"We're told you gotta retire" - Multi-time WWE World Champion on retiring from in-ring competition after WrestleMania
WWE has been making waves on the international market after a successful premium live event in France. Meanwhile, a multi-time World Champion spoke about how he was asked to retire from in-ring competition after The Showcase of The Immortals.
Several stars held the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the promotion before the title was unified. However, Edge has remained synonymous with the championship, as he held the previous version of the belt on seven occasions during his prime in the Stamford-based promotion.
Speaking to Chris Van Vliet on INSIGHT, Edge revealed how Vince McMahon informed him that he had to retire from in-ring competition after successfully defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Alberto Del Rio at The Grandest Stage of Them All in 2011.
"We had done WrestleMania 27. Me and Del Rio, World Championship match. So I'm thinking okay, we'll get to the next pay-per-view; it's a ladder match; I'll drop the title there; then I'll take a little break. Because I was sore, but I'd been sore for a while. And did Charlotte, NC, just did commentary and a quick little Spear, and but even that, that single spirits like, 'Ooh, got a bit of a zinger there!' So I drove up here, because I just bought this house, drove up here was sitting on my deck, and I got a call from Vince. And he told me, 'We're told you gotta retire!' And I went, 'Oh, right!" said Copeland. [H/T - CVV]
The star quickly came into the fold, as he was nearing 40 and had plans to leave by then.
Edge competed to qualify for the new World Heavyweight Championship during his final run with WWE
After stepping out of retirement, The Rated R Superstar went after Roman Reigns and the Universal Championship. The veteran couldn't defeat The Tribal Chief and moved on to different feuds on the brand.
Last year, Triple H unveiled a new World Heavyweight Championship for the Modern Era and announced a tournament for the newly introduced title. Edge shared a heartfelt promo ahead of his match, as he wanted to win the new title.
Unfortunately, he lost to AJ Styles on WWE SmackDown and failed to qualify for the tournament. Eventually, the star never came close to the newly introduced title and left the promotion in 2023.