Edge pays emotional tribute to Randy Orton after their WrestleMania 36 battle

WWE Superstar had some candid remarks about his WrestleMania opponent

Edge has labeled Randy Orton "the most naturally talented person" in the wrestling industry after their incredible WrestleMania 36 match.

The Rated-R Superstar seemingly broke character in an emotional Instagram post following the encounter, which was aired as part two of WrestleMania 36 this past Sunday.

In it, the 46-year-old pays a truly candid tribute to Orton, who proved to be a worthy opponent for the landmark encounter that even Edge conceded were in "strange circumstances". WrestleMania took place on a closed set and without an audience for the first time in its storied history - just weeks after WWE had been forced to abandon plans to stage it at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay in front of 60,000 fans.

Stripping away the on-screen bitterness that fueled the fire of their clash, Edge said of Orton:

"[It was my] first time in a singles match in 9 years. Against, in my opinion, the most naturally talented person in the industry in @randyorton I will always be proud of what we accomplished with some strange circumstances. I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of each other. And for that I’m strangely thankful. He pulled me to a 40 minute fight after being retired for 9 years. Wasn’t sure I had that in me. Now I know. He pushed me."

View this post on Instagram

So this was my Sunday. Actually it was filmed two weeks ago. So I’m officially out of self quarantine and back to being dad. After being Edge for WrestleMania 36. For the first time in a singles match in 9 years. Against, in my opinion, the most naturally talented person in the industry in @randyorton I will always be proud of what we accomplished with some strange circumstances. I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of each other. And for that I’m strangely thankful. He pulled me to a 40 minute fight after being retired for 9 years. Wasn’t sure I had that in me. Now I know. He pushed me. For all of you, hopefully you watched WrestleMania and were able to get lost in it and try to forget about our current reality, even if only for a few hours. I’d also like to thank EVERYONE for the outpouring of positivity for the @wwe 24 documentary, The Second Mountain. Also, thank you to the ENTIRE team it took to support me and make all of this happen. I’ll get to you all on separate posts😉 It’s humbling. Lastly, stay safe everyone.

A post shared by Adam “Edge” Copeland (@edgeratedr) on Apr 6, 2020 at 8:53am PDT

One can't help but be drawn to the tantalizing prospect of the two meeting once again after Edge's reference to that end above. In essence, there would likely be massive interest in such a match following WrestleMania.

Sunday saw the two former tag team partners go into an all-out war on each other in a brutal encounter that started in the ring with a sneak attack from Orton and toured all around the compact WWE Performance Center. Meeting rooms were trashed, and gym equipment was used to do some real damage before a vicious Conchairto from Edge ended things decisively.

The two had traded words and wounds in a bitter build-up to Mania, which provided some of the most talked-about parts of WWE programming in the weeks ahead of the event.

Curiously, however, Edge also revealed that the match had been filmed some two weeks before the date it was aired.

WrestleMania, despite its unusual setting, delivered a string of memorable moments with Otis, Kevin Owens, Drew McIntyre, and Charlotte Flair, all gaining big wins on the grand stage.