Edge (wrestler)

During Copeland's training, he trained one weekday and all weekend. The school's practice ring was a 12-by-14-foot boxing ring with a harder mat than that of a typical wrestling ring. The ceiling above was low, with exposed pipes, preventing top-rope moves from being performed. Copeland later credited this environment with forcing him to drill and improve his technical mat-based wrestling. His classmates included Johnny Swinger, Joe E. Legend, and Rob Etcheverria.[22]

Copeland made his professional wrestling debut on Canada Day 1992, in an event at Monarch Park Stadium in Toronto.[7] Throughout the 1990s, Copeland wrestled on the independent circuit in Ontario and the Great Lakes region of the United States under the ring name Sexton Hardcastle.[23] He became a part of the tag team Sex and Violence with Joe E. Legend. In the mid-1990s, he wrestled as Adam Impact for Tony Condello's Winnipeg promotion. In 1997, Sex and Violence became part of a larger stable called Thug Life, joining Christian Cage, Zakk Wyld, Bill Skullion, and Rhino Richards.[2] During his independent career, he won the MWCW Tag Team Championship twice with Legend and the ICW Street Fight Tag Team Championship twice.[24]

The duo of Hardcastle and Cage were known as Hard Impact before changing their name to The Suicide Blondes.[25] They also worked in Japan under the name The Canadian Rockers.[26][27] Copeland also wrestled briefly as Damon Striker against Meng on an episode of WCW Pro in February 1996.[4][28] In the summer of 1995, he worked a show in Ajax, Ontario, where Bret Hart's business manager, Carl De Marco, was watching. Impressed, he suggested Copeland send an audition tape to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Copeland did not hear back from WWF, but some time later, De Marco was appointed President of WWF Canada and told Copeland that he'd put in a good word.

On May 10, 1996, Copeland replaced Bob Holly's opponent on short notice in the opening match of a WWF house show in Hamilton, Ontario.[29]

In 1996, Copeland initially made $210 per week while working for WWF without an official contract. The company also paid for his outstanding college debt, which was around $40,000.[30] After a Grand Prix Wrestling tour in the summer of 1997, De Marco urged Copeland to go to Calgary, where Hart was informally training wrestlers while recovering from knee surgery. He spent his tour earnings on a plane ticket and landed with no money or place to stay. He called Johnny Smith, whom he met twice, and Smith agreed to give him food and shelter. Smith also drove Copeland to and from the gym and Hart's house, where he trained alongside Ken Shamrock, Test, Mark Henry and Kurrgan. Copeland returned to the Maritimes for another Grand Prix tour before going back to Hart's house, bringing Christian with him. After this camp, Hart was impressed enough to put in a good word for both men at the WWF.

Copeland received a developmental contract with the WWF in 1997.[29] On Remembrance Day 1997 in Cornwall, Ontario, he faced Christian Cage at a Shotgun taping,[31] a match included on WWE Home Video's 2008 retrospective, Edge: A Decade of Decadence. Upon completing his training, Copeland made his WWF television debut on the June 22, 1998 episode of Raw as Edge, a loner character who entered the arena through the crowd for his matches.[32] This had been preceded by weeks of vignettes for the character, which included him aimlessly walking around the city streets and assaulting innocent pedestrians.[33] Copeland took the name Edge from an Albany radio station.[34]

Edge's first televised match was against Jose Estrada, Jr., which ended prematurely by countout when Edge performed a somersault senton from the ring to the outside, legitimately injuring Estrada's neck.[35] In his first pay-per-view match at SummerSlam in August, he served as Sable's mystery tag team partner against Jacqueline and Marc Mero, and slammed Sable onto Mero in a pinning position to pick up the win.[36] At Breakdown: In Your House, Edge faced Owen Hart in a losing effort.[37] On the October 11 edition of Sunday Night Heat, Edge defeated Vader in Vader's final televised WWF match[38] and at WWF Capital Carnage, Edge faced Tiger Ali Singh in a losing effort.[39]

Edge (right) with Christian in their Brood attire, which they used along with gothic symbols

Edge was then placed in a feud against the vampire wrestler Gangrel. During the feud, Gangrel introduced Christian, Edge's storyline brother, as his ally.[40] Eventually, Gangrel and Christian convinced Edge to join them, and the three of them formed an alliance known as The Brood.[41] At Rock Bottom: In Your House, The Brood defeated The J.O.B. Squad in a six-man tag team match. At the Royal Rumble, Edge competed in the 30-man Royal Rumble match and was eliminated by Road Dogg. The Brood was later abducted and converted into The Undertaker's Ministry of Darkness. In May 1999, the Brood broke away from the Ministry after Christian was attacked by Ken Shamrock and forced to reveal the location of the captive Stephanie McMahon.[41] The Undertaker chose to have Christian punished for his trespass, but Edge and Gangrel stood by him and betrayed The Undertaker, leading to a brief feud with the Ministry. At Backlash: In Your House, the Brood faced Ministry members Bradshaw, Faarooq, and Mideon in a losing effort. At King of the Ring, The Hardy Boyz defeated Edge and Christian in a match to determine the number one contender to the WWF Tag Team Championship, after their first match on Sunday Night Heat ended in a no-contest.

Edge in 1999

Edge captured his first singles championship, the WWF Intercontinental Championship, on July 24, 1999, defeating Jeff Jarrett at a house show in Toronto, Ontario.[42][43] He lost the title the next night to Jarrett at Fully Loaded.[42][44] At SummerSlam, Edge and Christian competed in a Tag team turmoil match where they eliminated 3 teams: The Hardy Boyz, Mideon and Viscera and Droz and Prince Albert before getting eliminated from the match by The Acolytes. At Unforgiven, Edge and Christian faced The New Age Outlaws for the WWF Tag Team Championship but failed to win the titles.

