With Edge’s emotional (seemingly) farewell on Smackdown recently in his home town of Toronto, it’s a good time to take a look back at some of the best moments of the Rated R Superstar’s career. He certainly had a well renowned career in the ring, with 11 World Championships to his name, including a record 7 World Heavyweight Championships. Also the first ever Mr Money in the Bank, a 2 time Royal Rumble winner and former King of the Ring. His hall of fame career certainly gave us some great moments and matches so without further ado, here are our top 10 moments in Edge’s career.
10 Hometown TLC Match With One Of His Best Rivals
Edge certainly had a breakout 2006, we’ll touch on more of that later, and that led to one of the best rivalries in his career, with the face of the company at the time, John Cena. They certainly had a great feud throughout the summer where Edge got a victory in Cena’s hometown of Boston at Summerslam. They had the return match in Edge’s hometown of Toronto at Unforgiven, this time a TLC Match, and it was a classic. One of Edge’s best matches of his career, he and Cena put on a phenomenal display, and although Edge lost the match, he proved he more than belonged in the main event scene.
9 Royal Rumble Comeback And Win
Edge and Chris Jericho had a potentially hot tag team going in 2009. Both playing great heels at the time, and they won the Tag Team Championships at The Bash. Sadly Edge went down with a torn achilles tendon not long after and was originally diagnosed to be out for a year. Edge made his surprise and triumphant return at the 2010 Royal Rumble Match at number 29 and would go on to win the thing, punching his ticket to a championship match at Wrestlemania. What followed was Edge challenging his former tag partner, who was World Heavyweight Champion at the time, Chris Jericho, turning babyface for the first time in nearly 6 years. A Royal Rumble victory was a big feather in the cap of the Canadian.
8 King Of The Ring Winner
Edge rose quite quickly after only a few years on the main roster, mainly getting over due to his brilliant tag team with Christian, having great matches and doing awesome character work which really got both guys over. This would transition into Edge and Christian splitting in mid 2001 and going off as singles stars. Edge certainly benefitted the most as he was booked to win the 2001 King Of The Ring. While it may have been a little early for Edge, being crowned King was certainly a big achievement and not something given to superstars lightly as was evidenced by previous kings (with the exception of Billy Gunn) most of whom went on to be World Champions. Edge defeated the previous years winner and former WWF Champion, Kurt Angle, in the final.
7 Live Sex Celebration
Edge really was turning into a superb heel by 2006 and the addition of Lita by his side made him even more effective. The duo came across as arrogant, brash and didn’t hesistate to show their affection for each other in public, much to the chagrin of most fans. It made for great Tv. After Edge won the WWE Championship in 2006, he promised the world that he and Lita would have a live sex celebration to celebrate the victory. A bed was set up, Lita came out in her best lingerie, and god knows what might have happened had Ric Flair not interrupted them calling Edge a disgrace. It was a risky, and potentially controversial angle, but ultimately highly successful, drawing Raw’s highest rating in over 1 year, a huge achievement at the time.
6 Two Elimination Chamber Appearances In One Night
Unprecedentedly, the Rated R Superstar had two Elimination Chamber matches in one night at No Way Out 2009. This was a masterful piece of booking as Edge went into the first match of the night as WWE Champion, and left the last match of the night as World Heavyweight Champion. The show started off as hot as ever, as Edge started the chamber with Jeff Hardy and was the first superstar eliminated in 3 minutes which was a huge shocker. Then later in the night, in a move that defined his Ultimate Opportunist character, Edge attacked Kofi Kingston on the way down to the ring and barricaded himself inside the chamber pod and was now an active participant of the WWE Championship chamber match. Again in another shocker, the champion, John Cena, was eliminated before the final two which meant a new World Heavyweight Champion would be crowned. Edge fought off a valiant effort from Rey Mysterio to steal the championship in a brilliant and exciting swerve which meant for a great PPV that Edge was the centre of.
