Edge (wrestler)

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Edge
World Heavyweight Champion Edge before defending his title at WrestleMania XXIV.

World Heavyweight Champion Edge before defending his title at WrestleMania XXIV .

Data
Surname Adam Joseph Copeland
Ring name Adam Copeland
Adam Impact
Conquistador # 1
Damon Striker
Edge
Sexton Hardcastle
Additions to names The Rated-R Superstar
The Ultimate Opportunist
height 193 cm
Fighting weight 108 kg
birth October 30, 1973
Orangeville , Ontario
nationality CanadaCanada Canada
Announced from Toronto , Ontario , Canada
Trained by Ron Hutchison
Sweet Daddy Siki
debut July 1, 1992

Adam Joseph Copeland (born October 30, 1973 in Orangeville , Ontario , Canada ), better known by his ring name Edge , is a Canadian wrestler and actor . He is currently under contract with the WWE and appears in their shows.

With seven reigns as World Heavyweight Champion and winning the World Tag Team Championship twelve times , Copeland is the sole record holder of both titles. He has also been a member of the Hall of Fame since 2012 .

Wrestling career

Beginnings

After Adam Copeland was trained as a wrestler by various wrestling schools, such as the Sully's Gym of the Canadian wrestling promotion Apocalypse Wrestling Federation (AWF), and thereby by people like Bret Hart , Ron Hutchison, Leo Burke and Sweet Daddy Sikki, he started his professional career on June 1, 1993 in the AWF. Copeland gained his first wrestling experience in various independent leagues and at this time formed a tag team with Jason Reso , with whom he has been close friends since he was young. In February 1996 he played a match at WCW Pro against Meng under the name Damon Striker , but was clearly defeated by this. In May 1996 he played his first match in the WWE (then WWF) as a jobber at a house show, in which he replaced Bob Holly's actual opponent, but was clearly defeated here too. In 1997 he received a development contract with WWE and finally made his official TV debut in 1998 under his current ring name Edge. Previously, he was featured in various spots as a mysterious, silent character who has no contact with others and appears in the audience apparently by chance.

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (since 1998)

Edge in 1999

Tag team with Christian and various feuds (1998-2005)

Edge played his first WWE pay-per-view match in August 1998 at SummerSlam, where he was introduced as a surprise tag team partner by Sable. After being solo for a while, he teamed up with Gangrel and his brother (according to storyline) Christian (Jason Reso) to create the heel- stable The Brood , a Modern Day Vampire group. In July 1999 he won the Intercontinental Championship from Jeff Jarrett at a house show in his home town of Toronto, Canada, but lost it again a day later at Fully Loaded 1999 . Then The Brood joined the group The Ministry Of Darkness , which was led by Undertaker , but broke up a short time later. As a result, Edge and Christian split also Gangrel, bringing them back to Babyface were. At No Mercy in 1999, they played the first tag team leader match in WWF history against the Hardy Boyz , which led to a feud that recurred in the following years, in which the Dudley Boyz were later involved. At WrestleMania 2000, Edge & Christian finally won the first triangle ladder match in WWF history against the Hardy Boyz and the Dudley Boyz, becoming WWE World Tag Team Champions for the first time. They won the title six more times, u. a. at the first Tables-Ladders-Chairs-Match (a ladder match including folding chairs and tables) in WWF history at SummerSlam 2000 and at the rematch of the same kind at WrestleMania X7 in 2001, both times against the Hardys and the Dudleys.