Later in the year, he was placed in a storyline angle with The Hardy Boyz. Gangrel soon betrayed both Edge and Christian and formed The New Brood with their enemies, The Hardy Boyz. They feuded with the Hardy Boyz, as they went on to compete in a ladder match at No Mercy in October for the "managerial services" of Terri Runnels and $100,000, which the Hardy Boyz won.[45] At Survivor Series, Edge and Christian and The Hardy Boyz faced Too Cool and The Hollys in a four-on-four Survivor Series elimination match where they lost. At Armageddon, Edge and Christian competed in an 8-team battle royal which was won by The Acolytes. At Royal Rumble, Edge competed in the Royal Rumble match where he was eliminated by Al Snow and Val Venis. At No Way Out, Edge and Christian defeated The Hardy Boyz in a tag team match to determine the number one contenders to the WWF Tag Team Championship. At WrestleMania 2000 on April 2, Edge and Christian defeated the Hardy Boyz and the Dudley Boyz to win the WWF Tag Team Championship in a Triangle Ladder match, which ultimately led to the creation of the Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match.[46][47]

Edge (left) and Christian at King of the Ring 2000 performing their five-second pose

Following this victory, Edge and Christian found success as a heel duo, winning the WWF Tag Team Championship six more times.[48] During this time, their trademark became the "five second pose" where they performed a pose in the ring for five seconds "for the benefit of those with flash photography" to mock, insult, or otherwise amuse the fans.[49] At Backlash, Edge and Christian defeated D-Generation X to retain the titles. At Judgment Day, Edge, Christian and Kurt Angle lost a six-man tag team match to Rikishi and Too Cool. Soon after, they lost the tag titles to Too Cool but won them back in a Four corners elimination match at King of the Ring. At Fully Loaded, they defended the titles against The Acolytes Protection Agency where they got disqualified but retained the titles. After retaining the titles at SummerSlam, at Unforgiven, Edge and Christian defended the titles against The Hardy Boyz in a Steel Cage match where they lost the titles and were not allowed another title shot. At No Mercy Edge and Christian, masked as Los Conquistadores, defeated The Hardys for the titles. The next night on Raw, the Hardy Boyz dressed as the Los Conquistadores and defeated Edge in a handicap match after Christian was taken out backstage to regain the WWF Tag Team Championship.

At Survivor Series, Edge and Christian teamed with Right to Censor's Bull Buchanan and The Godfather in a four-on-four Survivor Series elimination match, where they lost to The Dudley's and The Hardy's, They regained the tag titles at Armageddon in a Fatal Four-Way match, but lost them 8 days later to The Rock and The Undertaker. They won them back three days later on SmackDown! thanks to special guest referee Kurt Angle. During Edge and Christian's run as a tag team, they also competed as a team in the first three TLC matches, winning the first two over The Dudley Boyz and The Hardy Boyz, at SummerSlam in 2000 and then again at WrestleMania X-Seven.[50][51] At the Royal Rumble, Edge and Christian were defeated by the Dudley Boyz and lost the World Tag Team title.[51] They unsuccessfully attempted to regain the tag team title at No Way Out against the Dudley Boyz and The Brothers of Destruction,[51] but they succeeded at WrestleMania X-Seven against the Dudley Boyz and The Hardyz in the second TLC match.[51] At Judgment Day, Edge and Christian competed in a Tag Team Turmoil match which was won by Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit. Days later on the May 24, 2001 SmackDown, Edge and Christian competed in a Fatal 4-Way Tag Team TLC Match for the WWF Tag Team Championship where Benoit and Jericho retained the titles.

Edge went on to solidify himself as an emerging singles competitor by winning the 2001 King of the Ring tournament and becoming a face by siding with the WWF during the Invasion storyline.[52] Christian betrayed Edge shortly afterward,[53] and the two feuded over Edge's Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam that he later lost to Christian at Unforgiven,[54] though Edge later captured the title.[55] Following this, Edge lost the Intercontinental title to Test[56] and shortly afterwards won the WCW United States Championship from Kurt Angle.[57] On November 3 at Rebellion, Edge defeated Christian in a Steel cage match to retain the Intercontinental Championship, then Edge defeated Test at Survivor Series to unify the Intercontinental Championship with the U.S. Championship.[58] From there, Edge was placed in a feud with William Regal for the Intercontinental Championship. Edge first defeated Regal at Vengeance to retain the championship: however, he would come up short in the new year, losing the title to Regal at Royal Rumble 2002 and then coming up short in his rematch against Regal at No Way Out in a Brass Knuckles on a Pole match.[59] On the March 3 episode of Sunday Night Heat, Edge defeated Mr. Perfect, and at WrestleMania X8, Edge found himself in a match with Booker T that was the result of Edge beating out Booker for a fictitious Japanese shampoo endorsement.[60] Shortly after defeating Booker T at WrestleMania, Edge was drafted to the SmackDown! brand in the first WWF Draft Lottery. During this time, Edge also gained Never Gonna Stop (The Red Red Kroovy) by Rob Zombie as his new entrance theme.

