I started watching wrestling in late 1993. I was drawn in by Bret Hart. In fact, I've always had an affinity for Canadian wrestlers. When 1998 came around, this young entity named Edge came in, and was nothing but a mystery, and a bit of a high flyer. Immediately, though, he captivated fans, mainly by saying nothing. He would simply run in through the crowd and exit the same way, but it worked.
Come 1999, and Edge, along with Christian and the Hardy Boys, had reinvented the ladder match, adding a tag team component. They continued to step it up a notch in the next year and a half with the introduction of TLC matches. You couldn't believe some of the spots those matches had. The image of Edge spearing Jeff Hardy in mid-air is firmly etched in my memory. Edge and Christian had won the Tag Team Championships an incredible seven times, and had won them at Wrestlemania back-to-back years. But there was only so much Edge could do in a tag team.
Edge became a babyface and won the Intercontinental Championship. In fact, his first Championship run was won on my birthday back in 1999. But he fell back into that role in 2001, along with unifying the belt with the United States Championship. I remember losing my SHIT when he beat Lance Storm for the Intercontinental Championship at Summerslam 2001. I went nuts. I marked out so hard. I had become a huge Edge fan since his debut and was firmly behind him. His matches with Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle in 2002 are matches that legends are made from. Edge was on his way to the main event.
Yet injuries plagued him, as well as the fact that as a face, Edge really couldn't find his groove into the main event. As soon as he turned heel, it was like a switched turned on inside his head. He brought this whole new mean streak to go along with his charisma, and everything he did worked. 2006 was clearly Edge's year. He won the WWE Championship for the first time, had a great Wrestlemania match with Mick Foley, and lit the WWE on fire with his feud against John Cena. The "Ultimate Opportunist" gimmick fit Edge so well over the years. He is the only man to have entered a wrestling event as the WWE Heavyweight Champion, and leave as the World Heavyweight Champion.
Injury struck again and this time, he returned as a face. I sat there at the Royal Rumble in 2010, thinking there was NO WAY Edge would ACTUALLY return from a torn Achilles tendon. Yet, he returned, and won the whole thing, and I still marked out. It still didn't click so he returned to heel status. And then, the fans started to turn Edge face. They loved everything he did. Edge became a face and maintained his mean streak. Thus, Edge finally found his main event groove as a face. He wasn't the plucky babyface, but rather still the sarcastic wrestler with a bit of a mean streak and a few jokes in him, and the crowd loved everything he did.
Edge has announced his retirement. It hits close to home. You see, I love Bret Hart, and he got me into wrestling. But I haven't seen his entire career. I've virtually seen Edge's entire career. I've seen him from the opening card, up to the mid-card, to where he banged his head against the glass ceiling, to where he SHATTERED through that glass ceiling and never looked back. I've gotten to see him as a Tag Team Champion, an Intercontinental Champion, a World Champion, and a WWE Champion all in person. Edge is truly a one of a kind performer. His talent and charisma is unmatched, as is ability to connect with his audience. Edge truly has had one of the greatest careers in WWE history. 11 time Heavyweight Champion in 5 years. He's main evented Wrestlemanias, won Royal Rumbles, won the King of the Ring, and won nearly every Championship he could possibly win...multiple times. Live sex celebrations, five second poses, being a part of the infamous Smackdown! six, an autobiography...Edge truly has done it all.
The best part? He's going to retire at 37 years old instead of being crippled at 38. Thank you, Adam Copeland, for everything you've done for me as a fan. For every time you put your body on the line, and for ending your career before you no longer had a body.
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