Edge is a guy who has been around for basically the entire time I’ve been watching wrestling. I think he debuted in 1996, being either a baby vampire or a sexy vampire’s familiar … unclear.
However, from the start, it was obvious the dude could go. I was there through the ups and downs of the “Brood,” cheering those hilarious 5-second poses, and marking out during those epic tag-team-title ladder matches.
To this day (Sung to Alter Bridge) … Edge and Christian are still my favorite tag team of all time. I’ve been behind both of those dudes regardless of their character or personality alignment. I’ve always felt like Edge was chaotic neutral throughout his career. He always kept us on our toes.
My wrestling dark-period was between 2002 and 2009 … so I missed most of his early world title runs, including Money in the Bank wins. I came back in during the Jericho/Edge championship pairing and then Edge got hurt right away. I ended up rooting for Jericho at WrestleMania 26 when they feuded, because at the time, Jericho was my favorite wrestler.
I think my favorite face Edge moment when he returned is during the feud with Kane. Edge kidnapped and tied up Paul Bearer in the arena … with Kane chasing him from place to place. Totally normal good-guy stuff there. He then capped it off by throwing a dodgeball as hard as he could at his face! Freaking brutal!
Dare, Ainsley, and I all attended WrestleMania 27, and saw Edge defend the World Heavyweight Championshiiiiii against Alberto Del Creepo. It was a fine match, and his win was quite surprising because the WWE was hot-shotting Rio right to the top at the time.
The next night on Raw, we found out why. Edge was being forced to retire by doctors due to a terrible next injury. It was a very moving and sad retirement speech because you could tell that he bleeds the wrestling business. We were all very sad at 3 Count Radio to see him go, but very grateful to have seen his last match in the WWE.
Cue Royal Rumble 2019 … and we had all heard the rumors … but it was definitely one of those “I’ll believe it when I see it situations.” Then entrant 21 was up and you hear “YOU THINK YOU KNOW ME” blare over the speakers and the collective wrestling fans there and at home marked the F out. I also cried my eyes out when they cut to the face he was making as if to say “I can’t believe I’m here again…”
Then unfortunately … COVID happened and I checked out again for three years, so I missed most of Edge’s resurrection. But that is ok, because I'm happy now that Edge now can end his career on his terms.
Was his match in Toronto against Sheamus on Friday the last time we’ll see Edge in the ring? Judging from his post-Smackdown comments to the crowd and the news that Edge still has time on his contract … I don’t think so. I think he’ll take some time off and come back in 2024 for his swan-song feud to culminate at WrestleMania 40.
The smart money is on his opponent being none-other than John Cena … and that makes ALL the sense in the world. I would be completely happy with that if it happened. I don’t even think it needs to be a retirement vs retirement match. It would just work regardless of the stipulations.
An outside the box option? Edge comes back at the Royal Rumble again and eliminates Guenther! This would start a feud with the Intercontinental champion where he could challenge Edge for a title vs career match. That would further cement Guenther as the next “Monster” heel star and give Edge a guaranteed banger for his last match.
I’d be down with either of those scenarios. Regardless of what happens next, Edge will go down as one of the all-time greats, already being a hall of famer, and potentially being a two-time 'HOF'er if they decide to induct Edge and Christian as a tag team.
Obviously there is no better way to end this post with the cliche phrase “Thank You Edge.”
