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Class of 2016 Wrestling, I feel, is all about legacy. No matter the era that a wrestler(s) is a part of, the legacy of the greats is felt throughout the course of history. Such is the effect that this year’s tag team inductees have had on me. Starting watching wrestling in 2004, I wasn’t able to watch Edge and Christian when they truly teared it up as a tag team, but watching their matches years down the line, it was apparent that the way they changed how tag team wrestling was conducted in WWE was felt throughout the product. Initially starting out as members of The Brood, Edge and Christian even joined The Undertaker’s Ministry of Darkness before the gothic side of their character was dropped in favor of more “attitude”-esque characters. They were champions before joining WWE in a couple of indy promotions, but it was in late 1999 that things changed significantly for them, and WWE. The Ladder Match at No Mercy, 1999 is still remembered as being instrumental in changing the way WWE approached such matches, and though matches later on outshined it, it’s important to remember that as the moment when E&C, and their opponents, the Hardy Brothers, really came into their own in the company. In fact, the two teams and the Dudley Boyz as well, will be very influential to each of their careers. The former two teams, especially, were young, hungry and possessed a lot of charisma; though in different avenues. They fed off of each other and that really helped them hone their individual characters as well, something that’d come to help them throughout the course of their singles careers. Something that the fans remember the duo by is their catch phrases, and the signature “Five Second Pose”. For fans at the time, I’m sure that is something they’d have tried at their high school parties, and you still wouldn’t look like a nut if you tried it now. (I have plans of doing it during my graduation, actually.) What followed was a stint of unforgettable matches from WrestleMania 2000, to SummerSlam, to even a stint as Los Conquistadores. It was clear to everyone by that point that everything they touched would turn to gold, or to a quite a familiar catchphrase, “reek of awesomeness”. Then came the TLC match at WrestleMania X-Seven, which still stands as my favorite version of the match to this day. Tensions arose with Edge’s victory of the 2001 King of the Ring tournament, but it was apparent that the duo was just too talented to not be featured as singles performers. Edge would go on to have a lot more success in WWE than Christian, but the fact that the latter, too, enjoyed relative success in TNA speaks volumes of how capable they truly were. It amazes me now how much of a name these two were able to make of themselves even with such a short stint as partners. And ‘short’ is relative, obviously. The legendary tag teams have been such that have spanned decades, if not eras, and Edge and Christian were truly the antithesis of all that. The Attitude Era was all about establishing identity. We now remember that Era as the time of big stars like Austin, Rock, Triple H, Foley and others. But, the influence of the tag teams shouldn’t be ignored. In many ways, today’s wrestling bears many resemblances to the Attitude Era. Not in the way the show is booked, or anything, but in the way that many young and hungry stars are slowly rising up the ranks to prove their mettle. And the example of Edge & Christian is something they should all live by. It’s no surprise that WWE chose the duo to put the New Day over to finally cement their face turn. Kofi, Big E and Woods are exactly the kind of that would influence a new generation of tag teams just like E&C did. In 2012, WWE named Edge and Christian as the greatest tag team in WWE history. You can debate the political and logistical side of it all you want, but there can be no question about the influence that they’ve had. Their short re-unions ever since Edge’s retirement and Christian’s hiatus have been made with resounding applauses all the time. Their new WWE Network show has been met with a great response as well. Though they were only a tag team for 3-4 years in WWE, they are timeless. There have been few tag teams who have been so successful as Edge and Christian as both partners and individual wrestlers. They share an uncountable number of championships between them; have given us a greater number of classic matches to cherish and will serve as vehicles to introduce generations of fans into wrestling forever. I think we’re lucky to witness such a team in our time and fans that actually got to watch them live, even luckier. They’ll be WWE Hall of Famers as singles wrestlers and as a tag team, sooner rather than later. It gives me immense pride and honor to induct Edge and Christian into the LOP Hall of Fame Class of 2016!
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