Upon arriving there, he began a feud with Kurt Angle. At Backlash, Angle defeated Edge which later culminated in Edge shaving Angle's head following a hair vs. hair match at Judgment Day in May.[61] On the May 30 episode of SmackDown!, Edge defeated Angle in a steel cage match to end the feud but during the match Edge speared Angle from the top rope. In the process, Edge injured his arm and would be forced out of action for a month. Two months later, he would end up winning the World Tag Team Championship alongside Hollywood Hulk Hogan on the July 4 episode of SmackDown!.[62] Edge and Hogan lost the titles at Vengeance to Lance Storm and Christian, and at SummerSlam, Edge defeated Eddie Guerrero then lost to Guerrero at Unforgiven. They met one final time days later on SmackDown! in a No Disqualification match where Edge won, ending the feud. He then formed a tag team with Rey Mysterio, and the two participated in a tournament for the newly created and SmackDown!-exclusive WWE Tag Team Championship. They lost to Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit in the finals of the tournament at No Mercy; the match was voted Match of the Year by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.[63] After they failed in winning the title, Mysterio and Edge defeated Los Guerreros in a number one contender's match on the October 24 episode of SmackDown! to earn a title shot.[64] At the Rebellion pay-per-view, Edge faced Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman in a Handicap match for the WWE Championship where Lesnar retained the title after Lesnar pinned Edge. On the November 7 episode of SmackDown!, they defeated Angle and Benoit in a two out-of-three falls match to win their first Tag Team Championship.[65] They soon lost the tag titles to Los Guerreros in a triple threat elimination match that also involved former champions Angle and Benoit at Survivor Series.[66]

After losing the title, Edge and Mysterio went their separate ways to focus on their singles careers. Edge competed in the 30-man Royal Rumble match on January 19, 2003, where he had three eliminations before getting eliminated by Chris Jericho. Edge then teamed up with Chris Benoit, facing Team Angle in a series of singles and tag team matches. Prior to No Way Out, Edge suffered a legitimate neck injury, rendering him unable to compete in his scheduled match. The injury stemmed from a bump he took on a closed ladder on the September 26, 2002 edition of Smackdown! while wrestling Eddie Guerrero, who then frog splashed him while he was still laying on the ladder. His arms would then numb more and more in the following months before deciding to have the surgery, as he was gradually in more pain and didn't want to risk dropping an opponent dangerously because of his numb arms.[67] At the event on February 23, Edge was written off television through a backstage attack. He then underwent surgery with Dr. Lloyd Youngblood and was sidelined for over a year.[68]

Edge was placed on the Raw brand in the 2004 WWE draft lottery on March 22, 2004, where he speared Eric Bischoff and returned to in-ring action shortly after the event.[69] After spearing Bischoff, Edge adopted a drastically different gimmick, becoming crazed and brash. As a result of this gimmick change, Edge also went back to using his original entrance theme. At Backlash, Edge defeated Kane,[70] and on the April 19 episode of Raw, he and World Heavyweight Champion Chris Benoit won the World Tag Team Championship.[71] They continued a close partnership even after losing the title; at Bad Blood, Edge and Benoit defeated La Résistance in a Tag team match for the World Tag Team Championship by disqualification but didn't win the titles. The team disbanded when Edge won the Intercontinental Championship at Vengeance defeating Randy Orton, thus becoming a five time Intercontinental Champion.[72] At SummerSlam, Edge defeated Chris Jericho and Batista in a triple threat match to retain the Intercontinental Championship.[73] Following a legitimate groin injury in a non-televised match, Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff stripped Edge of the Intercontinental title.[74]

Upon his return, Edge began to pursue the World Heavyweight Championship. Edge, Chris Benoit, and Shawn Michaels received a title shot for Triple H's World Heavyweight Championship at Taboo Tuesday in October 2004. Michaels won the audience vote to receive the title shot, giving Edge and Benoit a tag team title shot against La Résistance. They regained the titles. During the match, an angry Edge abandoned his partner and instead interfered in the World Heavyweight Championship match, costing Michaels the championship.[75] On the November 1 episode of Raw, Edge and Benoit lost the World Tag Team Championship back to La Résistance with Edge abandoning Benoit again and sitting in a chair and watching the match. After the conclusion of the match, Edge attacked Benoit, turning heel in the process.[76] Edge would then become cocky and egotistical, while also being more vicious and destructive than ever before. Edge would also gain a new entrance theme, Metalingus, performed by then-newly-established band, Alter Bridge. At Survivor Series, Edge was part of Team Triple H along with Triple H, Batista and Snitsky. They were defeated by Team Orton. During the match, Edge eliminated both Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho before getting eliminated by Randy Orton.[77]

On the November 29 episode of Raw, both Edge and Benoit competed in a number one contender's battle royal, but they eliminated each other simultaneously at the conclusion of the match, resulting in a draw.[78] As a result, Triple H was forced to defend the title in a triple threat match. In the match, Benoit locked the Crippler Crossface on Edge, who shifted his weight putting Benoit's shoulders on the mat for a pin. This match also ended in a draw for Benoit and Edge, as Benoit made Edge submit at the same time the referee counted a pinfall for Edge.[78] As a result, the World Heavyweight title was vacated the following week on Raw. On January 9, 2005, Edge competed in his first Elimination Chamber match at New Year's Revolution for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship. Special guest referee Shawn Michaels performed a superkick on Edge, in retaliation for an accidental spear by Edge, causing Edge to be the first eliminated.[79] This led to a match at the Royal Rumble later in the month, in which Edge defeated Michaels. Edge also competed in the Royal Rumble match later that night, where he lasted until the final three but was eliminated by Batista and John Cena.[80]