In June 2001 Copeland won the King of the Ring tournament and defeated last year's winner Kurt Angle in the final , he also later won the Intercontinental Championship again, which reestablished him as a single wrestler and ushered in the separation from Christian. In the course of the Invasion storyline in 2001, which followed the acquisition of the insolvent WCW by WWE, the separation finally came about, with Copeland becoming Babyface again. He won the WCW US Championship from Kurt Angle and finally united the title at the Survivor Series 2001 with a victory over Test with the WWE Intercontinental Championship, for which he again feuded with William Regal , u. a. at the Royal Rumble 2002. At WrestleMania X8, later that year he was allowed to defeat Booker T. In the subsequent Draft Lottery as part of the division of the WWE roster into two different brands, Copeland became SmackDown! sent and took up his mistake there with Kurt Angle again, which he was allowed to win with a final steel cage match . In July 2002, Copeland and Hulk Hogan won the World Tag Team Championship together, but lost it shortly afterwards to Lance Storm and Christian. In the final of the tournament for the newly created WWE Tag Team Championship, which is exclusive to SmackDown! was fought out, he lost together with Rey Mysterio to the team Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit . The match was named Match of the Year by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Later both won the titles from Benoit & Angle, but lost them shortly afterwards to Los Guerreros ( Eddie & Chavo Jr. ). In early 2003 he teamed up with his Canadian compatriot Chris Benoit and won the WWE tag team title with him again. A short time later, however, a neck injury broke out again, which he sustained when he fell on a ladder during a match in 2002 and subsequently threw him out of the action for over a year. An injury that in 2011 even ended up causing Copeland to end his career for the time being.

In March 2004 he celebrated his return with a spear against RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff . He then renewed his partnership with Chris Benoit and won the World Tag Team Championship with him again. After they lost the title to La Résistance , Copeland Randy Orton was able to take his Intercontinental Championship and defend it successfully against Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels at SummerSlam 2004 . However, he later had to give up the title again due to another injury. On his return later that year, he and Chris Benoit tried again to claim the WWE Tag-Team Championship but failed. This led to the breakup of the team and another heel-turn Copelands, who attacked Benoit after the lost match. Copeland was also involved in a feud for the World Heavyweight Championship , but could not win it. At the Survivor Series 2004 he lost along with Triple H , Snitsky and Batista to the opposing team consisting of Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit & Maven in a traditional Survivor Series eliminator after he was eliminated by Orton. At the Royal Rumble 2005 he won a feud against Shawn Michaels after they both clashed in an Elimination Chamber Match for the World Heavyweight Championship at New Years Revolution 2005 , in which Michaels was a guest referee.

Rated-R Superstar and Promotion to Main Event (2005-2007)

WWE Champion Edge with his Rated-R Superstar Spinner Belt in 2006.

At Wrestlemania 21 he was allowed to win the very first “ Money in the Bank ” ladder match, which according to the storyline secured him a guaranteed title match within a year.

In 2005, Copeland, who was already married, began a (real) affair with WWE diva Amy Dumas , known by the ring name Lita , who was still in a relationship with her work colleague Matt Hardy at the time . This was brought to the public by Hardy, who was himself good friends with Copeland up to this point. Lita, who was actually on the road as Babyface at the time, was then booed loudly by the fans who showed solidarity with Hardy, which is why her feud with Trish Stratus had to be rewritten and shortened. Hardy was then fired from WWE for publicizing his private affairs as being detrimental to business. However, he was hired again a short time later due to massive fan protests, whereupon WWE turned the affair into a storyline. Copeland won the subsequent feud with Hardy and was consistently pushed towards the main event. At a RAW show in January 2006, Copeland celebrated his title win with a live sex celebration in the ring, in which he and Dumas simulated sexual intercourse in a bed set up in the ring. For a moment Dumas' bare chest could be seen, which caused a minor scandal. With this and other slippery segments as well as various vulgar statements, Copeland established his gimmick as a rated-R superstar .

On January 8, 2006 at New Year's Revolution , Copeland was allowed to redeem his still valid claim to a title match: He was allowed to defeat John Cena , who was badly battered after successfully defending his title in the Elimination Chamber match, and thus for the first time in his career in WWE Become a champion . However, he had to give the title back to Cena in the rematch on January 29, 2006 at the Royal Rumble event. Copeland then began a feud with Mick Foley , whom he defeated in a hardcore match at WrestleMania 22. On July 3, 2006, Copeland was allowed to become WWE Champion again against John Cena and Rob Van Dam, but had to surrender the title to Cena again on September 17 of that year in a TLC match.

