He started his career at a small Canadian promoter in 1992 and started to make a name for himself in the tag team division alongside his old friend Christian, but Edge was just in time to build an enviable solo career, having won eleven world titles.
The son of a single mother who had two jobs to support him, Adam Joseph Copeland (his real name) was born on October 30, 1973 in a rural town 80 kilometers from Toronto called Orangeville and never knew his father, not even in photography. This was just the beginning of a story of overcoming that culminated in winning a total of 31 titles, in addition to a King of the Ring (2001), the first Money in the Bank ladder match (2005) and two Royal Rumbles (2010 and 2021 ). ).
Nicknamed the Rated-R Superstar, he first wrestled for the so-called WWF in 1996 and won his first WWE Championship ten years later, having marked the achievement with a celebration of live sex with girlfriend Lita in the ring. At that time, he began to build the status of one of the greatest villains of all time in pro wrestling .
In 2011 he announced his retirement due to various neck injuries, and the following year he was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame. However, he returned to the ring at the 2020 Royal Rumble and has since been featured in some storylines. It is therefore worth recalling the ten best fights of Edge’s career, in chronological order.
Backlash 2002
Kurt Angle vs. Edge
On the March 18 Monday Night Raw, the first after WrestleMania X8, Edge and Kane’s team beat Angle and Booker T’s after a Canadian settlement on the Olympic champion.
Frustrated at having suffered the settlement, Angle commented on a match between Booker T and Edge on SmackDown! three days later and ended up interfering in the duel, costing Edge the defeat, in what was only the first of several attacks between them.
On the following Raw , Edge cost Kurt Angle the loss in an intercontinental title match against Rob Van Dam, on a night when both learned that they would be on the SmackDown roster, On the April 4th episode of Smackdown! , Edge and Angle finally faced each other, but the match ended in Angle’s disqualification, who attacked Edge with a chair. The following week, Edge challenged Kurt Angle to a match at Backlash .
Judgment Day 2002
Hair vs. Hair match: Edge vs. Kurt Angle
At Backlash , Kurt Angle defeated Edge after an Angle Slam , but the taunting between the two continued, which on the May 2 edition of SmackDown! led Angle to challenge Edge to a Hair vs. Hair match on Judgment Day.
SmackDown! (September 26, 2002)
No Disqualification match:
Edge vs. Eddie Guerrero
On August 1, 2002, Eddie Guerrero was transferred to the SmackDown! and on his first night at the blue brand he joined forces with Chris Benoit to face The Rock and Edge, who ended up winning. The following week, Edge helped Rey Mysterio and John Cena get the better of a feud against Kurt Angle, Benoit and Guerrero. The six ended up facing each other in a tag team match that same night, with Edge, Cena and Mysterio winning.
On SmackDown! On August 15, Edge and Mysterio won a tag team match against Eddie and Chavo by disqualification after Kurt Angle attacked Mysterio.
In the week’s episode that followed, Edge was attacked by Eddie and Benoit, but later retaliated. In the main event , Edge and The Rock beat Benoit and Eddie after a Spear from Edge on Eddie.
At SummerSlam , Edge faced Eddie Guerrero and came out the winner after a Spear , but the rivalry between the two didn’t end there. Meanwhile, a rematch was set for Unforgiven, with Guerrero getting the better of him after a Sunset Flip Powerbomb . And to end the rivalry, it was scheduled for SmackDown! after the pay-per-view a new duel between the two, this time in a match without disqualifications.
SmackDown! (October 3, 2002)
Edge vs. Kurt Angle
If at Backlash Angle he defeated Edge, at Judgment Day the Canadian won in a hair vs. hair match, ending up shaving the Olympic champion’s head. In the fight between the two on the May 30 episode of SmackDown! , Edge beat Angle in a Steel Cage match after a spear from the top rope. However, Edge injured his arm, was forced out of the ring for a month and the two went their separate ways.
On the October 3 episode of SmackDown! , both met during an interview that Kurt Angle was giving, they had an argument and Angle stated that since his hair was shaved he wanted to face Edge, having attacked the Canadian in the face before driving to the ring.
Vengeance 2004
WWE Intercontinental Championship :
Randy Orton (c) vs. Edge
In mid-2004, Edge returned to action after more than a year of absence following neck surgery and appeared to be on a mission to take down the dominant faction on Raw at the time, Evolution. Initially, Edge teamed with Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit to defeat Batista, Randy Orton , and Ric Flair in a six men tag team elimination match on the June 14 episode of Raw , with Chris Benoit ending the feud as the sole survivor.
A week later, Edge speared Orton , but the Canadian and Chris Jericho lost to Batista and Orton in a tag team match that same night. The following week, in the rematch, Edge and Y2J emerged victorious. Finally, on the June 5 episode of Raw , Edge confronted and attacked Evolution, promising to defeat Randy Orton at Vengeance.
Backlash 2007
WWE Championship: John Cena (c) vs. Edge vs. Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels
At the 2007 Royal Rumble, Shawn Michaels was one of the final two participants in the Royal Rumble match, but was eventually eliminated by The Undertaker . However, Michaels got a shot at the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 23 after defeating Randy Orton and Edge in a triple threat match . However, HBK was defeated in the biggest event of the year by John Cena , who made him fold with a STFU .
