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HeadLocker — Jay Shannon

OWW Wrestler of the Week: Edge

Our resident philosopher, Jay Shannon, looks at the new World Champion. Edge exchanged his WWE title for the World title, thanks to an attack on Kofi Kingston at No Way Out. Smackdown now has both major titles, thanks to the Rated R Superstar.

Edge looked to be having a really bad night at No Way Out. He was the first person pinned in the Smackdown edition of the Elimination Chamber match. Edge appeared to lose the status of champion. By the end of the night, he had earned himself his old belt, the World title, back in the Raw Elimination Chamber match. Edge’s creative way of getting himself a new title and his recent run as WWE champ have earned Adam “Edge” Copeland this week’s OWW: Wrestler of the Week award.

The Pen is mightier…

Adam Copeland grew up in Ontario, Canada. He loved wrestling as a child. One of the highlights of his young life, according to Adam, was attending Wrestlemania VI.

Adam entered a writing contest to describe why he should be considered for training as a wrestler. He won the contest and received training from Ron Hutchins and Sweet Daddy Siki. Adam was joined in training by long-time friend, W. J. Reso (who would go onto to become Christian Cage).

Copeland began his career as Sexton Hardcastle. He first teamed with Joe E. Legend as the team of Sex and Violence. Eventually, they were united with Christian Cage, Rhino Richards (Terry Gerin), and Bill Skullion as Thug Life. Hardcastle and Cage meshed so well that they were eventually paired up as Hard Impact, later known as the Suicide Blondes. The team also did a tour of Japan as the Canadian Rockers.

The Brotherhood of Blood

Adam Copeland got an offer to join the WWE, which he gladly accepted. Edge first appeared as an angry loner that wandered aimlessly. Much like The Sandman, Edge made his entrance through the crowd. Edge ran as a solo act for over a year. He won his first singles title, the Intercontinental Championship, from Jeff Jarrett on July 24,1999 in Toronto. He would lose the title back to Jarrett, 24 hours later.

Edge was placed into a feud against Gangrel. Gangrel would eventually bring in Edge’s “Brother” Christian (Cage) to try and convince Edge to join Gangrel’s group. Edge eventually agreed and The Brood was born. The group both aligned with and feuded against the Undertaker and his minions.

A family divided

Edge and Christian eventually broke from Gangrel and began to work as a tandem. Edge and Christian feuded with The Hardy Boyz, who had joined with Gangrel as The New Brood. Edge and Christian would hold the tag team titles on numerous occasions. Their feuds with the Hardyz and the Dudley Boyz were legendary.

Edge began move away from the tag team division. His first major success came in winning the 2001 King of the Ring. Edge then moved on to capture the Intercontinental Championship. Christian began to resent his “brother” getting all the attention. The two feuded over the I-C title. Edge eventually lost the I-C title to Test. Soon after, Edge won the (WCW) US title. Edge battled Test to unify the titles. Edge won the battle. Edge would feud with various people until early 2003.

A series of (bad) breaks

Edge was in the middle of a major push when he injured his neck. It required surgery that kept Edge on the sidelines for close to a year. As Edge prepared to return from his neck surgery, he broke his wrist while preparing to re-start his career.

When Edge was finally able to return, he found himself struggling against the champions. Edge was forced into teaming with Chris Benoit for the WWE Tag Team titles. Even though Edge walked away from the match, the team came out victorious. That title run would last just one day. Benoit walked out on Edge on Raw and Edge was pinned.

Life imitates art

Edge found himself the subject of multiple Internet rumors concerning a relationship with Amy Dumas aka Lita. While the relationship was kept quiet for some time, eventually the writers incorporated into the storylines.

Lita was (story-wise) married to Kane, at the time. During a showdown between Edge and Kane, Matt Hardy (Lita’s long-time boyfriend) made an appearance. Edge and Matt got into some nasty fights over Lita. It was unclear how much of the fighting was scripted and how much was Matt striking out in real anger. The line between reality and fantasy blurred so much that no clear answer was ever indicated.

Edge would have an on-going relationship with Lita until she left the WWE in November, 2006. Lita allowed her contract to expire because she became tired of the heat that she received from fans over the Matt Hardy issue.

Banking on his future

Edge won the very first Money in the Bank match at Wrestlemania. He held onto the championship contract for several months. He waited until New Year’s Revolution-2006. John Cena had been involved in a brutal and bloody Elimination Chamber match. Just after winning the event, Cena was challenged by Edge. Edge cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase to take the WWE title. That title reign would only last three weeks.

After losing the title and the rematch, Edge found himself involved in a feud with Mick Foley. The two men fought a nasty Hardcore Match at Wrestlemania. Edge won the match after Spearing Foley through a flaming table.

Rated R-K-O

Edge lost his chance at the WWE title, held by John Cena, because of Shawn Michaels and Triple H (D-X). Edge wanted revenge but needed a partner. He used his interview segment, The Cutting Edge, to convince Randy Orton to help him. Orton had issues with Triple H that dated back to the Evolution days. Orton and Edge united to form a successful duo. Eventually, they merged their names to form Rated R-K-O.