Edge was the first ever Money in the Bank contract holder

At WrestleMania 21, Edge won the first ever Money in the Bank ladder match, gaining a contract that gave him a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship within one year.[81] According to a podcast interview with Chris Jericho, Copeland said that he did not initially like the idea of the ladder match and even told WWE management not to include him on the WrestleMania 21 card altogether. However, he was talked into competing by the other participants like Jericho and Glenn Jacobs who said the match had the potential to be a big success. At Backlash, Edge defeated Chris Benoit in a Last Man Standing match to end the feud.[82] Several weeks after, Edge was then paired with Lita, his real-life girlfriend at the time, in an angle in which she betrayed her storyline husband Kane, by costing him a number-one contender match for the World Heavyweight Championship on the May 16 episode of Raw.[83] The next week, Edge received his World Heavyweight Championship match against Batista, which he lost.[84] Edge started a feud with Kane leading to several matches between them including one at Vengeance, when Edge lost to Kane.[85] After trading several victories on Raw, the feud ended in a stretcher match on the July 25 episode of Raw that Edge won, but shortly after, Kane performed a tombstone piledriver on Lita and later abducted her in an ambulance.[86]

On the July 11 episode of Raw, Edge's match with Kane was interrupted when Matt Hardy made a surprise appearance. Hardy referred to Edge by his real name and issued a threat to Lita as well.[87] When Hardy was officially brought back to Raw, he and Edge continued their feud, including a match at SummerSlam where Edge defeated Hardy, causing Hardy to have excessive blood loss.[88] A week later on Raw, after a match Hardy had with Rob Conway, Edge then appeared and overpowered Hardy. He then wedged Hardy's head between the steel steps and the ringpost, and then kicked the steel steps into Hardy's head.[89] On the August 29 episode of Raw, Edge and Hardy fought in a Street Fight, which resulted in a no contest when Hardy performed a side effect on Edge off the entrance ramp into the sound speakers and other electrical equipment.[90] They also fought in a Steel cage match at Unforgiven in September in which Hardy defeated Edge.[91] The feud culminated in a Loser Leaves Raw ladder match on Raw Homecoming on October 3, which Edge won.[92] After the match, Hardy left the Raw brand to go to the SmackDown! brand, while Edge suffered a legit torn pectoralis major muscle that kept him shelved for a couple of months.[93] During his time off, he starred in his own talk show segment on Raw entitled The Cutting Edge,[94] dubbing himself the "Rated-R Superstar". Edge used his talk show to start a feud with Ric Flair following Flair's well-publicized arrest in connection with a road rage incident.[94][95] Edge eventually began using The Cutting Edge as a soapbox to run down Flair until, after weeks of public mockery, Flair eventually showed up and attacked Edge.[96] Edge and Flair formally met at the New Year's Revolution event in January 2006 in a match for Flair's Intercontinental Championship, which resulted in Flair retaining after Edge was disqualified.[97]

Edge facing off against John Cena during a WWE house show

Although Edge had lost his scheduled match at New Year's Revolution, that would not be his only match that evening as the main event saw John Cena, the reigning WWE Champion, defend his title in an Elimination Chamber match. After a bloody Cena won the match, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon revealed that Edge was cashing in his Money in the Bank contract to face Cena for the championship immediately. After two spears, Edge quickly defeated Cena to win the WWE Championship, marking his first world title win.[97] The following night on Raw, Edge decided to celebrate his victory by having "hot, unbridled sex" in the middle of the ring. He and Lita engaged in foreplay until they were interrupted by Flair, who called Edge a disgrace and "that he was horrible in the sack".[98] Flair, however, ended up on the receiving end of a con-chair-to on the announcers' table until Cena came out to Flair's aid and performed an FU on Lita.[98] The "Live Sex Celebration" segment earned Raw a 5.2 rating,[99] the highest Raw rating in over a year,[100] leading Edge to call himself the "most watched champion ever".[101] On the January 16 episode of Raw, Edge defeated Ric Flair in a TLC match to retain the WWE Championship.[101] At the Royal Rumble, Edge lost the WWE Championship back to Cena.[102]

Edge then lost a return match on a special Thursday episode of Raw held in February and blamed special guest referee Mick Foley for his loss, claiming biased officiating and attacked him.[103] At Saturday Night's Main Event XXXII, Foley got revenge on Edge by assaulting him with a con-chair-to.[104] They feuded until WrestleMania 22 in April, where a heavily bloodied, abrasion and thumbtack-covered Edge defeated the "Hardcore Legend" Foley in a violent and brutal hardcore match (which involved spots involving barbed wire and other metallic objects) by Spearing him through a flaming table[105] but suffered second degree burns, thanks to anti-flame material not being applied to the table, at both wrestlers' request.[106][23] Following his feud with Foley, Edge once again challenged John Cena for the WWE Championship. Triple H was involved in a feud with Cena at the time, resulting in a triple threat match at Backlash, where Cena pinned Triple H to retain the title.[107] After Backlash, Edge continued his feud with Mick Foley as they entered a triple threat hardcore match. Foley, however, betrayed his friend Tommy Dreamer with Edge's assistance.[108] Edge and Foley then proclaimed that, because of their brutal match at WrestleMania, they were the true Hardcore Champions.[109] At June's pay-per-view event One Night Stand, Edge, Foley and Lita defeated Dreamer, Terry Funk and Beulah McGillicutty in an Extreme Rules tag team match.[110] Later in the event, Edge interfered in the WWE Championship match between John Cena and challenger Rob Van Dam, helping Van Dam win the title after he speared Cena through a table.[110]

Edge, pictured with his custom "Rated-R" Spinner belt, at Unforgiven during his second WWE Championship reign

