his neck that had built up over the years, Edge was forced to retire, vacating the title just days after his WrestleMania victory. The next month at Extreme Rules his signature match, the ladder match, was booked between Edge’s final opponent, Alberto del Rio, and his best friend, Christian. Christian defeated del Rio in an instant classic, finally affirming his place in the main event. The new champ’s celebration didn’t last long though, as Randy Orton defeated Christian in a title match on Smackdown, enraging fans and kicking off a feud that would carry the brand through the summer. Randy Orton and Christian fought in a total of six championship matches, trading the title back and forth over several months. Most of the matches were incredibly well done, establishing Christian in the main event of Smackdown, and Orton as a dominant champion that went on to feud with Dolph Ziggler, his former protege Cody Rhodes, and Mark Henry.