On the April 9 episode of Monday Night Raw , Shawn Michaels and Randy Orton faced off in a match to determine the new title contender, but the match ended in a no contest due to a double pinfall . That same night, Edge argued that he should be considered in the new lead candidate, prompting Honorary General Manager Michael Pena of the Make-a-Wish Foundation to announce a fatal four-way match for Backlash featuring Rated-R Superstar.
SummerSlam 2008
Hell in a Cell match: The Undertaker vs. Edge
The Undertaker and Edge had met four times in PPV for the World Heavyweight Championship over the course of that year. In the first, at WrestleMania XXIV, Deadman won the title after securing the title shot in an Elimination Chamber PPV No Way Out.
In the second, at Backlash , Undertaker successfully defended the belt by making Edge give up with a suffocating submission, the Gogoplata . However, then- SmackDown General Manager and then-fiancée of Edge, Vickie Guerrero, stripped Undertaker of the title and banned Gogoplata to “protect the SmackDown stars “.
The two clashed again for the vacant title at Judgment Day and Undertaker won again, but by countout , which led Vickie to argue that WWE rules did not allow anyone to win a title by countout or disqualification. The decision was then postponed to One Night Stand on June 1st in a TLC match, a stipulation that Edge has always felt very comfortable with. Plus, if Undertaker lost, he would have to leave WWE. And Undertaker did lose, thanks to the interference of Curt Hawkins, Zack Ryder, Chavo Guerrero and Bam Neely, all members of La Familia.
Edge eventually lost the title to CM Punk, who moved to Raw , but turned Needles to Triple H ‘s WWE Championship . And it was precisely The Game that ruined the Canadian’s marriage to Vickie, by revealing a secret romance between Edge and the woman who was preparing his marriage, Alicia Fox. Interference by the two women cost the Rated-R Superstar the loss in a title match at The Great American Bash, but Vickie announced an even heavier punishment for Edge: the readmission of Undertaker , against whom he would have to fight in Hell in a Cell match at SummerSlam.
Backlash 2009
Last Man Standing – World Heavyweight Championship:
John Cena (c) vs. Edge
In February 2009, at the No Way Out pay-per view , Rated-R Superstar Edge lost his WWE Championship in the opening match, so he decided to attack Kofi Kingston, who was supposed to compete in an Elimination Chamber match for John Cena ‘s World Heavyweight Championship , and not only held the place of the Ghanaian as he won the title by eliminating Rey Mysterio in the last.
Weeks later, SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero announced that rated r superstar Edge would defend his belt against Big Show at WrestleMania XXV. However, as both fighters were getting ready to sign the fight contract, John Cena appeared and whispered in his ear that the duel should be cancelled.
The following week on Raw , Vickie announced to Edge and Big Show’s surprise that Cena would be added to the match and it was later revealed that Cena ‘s addition was related to blackmailing Vickie with footage of her cheating on Edge with Big Show.
At WrestleMania XXV, Cena regained the title, and on the following day’s Raw , Vickie Guerrero announced that the new champion would defend his World Heavyweight Championship against the rated r superstar Edge in a Last Man Standing match at Backlash.
WrestleMania 37
WWE Universal Championship :
Roman Reigns (c) vs. Edge vs. Daniel Bryan
Edge won the 2021 Royal Rumble despite entering first and earned the right to fight for a world title of his choice at WrestleMania 37 . The following week, the Rated-R Superstar appeared on Raw , NXT , and SmackDown and confronted the world champions of each brand , but clarified that he would wait until after the Elimination Chamber to make a decision.
At the pay-per-view , after universal champion Roman Reigns retained the title from Daniel Bryan, Edge appeared and speared Reigns , then pointed at the WrestleMania sign , implying that he had chosen to challenge Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship . , which was eventually confirmed. 48 hours earlier, Reigns had demanded that Edge choose him for him, in addition to having speared the Canadian.
However, Daniel Bryan , who had faced Roman Reigns moments after winning an Elimination Chamber match , asked for a rematch. At Fastlane , Bryan faced Reigns for the title once again, with Edge playing special guest enforcer . Reigns won, but after Edge attacked him and Bryan with a chair.
That said, on the March 26 episode of SmackDown , it was announced that Roman Reigns would defend the Universal Championship against Daniel Bryan and Edge in a triple threat match at WrestleMania 37.
Crown Jewel 2021
Hell in a Cell match : Edge vs. Seth Rollins
At Money in the Bank, Seth Rollins cost Edge a loss in a Universal Championship match against champion Roman Reigns , as The Architect was frustrated that the Canadian had outrun him in the title race . Dissatisfied, Rollins challenged Edge to a match on the September 10 episode of SmackDown and won.
However, Rollins was offended that Edge called him “Edge Lite” and that the Canadian had not announced his retirement, so he challenged the Rated-R Superstar to one more match.
On the October 1 episode of SmackDown , Edge appeared on the show to confront Rollins , but since Rollins didn’t think Edge was going to show up, he went directly to Edge’s house, walked in, and made out like he was in his own house. A week later, Edge attacked Rollins and challenged him to a Hell in a Cell match for the Crown Jewel .