Edge, who won a number one contender's match to face Van Dam for the WWE title, was unable to win their match at Vengeance.[111] Two weeks later on Raw, Edge pinned Van Dam in a triple threat match, after blindsiding Cena with the title belt, to become WWE Champion for the second time.[112] This angle re-ignited Edge's feud with Cena, and he lost by disqualification at Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIII in order to retain the title.[113] Subsequently, a match was made for the August event SummerSlam with the stipulation that if Edge disqualified himself, he would lose the title. At the event, Edge retained the title by pinning Cena after he hit him in the back of the head with a pair of brass knuckles when the referee was not looking.[114] The night after SummerSlam, Lita disposed of Cena's customized "spinner" belt into the Long Island Sound at Edge's command, who declared it the end of the "Cena era" in his life. Edge later unveiled the new "Rated-R" version of the belt.[115] Cena, however, interfered in Edge's match with a returning Jeff Hardy later that night, chasing him down to the outside of the building, assaulting him, and tossing Edge into the Long Island Sound.[115] The following week, Cena made a deal with Edge: if Edge could defeat him in a match for the WWE Championship, he would sign a contract to move to Friday Night SmackDown!.[116] Edge accepted, on the condition the match be a TLC match held at September's Unforgiven event in Edge's home town of Toronto.[116] At the event, he lost the championship after Cena performed the FU on him, sending Edge crashing through two stacked tables from a ladder.[117] At one point during the match, Cena locked in a modified STF while Edge was in a ladder,[117] who later said he was legitimately choked unconscious, the first time he had been knocked out in a match during his career.[118]

Edge tagging with Randy Orton as Rated-RKO

On the October 2 episode of Raw, interference from the newly reformed D-Generation X (DX) (Triple H and Shawn Michaels) cost Edge his "final chance" at John Cena's WWE Championship in a Steel cage match, though their interference was a response to the interference of Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch.[119] It led to Edge approaching Randy Orton and asking him to join forces to defeat DX, which Orton accepted and joined an alliance with Edge.[120] The two formed the tag team Rated-RKO.[121] At Cyber Sunday on November 6, Rated-RKO defeated D-Generation X with Eric Bischoff as the special guest referee.[122] On the November 13 episode of Raw, Rated-RKO defeated Ric Flair and Roddy Piper to win the WWE World Tag Team Championship, making Edge a record eleven-time tag team champion.[123][124] At Survivor Series on November 26, Rated-RKO teamed with Johnny Nitro, Mike Knox and Gregory Helms to face Team DX (Triple H, Shawn Michaels, CM Punk, Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy) in a Survivor Series match, but all members of Team Rated-RKO were eliminated.[125] Also that month, Lita retied, and her on-screen relationship with Edge abruptly ended, with no explanation.

As part of the storyline angle, Rated-RKO attacked Ric Flair with steel chairs to enrage DX on November 27.[126] At New Year's Revolution in January 2007, Rated-RKO faced DX in a title defense, but the match was declared a no-contest when Triple H suffered a legitimate injury during the match.[127] At Royal Rumble, Edge competed in the 30-man Royal Rumble match where he lasted the longest in the match with a time of 44 minutes, eliminating 5 men and making it to the final 4 in the match before getting eliminated by Shawn Michaels, With Triple H out of action, the team continued their on-screen rivalry with remaining DX member Shawn Michaels. Michaels teamed with John Cena to defeat Rated-RKO for the tag team championship on January 29, 2007.[128] Edge and Orton suffered a series of losses to Cena and Michaels in the following months, In April 2007, Edge competed in the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 23. During the match, Matt Hardy threw him onto a ladder and encouraged Jeff Hardy, who was close to the winning briefcase, to finish him off. Hardy then leaped off the 20-foot-high (6.1 m) ladder, and drove him through the ladder with a leg drop, seemingly injuring both Edge & himself. The two were unable to continue the match and were removed from ringside on stretchers.[129] After this Edge and Orton also became rivals in their goals of achieving the WWE Championship. Neither Edge nor Orton won the championship, and they lost their claims as number one contenders after a failed match with Cena at Backlash in April.[130]

On the May 7 episode of Raw, Edge interrupted an in-ring promo by the winner of the 2007 Money in the Bank contract, Mr. Kennedy. Kennedy had said for weeks that he would not cash in the contract until the following WrestleMania, but Edge decided to goad him into a match for his briefcase. Edge attacked Kennedy before the match even started, severely injuring his shoulder, and took advantage of the injury to beat Kennedy and take the briefcase.[131] Edge thus became the first person to gain the Money in the Bank contract twice and the first, and so far only, not to do so in the ladder match.[132]

On the May 11 episode of SmackDown!, World Heavyweight Champion The Undertaker retained his title against Batista in a steel cage match. Then, Mark Henry attacked the Undertaker. Despite being part of the Raw roster, Edge would appear and cash in his Money in the Bank contract on an injured Undertaker. After two spears, Edge pinned the Undertaker for the victory and his first World Heavyweight Championship.[133] As a result, Edge became a member of the SmackDown! roster. Edge then began a feud with Batista and successfully defended his championship title against him at Judgment Day,[134] in a Steel Cage match at One Night Stand,[135] and a third and final time by count out in a last chance match at Vengeance.[136] Edge then began a feud with Kane after SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long announced Kane as the new number one contender for the World Heavyweight title.[137] Edge was forced to relinquish the World title due to a legitimately torn left pectoral muscle injury on the July 20 episode of SmackDown! following an attack by Kane.[138]

Edge alongside Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder, three principal members of La Familia

