CM Punk Rips WWE for Promoting Edge ve Randy Orton as the ‘Greatest Match Ever’

CM Punk hasn’t held back his thoughts on WWE’s booking since he became a contributor on WWE Backstage, and this week was no exception. The former WWE Champion was asked to give his thoughts on the Edge vs. Randy Orton match from Backlash this past Sunday, which WWE decided to promote as “The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever.” Much like Edge, Orton, various legends and most of the WWE fanbase, Punk wasn’t pleased with WWE’s marketing tactic.

“I think if you’re Randy and Edge you just ignore that, you can’t live up to that, it’s too subjective of a label,” Punk said. “‘Greatest Match of All Time,’ what’s the ‘Greatest Single of All Time’? Music-wise. What’s the ‘Greatest Band of All-Time’? What’s the ‘Greatest Car of All Time?’ It’s too subjective. Everybody’s going to have a different opinion, but I think that’s what makes wrestling great. You can talk about all these different wrestlers from all these different regions from all over the world who wrestle a different style, and sometimes in the ring you get magic. I think they had a great match. Was it the greatest match of all time? I’ve seen better Randy Orton matches. I’ve seen better Edge matches.

“But… to put that on the marquee, and get people to watch, I kind of feel like it was a lot of unnecessary pressure — especially on Edge — coming back after almost a decade of not wrestling. They did a great job of compartmentalizing that, and almost ignoring it, just going out there and delivering.”

Edge admitted in an ESPN interview days before the match that he thought the tagline was a rib.

“If I were to look at it on paper and go right, first proper wrestling match back in nine and a half years and they want to bill it as the greatest wrestling match ever … I mean, that’s pretty pressure filled,” Edge said. “But I can’t look at it that way, I really can’t. I just have to understand that it’s promotion and it’s hype. I always go out with a mindset to try and have the best match that I’ve ever had. So I don’t look at it in terms of a contest — will it measure up to Steamboat vs. Savage or will it measure up to Shawn [Michaels] and [The Undertaker]. All I can do is measure up against myself, and especially at this juncture in my career, I’m just happy to be out there.

“This shouldn’t even be happening. Let alone for the company, and let’s call it straight, Vince, to think that he can bill this the ‘Greatest Match Ever.’ Would I have preferred they not billed it as that? Absolutely. But I also know there are times where heels get dug in the sand and there’s no changing it,” he added.