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Thank You Edge!
On Monday Night, almost out of nowhere, Edge (Adam Copeland) announced his retirement from pro wrestling. The first instinct of everyone was to think it was a not real. WWE, in the past two years, has done seemingly twenty five firings and fake retirements; only Shawn Michaels being real. What transpired on Monday Night Raw was as real a moment could be.
Courtesy of WWE.com
From my very first day (Feb 2002) in WWE in Milwaukee, Wi to the last day I worked with him (Jan 2008) when he came to do a guest shot on ECW to work with CM Punk, Edge was a nice, warm and passionate guy. He is a fan of wrestling, it’s all he ever wanted to do and you always saw that passion. He’s the kind of talent you dream to work with, create with and be a fan of. His speech tonight affirmed all of the reason I was a fan of the wrestler Edge and the person Adam.
The injury that sidelined Edge in 2003 is the same one now ending his career in 2011. Edge’s last show in 2003 was also my first show of taking over Smackdown as lead writer. Edge had really come into his own in 2002 as one of the “Smackdown 6” as booked by Paul Heyman. He was having great single matches with Jericho, Angle, Benoit, Guerrero and teaming with Rey Mysterio. The injury stopped that momentum but didn’t stop his hunger.
Not many people know that Edge went to the boss and asked “what he could do” in the time off. And for a short period, Edge was part of the WWE creative process. I remember the first time I sent him the script he called me and asked, “Okay, now what do we do.” Edge would offer input, give ideas and really wanted to keep himself fresh. But his passion was focused on returning to the ring. As he got closer, we’d talk from time to time and he was chomping at the bit. He knew that when he came back, he would make it his time.
Edge returned and was moved to Raw. It was the right move for him and he had this new passion in his eyes. Nobody was going to deny him and nobody knew how big he was going to get. It was a night in his home town of Toronto where the crowd turned on him that started him on the road to being the “bad guy”. An off screen love triangle launched him into the hottest storyline of 2005 with Lita and Matt Hardy. While Matt Hardy was the hot story at first, it was Edge’s eye catching promo ability that showed he was really ready to break through to that main event level. And then he cashed in the Money in the Bank briefcase.
And in one night, Edge became the biggest thing in WWE. He cashed in the briefcase, beat John Cena and was “the Rated R Superstar”. This was before Twitter and things trending. This shocked EVERYONE. Ratings shot up immediately with WWE crossing over that 4.0 level. For the next few weeks, he was the star of Monday Night Raw and the numbers proved it. His TLC match with Ric Flair became an instant classic and cemented that he could really hang as not only a main event talent but draw ratings. But the plan was always for Edge to drop the title back to Cena a few weeks later. I remember the disappointment that Edge felt; feeling he had genuine momentum. He had shocked the world and his segments were now fueling the brand. But he didn’t give up.
He worked Wrestlemania with Mick Foley and proved he deserved to be at that level. He might not have had the title but he was right back in the mix after that. And like the nickname he adopted of the “Ultimate Opportunist”, he was always ready to step in and show he was the guy for the company. When WWE needed to get the title off RVD in the summer of 2006, Edge was the guy. Edge was the perfect antagonist for John Cena. Most of Cena’s opponents would bring in the cheers. Edge was smart enough to turn the crowd against him.
When Mr. Kennedy was hurt in the early summer of 2007, Edge took the opportunity and became the top guy on Smackdown defeating the Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Title. The kid who watched Hulk Hogan main event Wrestlemania 6 got to live out his dream at Wrestlemania 24. Edge wrestled in THE main event against The Undertaker to close the show. Edge was the reason to tune into Smackdown most weeks. His chemistry with Vickie Guerrero proved how versatile a performer he was and signaled a possible future in acting.
I saw Edge again for the first time since my departure from WWE as he was finishing up a few scenes for a WWE movie in Los Angeles. He had unknowingly booked himself in the same hotel as the WrestleReunion convention. He didn’t hide, he interacted with fans and came to watch our ROH show that night featuring Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin vs. Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli. Edge, along with Sinn Bohdi, started watched the match from behind the curtain. I remember telling Edge there was a better spot to watch from but he was so concerned from taking away from the match. We found him a spot he felt comfortable and he watched the match intently. He still was that same little kid, he was still a fan.
Edge’s future in the ring seems to be over but I don’t think his contributing is. I can see him being an agent/producer, an on air talent, or maybe he takes the dive full time into acting. The outpouring of emotion on Monday shows that no matter what Edge does, the fans will be with him.
UPDATE – 3pm Pacific – Read more and hear more Wrestler and fan reaction to Edge’s retirement here.
Courtesy of WWE.com
David Lagana (@Lagana)
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Wrestlemania Formerly Creative Podcast – Show thoughts and notes on Afterparty!
Wrestlemania 27 has come and gone. Twitter was a buzz with everyone’s thoughts and the Formerly Creative team was live tweeting as well. Now you’ll be able to hear our thoughts on this event.
Seth Mates (@SethMates) and Andrew Goldstein (@AngeGold) were there live in the Georgia Dome. Jesnen Karp (@jensenclan88) and Alex Greenfield (@alexdgreenfield) watched at home like I did. Andrew Goldstein attended the Wrestlemania Afterparty so he’ll tell you who was there and surprisingly who wasn’t there. To find out this and so much more, listen to the podcast here.
Click to hear Wrestlemania Special Podcast
Wrestlemania 27 Formerly Creative Podcast with David Lagana, Seth Mates, Jensen Karp, Alex Greenfield, and Andrew Goldstein
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David Lagana (@Lagana)
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#IWantWrestlemania – My Wrestlemania Journey
Have you heard? The Rock is back! Austin is back! The Undertaker is back! Triple H is back! Wrestling seems to be back in WWE! It’s Wrestlemania Time!
We’re all armchair quarterbacks at times but there is one event that makes us all feel emotion more then anything else in wrestling. You remember how you feel the day of Wrestlemania? It might be how you felt during your first Wrestlemania you or your twenty-fifth. I’m a twenty-six year wrestling fan and have been one of the luckiest people in the planet to worked in the business for the last nine. And I consider myself blessed to have worked six Wrestlemania events.
Over the next three weeks, I’m going to be writing a series of articles entitled “My Wrestlemania Journey” discussing how Wrestlemania has impacted my life as a fan and a producer. I encourage you to share your stories as well. Do it on Twitter by tagging your posts with #IWantWrestlemania. Write them on our facebook wall – http://www.facebook.com/IWantWrestling. This event was created for us. It succeeds because of us. Let everyone know why you love it so much.
I hope to have the first article up in the next day or two. I wanted to watch the new WWE DVD that came out today that chronicles the entire history of the event. You want it? Get the DVD – WWE: The True Story of WrestleMania
Get the DVD – WWE: The True Story of WrestleMania
David Lagana / IWantWrestling.com
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