On November 18, at Survivor Series, Edge made his return, interfering in a World Heavyweight Championship Hell in a Cell match between Batista and The Undertaker.[139] The following SmackDown! show saw Edge and General Manager Vickie Guerrero make their relationship public,[140] making his official in-ring return in a World title match against Batista on November 30, a match that ended after The Undertaker interfered.[141] At Armageddon, Edge won his second World Heavyweight Championship, after giving The Undertaker two chair shots and pinning the defending champion Batista (who had been Tombstoned by Undertaker prior) in a Triple Threat match. During the match, Edge used two look-a-likes to distract Batista and The Undertaker.[142] It was later revealed that these look-a-likes were the Major Brothers,[143] who were then repackaged as Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder. Edge also formed an alliance with Chavo Guerrero, nephew of Vickie Guerrero, and on the January 22, 2008 broadcast of ECW, he assisted Chavo in winning the ECW Championship from CM Punk.[144] This group group eventually came under the name of La Familia (Spanish for "The Family"). Edge then successfully defended the World Heavyweight Championship over Rey Mysterio at the Royal Rumble[145] and again No Way Out in February.[146] Also that month, he proposed to Vickie, which she accepted.[147]

Edge before facing Undertaker at WrestleMania XXIV in 2008

At WrestleMania XXIV in March, Edge lost the World Heavyweight Championship to the Undertaker when he tapped out to the Hell's Gate.[148] In a WrestleMania rematch, The Undertaker defeated Edge once again at Backlash to retain the World Heavyweight championship.[149] Following Backlash, the Undertaker was stripped of the World title by Vickie Guerrero for using the Hell's Gate, which she previously banned.[150] After winning a tournament to determine who would face the Undertaker for the vacant championship,[151] the two met at Judgment Day, which ended in Edge losing via countout. However, since championships cannot change hands via countout, no champion was crowned.[152] A rematch was scheduled for One Night Stand, in a TLC match. On the May 23 episode of SmackDown, Vickie Guerrero added a stipulation that stated if the Undertaker were to lose, he would be kayfabe fired from the WWE.[153] At the event on June 1, Edge would defeat the Undertaker after interference from Chavo Guerrero and Bam Neely, in the process winning the World Heavyweight Championship for the third time. Since he lost, the Undertaker was also forced to leave the company.[154]

On June 29, Edge retained his championship against Batista at Night of Champions in June, after interference from La Familia.[155] The next night on Raw, Edge appeared to gloat that all the top championships were on SmackDown, as WWE Champion Triple H was drafted to SmackDown in the WWE draft earlier that week. A vengeful Batista then appeared and incapacitated Edge with the Batista Bomb. Just as Batista was leaving, CM Punk ran to the ring carrying his Money in the Bank briefcase, with referee in tow, who then cashed in the briefcase. Edge, who was still knocked down from the attack by Batista, was easily pinned by Punk after a Go To Sleep, losing the World Heavyweight Championship in the process. Due to this win, the championship became exclusive to the Raw brand.[156]

On the July 4 episode of SmackDown, Edge took his frustrations out on Vickie because he lost the title and told her the wedding was off.[157] The following week, however, after Guerrero saved Edge from a con-chair-to by The Big Show, Edge re-proposed, and the wedding was back on.[158] On the July 18 episode of SmackDown, at the wedding reception, Triple H came out and showed a video of Edge cheating on Guerrero the day before with the wedding planner, Alicia Fox. At The Great American Bash in July, Edge faced Triple H for the WWE Championship, but lost.[159] Edge attempted to apologize to Guerrero, but she revealed to him that she had rehired The Undertaker and that Edge would face him in a Hell in a Cell match at SummerSlam.[160] Edge then turned on La Familia during the August 8 episode of SmackDown, performing a one-man con-chair-to on Chavo Guerrero in the ring, and tossed Vickie out of her wheelchair, effectively disbanding the faction.[161] At SummerSlam, The Undertaker defeated Edge, and after the match, Undertaker chokeslammed Edge off the top of a ladder and through the ring canvas, with flames rising from the hole.[162]

Edge celebrating after winning his fourth WWE Championship

On November 23, at Survivor Series, Edge returned to WWE after an introduction by SmackDown General Manager and his on-screen wife Vickie Guerrero, replacing Jeff Hardy in the Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship involving champion Triple H and Vladimir Kozlov. He pinned Triple H to become the WWE Champion for the third time in his career.[163] The following month, Edge lost the title to Hardy at Armageddon in a triple threat match, which also featured Triple H.[164] At the Royal Rumble, however, Edge regained the title in a no disqualification match, following Matt Hardy's interference.[165] The following month at No Way Out, Edge lost the WWE title in an Elimination Chamber after being pinned by Jeff Hardy, being the first to be eliminated, with the title eventually being won by Triple H.[166] Later that night, Edge inserted himself into the World Championship Elimination Chamber match after attacking Kofi Kingston and barricading himself inside one of the Chamber's pods, proceeding to win his fourth World Heavyweight Championship, last eliminating Rey Mysterio and taking the title over to SmackDown.[167] At WrestleMania XXV in April, Edge lost the championship to John Cena in a Triple Threat match, which also included The Big Show,[168] but regained the championship for a fifth time at Backlash, when he defeated Cena in a Last Man Standing match, after interference by The Big Show.[169] After a successful defense against Jeff Hardy at Judgment Day,[170] he lost the title to Hardy at Extreme Rules in a ladder match. While Hardy was celebrating, CM Punk cashed in his Money in the Bank and defeated Hardy to win the World Heavyweight Championship.[171] The following night on Raw, Guerrero resigned as the Raw General Manager due to being humiliated, and Edge came out to apologize. Instead, however, he confessed he married Guerrero only because she had authoritative powers as the General Manager, and sought a divorce.[172] On the June 15 episode of Raw, Edge received his rematch for the World Heavyweight Championship in a triple threat match against both Hardy and Punk, but was pinned by Punk.[173]

