Different faces of Edge
SmackDown has featured some of the best talents in the world of wrestling since its inception. It has not only challenged WWE's flagship show, Raw but has even beaten it in the ratings for a period in the early-2000s. What is the first name that comes to your mind when you think about Smackdown during that period? There is a whole list of wrestlers who could lay claim to being the best superstar to represent the company's blue brand; but, no one comes even remotely close to Edge. He was there since the inception and played an essential role in Smackdown’s early days as a unique brand by becoming part of the infamous ‘Smackdown six’. No one was more hatred than him as a heel and no one was cheered more than him as a babyface.
He has seen lots of success both as part of a faction and as a bonafide singles competitor. Although his career was short, it was filled with breathtaking matches which define his legacy. He played lots of different characters in a career ranging from a mid-carder heel to a top babyface champion. So, let's take a brief look at all those different faces of Edge in chronological order.
#1 Edge and Christian Show
The Rated R Superstar got his first big break in 1998 when he teamed up with his best friend Christian. Both these wrestlers were young and hungry to impress the audience and management with their daredevil style of wrestling. But, the biggest problem for them was that they came into the wrestling scene when Stone Cold, Vince McMahon, HBK, and DX would steal the limelight every week. So it was a huge task for two youngsters to even get screen time. The audience back then was very expressive and picky about their wrestling storylines. But, E&C's 'cool' heel persona was too good to turn a deaf ear. Right from their catchphrase ‘reeked of awesomeness’ to their 5-second pose, everything was new and brought a sense of uniqueness.
Both these youngsters had great chemistry and they went on to win 7 tag team championships together. The pair had some insane matches against The Hardy Boyz and The Dudley Boyz, which used to become the talk of the town whenever it would happen. Their day in the sun came at Wrestlemania 2000 when they beat the Hardy Boyz and defending champions the Dudley Boyz in one of the greatest WrestleMania matches of all time. The match was even selected as the PWI Match of The Year for the year 2000 and the team was described as the best Tag Team of the year by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. This initial tag team run was a dream for any young wrestler.
Till 2001, Edge was only seen as a tag team wrestler, but little did we know about what lies ahead of him in the future.