The team would feud for months against D-X. That feud came to a screeching halt when Triple H tore his quad for a second time. Shawn Michaels wanted revenge for the injury on Triple H, so he enlisted John Cena to battle Orton and Edge. Shawn and Cena challenged Rated R-K-O for the tag titles that they had won from Ric Flair and Roddy Piper. Rated R-K-O lost the titles that night.

Rated R-K-O began to unravel as both men were placed in the Money in the Bank match at Wrestlemania 23. While Mr. Kennedy would win the match, Edge would trick Mr. Kennedy into putting the M-I-T-B briefcase up in a match. Edge took advantage of an injured Kennedy to take the briefcase and title shot.

The Undertaking of a World title

After taking the title shot from Mr. Kennedy, Edge waited for his title opportunity. The man who had been plagued with injuries found himself with a chance for a World title run due to an injury to Undertaker. Undertaker was going to have to take some time off to recover from some a serious injury. After a vicious, bloody cage match against Batista, Undertaker was attacked by Mark Henry. Edge waited in the wings and rushed to the ring before medics could cart the nearly unconscious Undertaker out of the arena. Edge presented the M-I-T-B Briefcase to the ref and demanded his title shot. Edge then Speared Undertaker to take the title.

Another controversial relationship

Edge, who had endured numerous injuries over his career, had to surrender the World Title after tearing his left pectoral muscle. Edge found himself on the sidelines for several months.

When Edge returned, he began a relationship (on screen) with Vickie Guerrero. This relationship drew even more heat than the Edge-Lita pairing. Many fans felt that the relationship was an insult to the memory of Eddie Guerrero. Vickie has stated in interviews that, in her opinion, Eddie would have approved of the storyline.

The relationship with Vickie later expanded to include her nephew, Chavo Guerrero, Bam Neely and a repackaged Majors Brothers. Edge used Brian and Brett, later renamed Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder, to help him win the World title. At Wrestlemania, Edge lost his world title to Undertaker. The two would have a bitter feud that would seem to end with Undertaker being banned for life, after losing a brutal TLC match to Edge.

Edge would eventually gain back his World title after Vickie stripped ‘Taker of the belt for using the his Gogoplata Triangle Choke (now called the Hell’s Gate). Edge would face Undertaker at One Night Stand in a TLC match. Thanks to a pre-match stipulation, Undertaker was banned for life from the WWE, after losing to Edge.

Edge would later drop the World title to C.M. Punk. Punk had won a title shot, thanks to winning the Money in the Bank match at Wrestlemania. Edge crashed Monday Night Raw to berate Jim Ross. Batista came out and beat Edge senseless. Punk then cashed in his Money in the Bank title shot and hit the G-T-S on an already weakened Edge. Edge then slinked back to Smackdown to prepare for his wedding to Vickie Guerrero.

A Woman Scorned

Edge and Vickie announced their engagement, to the uproar of many fans. During the planning of their wedding, Edge got romantically involved with the wedding planner, Alicia Fox. Vickie learned of the cheating by her soon-to-be hubby, thanks to Triple H. Vickie snapped and reinstated the Undertaker to take out her wayward fiancee. The two men squared off at the demonic Hell in a Cell match at Summerslam. After a vicious blood-letting brawl, Edge was Chokeslammed through the mat. Fire exploded from under the ring, seemingly frying the Rated R Superstar alive. Edge then disappeared for several months.

The Return

At Survivor Series, Jeff Hardy was taken out of the Smackdown Main Event by a mysterious attack at his hotel. Vickie Guerrero came out while Triple H and Vladimir Kozlov battled over the WWE title and screeched “He’s Here!”. The fans thought the GM meant Jeff Hardy. Who she actually meant was her “on-air” hubby, Edge. Edge came out and tore into both men. Edge eventually defeated Triple H to take the WWE title.

Jeff Hardy would return at Armageddon to take the title from Edge. Edge would regain the title at the Royal Rumble, thanks to Matt Hardy turning on his brother. Edge would only hold the title for less than a month. At No Way Out, Edge was eliminated, almost immediately, by Jeff Hardy in the Smackdown Elimination Chamber match. A seething Edge ranted and raved, backstage, about wanting a shot at championship gold. Edge then attacked Kofi Kingston, as the Jamaican Sensation made his way out for the Raw Elimination Chamber match. Edge then put himself in the match. The World title match came down to Edge versus Rey Mysterio. Edge eventually upset the masked man to take home the World title.

In conclusion:

Edge has been one of the most controversial players in the game. He’s gone from tag specialist to singles superstar. He’s been involved in some of the sleaziest storylines but almost always comes out better than he was going in. Edge may never be a fan favorite, but he will always be a top talent. This week, he’s the new World Champ and the OWW: Wrestler of the Week.

–Jay Shannon
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(2/16/09)