In June, Edge won the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship (the unified version of the World Tag Team Championship from the Raw brand and the WWE Tag Team Championship from the SmackDown brand) with Chris Jericho at The Bash after he and Jericho were inserted into what was originally a match between reigning champions The Colóns and Legacy. The win made Edge a record setting 12 time World Tag Team Champion.[174] On July 3, Edge suffered a torn Achilles tendon while competing at a live event in San Diego in a match against Jeff Hardy, and later underwent surgery. It was reported that he could be out of action for up to a year.[175] During Edge's absence, Jericho replaced him with Big Show (forming Jeri-Show) and Jericho began to speak badly of Edge, mocking him for his injury.[176]

Edge after winning the 2010 Royal Rumble

At the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event on January 31, 2010, Edge returned from injury by entering the Royal Rumble match as the twenty ninth surprise entrant, where he won the Royal Rumble match for the first time in his career, after last eliminating John Cena.[177] At Elimination Chamber, after Chris Jericho won the World Heavyweight Championship, Edge challenged Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXVI after a surprise attack on Jericho, turning face in the process.[178] At WrestleMania, Edge failed to win the title.[179] The following month, Edge defeated Jericho in a steel cage match at Extreme Rules, ending their feud.[180]

On April 26, as part of 2010 WWE draft, Edge was drafted to the Raw brand, also costing Randy Orton a title shot, by spearing him in a triple threat match against Batista and Sheamus.[181] On the April 30 episode of SmackDown, Edge said goodbye to the SmackDown fans. However, Edge turned on the fans by calling them "puppets" for chanting for him and later tried a sneak attack on his former tag team partner Christian, thus turning heel once again.[182] Edge began a feud with his Randy Orton, with both Edge and Orton gaining the upper hand over one another. Much of the antagonism stemmed of Orton's refusal to re-form Rated-RKO with Edge, as Edge wanted to pursue the tag team titles he had been stripped of.[183] Edge and Orton met in a match at May's Over the Limit pay-per-view, with the match resulting in a double countout.[184] At Fatal 4-Way event, Edge participated in a fatal four-way match that also included Orton, John Cena, and Sheamus for the WWE Championship, though Edge failed to win the title.[185] The following month, Edge participated in the Money in the Bank ladder match at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, but failed to win the briefcase, as it was won by The Miz.[186] Edge then went on to participate in the main event of SummerSlam in a seven-on-seven elimination tag team match against The Nexus. Although he was eliminated by Heath Slater, his team were victorious.[187] On the 900th episode of Raw, Edge disqualified himself in the main event in a five-on-five elimination match against The Nexus. This saw him enter into a feud with the anonymous Raw General Manager, during which the general manager cost him several matches. At Night of Champions, Edge participated in a six-pack elimination challenge for the WWE Championship, but once again failed to win the title.[188]

Edge at WWE Tribute to the Troops in December 2010

At the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view (PPV) event on October 3, Edge defeated Jack Swagger.[189] The next night on Raw, he was traded to the SmackDown brand for SmackDown's CM Punk, due to him destroying the Raw General Manager computer, thus turning face once again.[190] On the October 15 episode of SmackDown, he defeated Dolph Ziggler to become part of Team SmackDown at Bragging Rights. At the event, Edge won the cup for Team SmackDown alongside Rey Mysterio, eliminating R-Truth, John Morrison and The Miz.

On the October 29 episode of SmackDown, Edge defeated Rey Mysterio and Alberto Del Rio to become the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship at Survivor Series. On the November 12 episode of SmackDown, Edge lost his match with David Otunga, thanks to Paul Bearer's interference. Edge then kidnapped Bearer and used him to cost Kane his match with Big Show. The following week, Edge tortured Paul Bearer, forcing him to play dodge ball and force feeding him, planning to wear down Kane. He then ambushed Kane in the garage when he was a few feet from Paul Bearer and drove away with his hostage. At Survivor Series, Edge failed to win the title after the referee determined the match a draw, due to both men pinning each other at the same time.[191] On November 26, Edge was offered a chance at a rematch with Kane for the title, if he would let Bearer go free. But Edge did not keep his word. At the end of the night, Edge lured Kane outside and drove over a dummy of Paul Bearer before driving off with the real one again. On December 3, Edge continued to annoy Kane with dummies of Paul Bearer. In their non-title match that would allow the winner to decide the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs match Edge came out the winner, then chose a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match then left a man dressed as Paul Bearer before escaping again with Paul Bearer tied up on a truck. On December 10, Kane pleaded with Edge to return his father, but Edge refused and tested his TLC skills on Paul Bearer. That night, Kane rejected participating in the main event with his would be partner, Alberto Del Rio. Kane chased his nemesis to where Paul Bearer was held, atop two ladders in another part of the arena. Kane first thought it was a dummy then unwittingly pushed Paul Bearer off to the bottom, injuring Bearer and writing him out. On December 17, because of worries that Kane may not show up to TLC, Teddy Long added Alberto Del Rio and Rey Mysterio to the mix. While Edge fought alongside Rey Mysterio against The Miz and Del Rio, Kane barged in until Teddy Long had the entire SmackDown locker room restrain them. On December 19, 2010 Edge defeated Kane, Rey Mysterio, and Alberto Del Rio in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs to win the World Heavyweight Championship for a record sixth time and making him a ten time World Champion.[192] Edge then defended the World Championship against Kane in a winning effort in a Last Man Standing match, thus ending their feud.