Towards the end of the year, Copeland formed the Rated-RKO team with Randy Orton and started a feud against D-Generation X , consisting of Triple H and Shawn Michaels . At the Survivor Series 2006, her team lost to Team DX (Tripel H, Shawn Michaels, Hardy Boyz & CM Punk) together with Gregory Helms, Mike Knox and Johnny Nitro in a Survivor Series elimination match, but they were later allowed to play the World Tag Team -Title received. Copeland became the sole record holder of this title. At RAW, on January 29, 2007, they had to give the belts to John Cena & Shawn Michaels. Further attempts to regain the title failed, whereupon the team was disbanded.

At WrestleMania 23, Copeland took part again in the Money In The Bank match, but could not win because he was injured by an action by Jeff Hardy with the ladder according to the storyline and taken out of the match. The victory in this match ultimately went to Mr. Kennedy , but Copeland defeated him on May 7, 2007 and was able to take the Money in the Bank suitcase from him. The reason for winning the suitcase was an injury to Kennedy, which put him out of action for some time.

A day later on the SmackDown! Copeland redeemed the suitcase in which he won the Undertaker's World Heavyweight Championship . This previously denied a Steelcage match against Batista and was then attacked by Mark Henry. The background of the title win was, similar to Kennedy, an injury to Undertaker. As a result, Copeland switched back to SmackDown !, and with this again surprising title win, which benefited from a weakening of his opponent, he strengthened his image as the " Ultimate Opportunist ". Due to a chest muscle injury, he had to give up the title on July 17, 2007, which The Great Khali then won.

La Familia (2007-2009)

World Heavyweight Champion Edge on Raw in March 2008.

After his comeback at the Survivor Series , Copeland was allowed to win the title again at PPV Armageddon on December 16, 2007. Then the group La Familia was founded, to which Copeland also his "girlfriend" Vickie Guerrero , Chavo Guerrero , Bam Neely, Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins belonged. At WrestleMania 24 in the main event, he had to surrender the title back to the Undertaker. At the One Night Stand event on June 1, 2008, he was allowed to regain the title. On June 30, 2008 he had to surrender his title to CM Punk in RAW .

After a break from August 2008, Copeland was allowed to win the WWE Championship from Triple H on November 23, 2008 at the Survivor Series . On December 14th, 2008 he had to give it back to Jeff Hardy at the Armageddon event , but was allowed to get it back on January 25th, 2009 at the Royal Rumble. On February 15, 2009, he had to hand over the WWE Championship to Triple H at the major WWE No Way Out event . Two hours later, Copeland received the World Heavyweight Championship title against John Cena. However, he had to cede this title to John Cena at WrestleMania 25. He was allowed to win the title again at Backlash in a Last Man Standing match against John Cena. On June 7, 2009 he had to surrender the title to Jeff Hardy after a ladder match at the WWE major event Extreme Rules .

At PPV The Bash 2009 he won the WWE Unified Tag Team Championship with his new tag team partner Chris Jericho . Copeland tore his Achilles tendon a short time later.

Record World Heavyweight Champion and retirement due to injury (2010-2011)

Edge after winning the 2010 Royal Rumble match.

At the Royal Rumble on January 31, 2010 Copeland returned, which he was allowed to win. After a feud against his former partner Jericho, he switched back to RAW through the 2010 WWE Draft, but was sent back to SmackDown in the fall of 2010.

On December 20, 2010 he was allowed to win the World Heavyweight Championship from Kane for the sixth time at PPV TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in the match of the same name .

