Jimmy Korderas Comments On Christian's "Unsanctioned Match" And Randy Orton's Work
Randy Orton has been around for almost 20 years but the angle he did with Edge was perhaps some of the best work he's ever done. Former WWE referee Jimmy Korderas was asked if we're witnessing Orton's best work when he joined The Wrestling Inc Daily podcast.
"It could very quite possibly be. He's always had it in him. It's always been there. Randy is just so naturally gifted that it seems effortless for him to be the Legend Killer. When you talk about believability, when you hear Randy speak and watch him in the ring, you buy it," said Korderas. "That's the difficult thing in these times where the hardcore fan is in the know about wrestling. Randy has that uncanny ability in today's world to have you suspend that disbelief for a little while. In today's environment, that's really hard to do."
Orton has now shifted his attention towards Christian and the two had an unsanctioned match on this past week's Raw. Korderas discussed that and why he wasn't a fan of how WWE let the angle play out.
"I think [Christian's] legitimately not cleared which is why they did exactly what they did Monday night. I would have preferred it a little differently where it doesn't end up being a match per se," stated Korderas. "Maybe, Randy is pushing [Christian's] buttons and Christian comes out and says he's not medically cleared, but if you really wanna go then I'm willing to fight you right now. Then you can have Ric Flair come out and tell Christian to calm down. Then as he calms the situation down, there's your low blow and you don't need a referee to count.
"It doesn't make sense in a world where the WWE is so adamant about not clearing people, but still allowing them to be in their facility having a non-sanctioned match with a sanctioned WWE official. Upon further review, it doesn't make sense."
Flair was involved in the angle even though he's in the high-risk group of severe illness of COVID-19. Korderas was asked if it's wise to have Flair on TV during the pandemic.
"It's a hard call to make. Maybe the legends like Ric are being distanced away from the group? It all depends on how they're handling things down there," said Korderas. "Guys like Ric ? who are in that group of high-risk ? maybe it would be wise to keep them away for a while kinda like what they're doing with Roman Reigns.
"I love the fact that [Reigns] is really not being mentioned so that when things eventually get back to somewhat normal and he does come back, I think it has a bigger impact."
The Edge – Orton match at Backlash was billed as "The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever" which some fans didn't really take to. Korderas explained his approach to watching the match which allowed him to just enjoy it as it is.
"I thought it was a great match. I went into it leaving that moniker out of my head because if the match didn't live up to its billing, then I'd be disappointed. I went, 'Forget the moniker and I'll go in without that in my head.' I enjoyed the match very much. I thought they worked their butts off. Was it the greatest match ever? Probably not," stated Korderas.
He added that both guys looked fantastic and he put over how Edge did the Rumble, Mania and then Backlash. He said that at the end of the day, like The Undertaker series, there's something about wanting to go out on your terms in regards to Edge's injury and if he'll return to the ring.
"Edge is a proud guy but at the same time, I know him and family comes first. He would not jeopardize that. Hopefully he can come back and have at least one more match with retribution against Randy and go out on his terms happy," said Korderas.
You can follow Jimmy Korderas on Twitter @jimmykorderas. Jimmy's full interview aired as part of today's episode of our podcast, The Wrestling Inc. Daily. Subscribe to get the latest episodes as soon as it's released Monday – Friday afternoon by clicking here.