5 Edge Goes Hardcore Alongside Foley
Another moment from Edge’s great year of 2006, this time it was at the showcase of the immortals, at Wrestlemania 22. This was the perfect match for Edge to have after losing the WWE Championship, a proper showcase match against a legend that would put him over, that he could steal the show with. The two had an absolute brutal war, beating the hell out of each other with a number of weapons, Edge taking a huge amount of punishment and losing a lot of blood courtesy of barbed wire which really put him over big time as a man who would do anything for entertainment and could compete in every style of match. The crowd in attendance were wowed by what the two guys did and the sheer brutality of the match which was the best of that years Mania. It ultimately ended with one of the most iconic spears of Edge’s career as he speared Foley off the the apron through a flaming table to the floor.
4 TLC Match and Spear
This entry could’ve been all of Edge’s TLC/Ladder match iterations rolled into one as they were all phenomenal and iconic for various reasons, all alongside his partner, Christian. The triangle ladder match at Wrestlemania 2000, the first ever TLC match at Summerslam and then the one most people talk about, TLC 2 at Wrestlemania X7. This match is one of the best in Mania history as all 6 men put their bodies on the line and took ridiculous chances all for the cause of entertaining the fans. It’s no surprise that 4 of the 6 men went on to be World Champions as these matches really got them over and showed how much they were willing to sacrifice for the business. Specifically to Edge, was the most memorable spot in the match. As Jeff Hardy was dangling from the Tag Titles without a ladder underneath him, the Rated R Superstar, dove off a ladder and speared Jeff in mid air all the way to the ground in a legendary Wrestlemania moment that still gets replayed over and over today.
3 2020 Royal Rumble Comeback
Back in 2011, after Edge had just retained his World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania against Alberto Del Rio, the Rated R Superstar would be forced into premature retirement. He came out and cut an emotional speech on Raw which had fans visibly upset, in which he said his neck was too badly damaged and he had to retire to avoid risking further injury and even paralysis. Fast forward 9 years to one of the most shocking and memorable comebacks in Royal Rumble history. When the crowd heard “you think you know me” there was an absolute eruption and the visuals of Edge soaking it all in, were incredible. He looked visibly moved to be back and shaken by the crazy crowd reaction he received. The fact that WWE managed to keep it a secret too also added to the moment as no one was expecting it.
2 Wrestlemania Main Eventer
Edge got one of the biggest matches of his career in 2008, against one of his greatest rivals, The Undertaker. A Wrestlemania main event against perhaps the greatest Wrestlemania performer in history, with the streak very much a big deal and the World Heavyweight Championship on the line, it didn’t get much bigger than this for Edge. In the midst of an awesome heel run where he would somehow always find a way to escape with, and steal the World Title, Edge would go into a Mania as the perfect foil for a babyface Deadman. Edge was initially scheduled to go over too, ending the streak, but in a humble decision, he refused saying he didn’t need it as he was already a made man. The match itself was also very very good, the two had great chemistry with each other, and although Edge lost, the main event of Mania spot, for him, was the biggest of his career.
1 Money in the Bank Cash In
The Money in the Bank concept has been one of the best things about WWE over the last 20 years, and like with many things, the first one was the best. Edge won the inaugural ladder match at Wrestlemania 21 and waited a long 10 months before he would cash in. The cash in process was unknown back then as it had never been done before, so it was a mystery as to when Edge would do it and in what way. Still heralded as one of the best cash ins in history, Edge would wait until champ, John Cena, was at his absolute weakest. The Rated R Superstar would come out after Cena’s Elimination Chamber victory, after Cena had gone through 30 minutes of punishment and was covered in his own blood. Vince McMahon came out and announced there would be one more match as a certain superstar was cashing in his Money in the Bank privilege. The crowd was stunned as Edge emerged with Lita, handed McMahon the briefcase and proceeded to go down to the ring, hit Cena with two spears, and win his first ever WWE Championship. Edge set the bar for how cash ins should be done to ensure yourself the victory, wait until the champ is at his most vulnerable. Also a huge moment for him, as after all his hard work and sacrifice, he was finally a World Champion.
Author: Alex Bakothanasis