On February 15, 2011 Vickie Guerrero recognized in her capacity as interim general manager of SmackDown the World Heavyweight Championship due to the use of the Spear , which she had previously banned Copeland , against Dolph Ziggler and later handed over the title to this at the TV tapings to SmackDown. On the same evening, Copeland defeated Ziggler, after which the actual general manager Thedore Long returned and reinstated him, in a match and got the title back. Then he again formed an alliance with Christian against Alberto Del Rio , Brodus Clay and Ricardo Rodriguez. At WrestleMania 27, Copeland successfully defended the title against Del Rio. This was his last match, as Copeland surprisingly announced on April 11, 2011 at RAW his injury-related resignation due to a spinal stenosis .

With over 30 title reigns to date, Adam Copeland holds the record with the most title wins at the WWE.

Admission to the Hall of Fame and a few appearances (2012-2019)

On January 9, 2012, it was announced that Copeland would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame . He did so on March 31, 2012, making him the youngest ever inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame wrestler.

At SummerSlam on August 11, 2019, Copeland interrupted Elias ' performance and performed his finishing move spear. This marked the first time he had performed a wrestling move since retiring in 2011. This sparked rumors that Copeland had received ring clearance, which he denied.

Return to the ring (since 2020)

At the Royal Rumble on January 27, 2020, Copeland surprisingly returned to a match in the ring after almost nine years. He started the match with the number 21, eliminating AJ Styles , Luke Gallows and Randy Orton before being eliminated as the penultimate by Roman Reigns . The next day, Copeland told RAW that this was the beginning of the continuation of his wrestling career.

Outside of wrestling

In addition to wrestling, Copeland was also seen in the fantasy film Highlander: Endgame and Bending the Rules . He had guest appearances on television programs such as Weakest Link , Mind of Mencia , Deal or No Deal , and The Flash . He appeared in the Syfy series Haven as Dwight Hendrickson and has played the role of Ketill Flatnose since the fifth season of Vikings . In 2016 he played the lead role in the movie Interrogation - Your time is running out! .

Private life

Copeland was raised alone by his mother, who died in 2018, and he does not know anything about his father. With Jason Reso (Christian Cage) he has had a close friendship that has lasted until today since his early youth. Copeland was first married to Sean Morley's sister Alannah (2001-2004), as well as, until his affair with Amy Dumas became known, second marriage to Lisa Ortiz (2004-2005). Dumas and Copeland continued to appear as a couple on WWE TV until Dumas' retirement in November 2006 and also married according to the storyline, but the private relationship had already ended at this time. On October 30, 2016, Copeland married former WWE diva Elizabeth Kocianski , better known as Beth Phoenix . The couple have two daughters (2013 & 2016).

His name appeared on August 31, 2007 on a list of wrestlers alleged to have ordered various drugs from a company called Signature Pharmacy. Since he was injured anyway, a resulting 30-day suspension was only significant in that he had to forego a fixed salary.

Filmography

  • 2000: Highlander: Endgame
  • 2011–15: Haven (series, 42 episodes)
  • 2012: Bending the Rules
  • 2015 The Flash (series, episode 2x01)
  • 2016: interrogation
  • 2016 Private Eyes (Series, Episode 1x07)
  • since 2017: Vikings (series, 12 episodes)

Titles and awards

Edge at the
2009 Royal Rumble after winning his fourth WWE Championship .
  • Canadian Wrestling Association
    • CWA North American Championship (1 time)
  • Insane Championship Wrestling
    • ICW Street Fight Tag Team Champion (2 times with Christian Cage )
    • ICW Mid-West Unified Tag Team Champion (once with Joe E. Legend)

Individual evidence

  1. End of career on wwe.com (English)
  2. Copeland announces his resignation on YouTube
  3. Two former WWE Superstars got married on wrestlingcorner.de
  4. Copeland's introduction and speech at his Hall of Fame introduction ( memento of October 22, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) on YouTube

Web links

Commons : Edge  - collection of images, videos and audio files
  • Edge profile on wwe.com