Edge destroying Alberto Del Rio's car after what would become his final televised match, at WrestleMania XXVII

At the Royal Rumble on January 30, 2011, Edge successfully defended his World Heavyweight Championship against Dolph Ziggler.[193] On the 600th episode of SmackDown on February 18, acting General Manager Guerrero fired Edge in storyline, and awarded the World Championship to her on-screen boyfriend Ziggler. SmackDown General Manager Teddy Long returned later that night, and rehired Edge. Edge then defeated Ziggler to become the World Heavyweight Champion for the record seventh and final time, his 11th world championship overall.[194] At the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Edge successfully defended his World Heavyweight Championship in an Elimination Chamber match by finally pinning Rey Mysterio. After he won the match, he was attacked by Royal Rumble winner Alberto Del Rio, but was saved by the returning Christian.[195] Edge and Christian briefly reunited to defeat Del Rio and his bodyguard Brodus Clay on the March 11 episode of SmackDown.[196] At WrestleMania XXVII, Edge successfully defended the World Title against Alberto Del Rio.[197]

Edge was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012

On the April 11, 2011, episode of Raw, Edge gave an emotional speech about his career and the realities of wrestling. He reflected upon his previous neck injury and cervical vertebral fusion, and stated that he had felt numbness in his arms. He passed basic-strength tests prior to WrestleMania, but WWE had urged him for further testing and an MRI result forced him to retire. This was diagnosed as cervical spinal stenosis, and doctors would not clear him to compete, for risk of neck-down paralysis or even death should he take a hard enough fall.[198][199][200] Later that same week on the April 15 episode of SmackDown, Edge officially relinquished the World Heavyweight Championship, retiring as the World Champion in the process of recapping his announcement and expressing gratitude over this happening now rather than it being too late.[201]

On the April 22 episode of SmackDown, Edge interrupted Alberto Del Rio's mock retirement party for him.[202] At Extreme Rules, Edge helped his friend Christian to win the vacant World Heavyweight Championship.[203] At SummerSlam, Edge was in Christian's corner for his World Heavyweight Championship defense against Randy Orton but, disappointed by the cowardly tactics Christian used to win his second World Heavyweight Championship, berated him and walked out on him. Christian then lost the title to Orton for a second time.[204] On the September 16 episode of SmackDown, in his hometown of Toronto, Edge hosted The Cutting Edge between Mark Henry and the World Heavyweight Champion, Randy Orton. After the show went off the air, they held Edge Appreciation Night to celebrate his career.

Edge and Christian at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony in April 2018

On March 31, 2012, Edge was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Christian, during WrestleMania XXVIII weekend.[205] Edge made a surprise appearance on the April 23, 2012 episode of Raw, confronting his long-time rival John Cena about Brock Lesnar.[206] On the September 21, 2012 episode of SmackDown, Edge made an appearance addressing Team Hell No.[207] Edge returned on the September 9, 2013, episode of Raw in his hometown of Toronto where he hosted his talk show The Cutting Edge having Daniel Bryan as his special guest.[208] Edge insulted Triple H in the segment, who retaliated by sending The Shield to attack Edge's friend Christian. Later that week, Edge hosted The Cutting Edge on the September 13 episode of SmackDown, where he mocked Randy Orton and watched as Orton's attack on Bryan backfired.[209] Edge and Christian hosted the December 29, 2014 episode of Raw, where they held the first ever Cutting Edge Peep Show interviewing Seth Rollins, who, along with Big Show, attacked them. Rollins held Edge hostage, thus forcing John Cena to reinstate the Authority. When Rollins tried to break Edge's neck anyway, Cena ended up making the save.[210] On November 15, 2016 on the 900th episode of SmackDown, Edge hosted a special edition of The Cutting Edge with the men's SmackDown Survivor Series team members as his guests and was later interrupted by the returning Undertaker.[211] On April 7, 2018, Edge and Christian inducted the Dudley Boyz into the WWE Hall of Fame.[212] Later that year on October 16 at the 1,000th episode of SmackDown, Edge hosted The Cutting Edge with SmackDown Women's Champion Becky Lynch as his guest.[213]

At the SummerSlam pay-per-view event on August 11, 2019, in his hometown of Toronto, Canada, Edge interrupted Elias' performance and performed a spear on him, engaging in physical wrestling for the first time since his retirement.[214] This sparked rumours that Edge had been medically cleared to wrestle, which he denied.[215]

At the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event on January 26, 2020, Edge entered into the Royal Rumble match, therefore competing in his first professional wrestling match after a nine-year retirement.[216] He eliminated three participants, before being eliminated by Roman Reigns.[217] On the following night on Raw, Edge was viciously attacked by former teammate Randy Orton, starting a feud between the two.[218] In the following weeks, the feud became very personal after Orton attacked Beth Phoenix, who is Edge's wife.[219] Edge then challenged Orton to a Last Man Standing match at WrestleMania 36, which Orton accepted.[220] At WrestleMania, in his first singles match since WrestleMania XXVII, Edge won the match.[221][222] On the May 11 episode of Raw, both Edge and Orton made their first post-WrestleMania appearance, Orton challenged Edge to a traditional singles match at Backlash, and Edge accepted.[223] At the event, Edge lost to Orton.[224] WWE announced that Edge suffered torn triceps[225] and it was reported that the injury would sideline him for four to eight months.[226]

• Copeland, Adam (2004). Adam Copeland on Edge. World Wrestling Entertainment Books. ISBN 978-1-4165-0523-5.
• "2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts". Wrestling's historical cards. Kappa Publishing. 2007.
• Edge: A Decade of Decadence DVD. World Wrestling Entertainment. 2008.