Starting his career in 1992, Edge made his WWE debut 1998, first as a singles star. Eventually he’d align himself with his real-life childhood friend Christian, becoming a tag team specialist before striking out on his own again. By the time he retired, Edge was an 11-time World Champion as well as a 14-time Tag Team champion, alongside various partners in addition to Christian.
Over the course of his nearly 30-year career, Edge has gone through a number of changes and shifts in character and gimmick, including a vampire, and possibly an adult film star?
10 The Retiree
Between his retirement in 2011 and shocking return in 2020, Edge would live the life of the WWE Legend, making sporadic appearances whenever he wasn’t shooting a TV show, spouting all the old catchphrases, and generally being a fan favorite. He’s one of the younger dudes to get the gig, a sad reminder that his retirement was tragically early.
One of Edge’s most significant moments during this time involved Seth Rollins holding him hostage, forcing John Cena to reinstate The Authority. Which is weird, because Edge was basically John Cena’s blood rival.
9 The Loner
Edge’s first ever WWE match may have been against Christian, but his official TV debut was as a singles competitor. With the gimmick of being a loner who entered the ring by coming through the crowd, Edge made his in-ring debut on the 6/22/1998 episode of Monday Night Raw, taking on Jose Estrada Jr. in an infamous match where he accidentally injured Estrada during a high risk move to the floor.
A memorable debut for the wrong reasons, but this era of Edge has mostly been reduced to footnote thanks to everything that happened after.
8 Pre-Retirement
Edge retired in 2011, so he spent a lot of time dealing with PG-era WWE nonsense after his stable La Familia broke up. This era saw Edge turn face by feuding with the Anonymous Raw General manager -- a.k.a. “a laptop on a podium” and feuded with Kane by kidnapping and torturing Paul Bearer despite being a babyface.
On the bright side, this era also had Edge win the Royal Rumble for the first time, become a tag champion with Chris Jericho, and become a record World Heavyweight Title holder at seven reigns.
7 Singles Babyface
Edge’s second singles run happened in 2001 with the help of a landmark King of the Ring tournament win and Christian turning heel on him. He was in a couple successful random babyface tag teams that ended up winning titles -- once with Hulk Hogan and once with Rey Mysterio Jr. -- but would also have successful runs with the Intercontinental and US Championships.
It was during this period that Edge would start developing elements of his persona that would be amplified once he became “The Rated-R Superstar,” not to mention the iconic entrance music he still uses today.
6 The Brood
Edge’s initial singles run was short-lived, as soon enough Gangrel and his disciple Christian came calling. The pair urged Edge to join their coven, but Edge initially resisted and a feud between Edge and Gangrel ensued, which only ended when Edge changed his mind and decided to join.
The Brood lasted less than a year and garnered a single Light Heavyweight Championship win for Christian, but it’s wild and extremely Anne Rice that Edge got turned into a vampire by his childhood best friend.
5 La Familia
In late 2007, Edge returned from a three-month hiatus due to injury and got himself a full-on stable of his own. He had his girlfriend Vickie Guerrero, her nephew Chavo Guerrero, a bodyguard named Bam Neely, and Edge enthusiasts Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder, and they were all devoted to ensuring that fans hated Edge as much as possible.
La Familia were tremendous heat magnets at the time but kind of underrated in the long run despite the fact that all the notable guys in the group managed to win titles.
4 Grizzled Old Veteran
In 2020, after nearly nine years away from pro wrestling, Edge made a shocking return to in-ring competition in the Royal Rumble, and ended up one of the final four competitors in the ring. From there, he immediately got into a feud with his old tag team partner Randy Orton, which has thus far resulted in two matches.
The first bout was a violent but overlong Falls Count Anywhere match at WrestleMania 36, while the rematch at Payback, promoted as “The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever.” Despite the hyperbole, it was a great match that proved that Edge could still go after nearly a decade out of the game.
3 Rated-RKO
Throughout his career, Edge has taken part in successful tag teams with not only Christian, but also Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit. But his most successful non-Christian (secular?) tag team was with Randy Orton, as Rated-RKO.
Together, the heel dream team ended up winning the tag team titles in 2006 and put on some great matches like their bloody brawl with DX at New Year’s Revolution in 2007. It was such a great run that the Randy/Edge relationship was the driving force behind the storyline following Edge’s return from retirement in 2020.
2 Reeking of Awesomeness
Soon after leaving Gangrel and the Ministry of Darkness, Edge and Christian embarked on their more iconic run as a tag team, becoming incredibly obnoxious dudes wearing the worst clothing imaginable, and playing kazoos for some reason.
More importantly, this was the era during which the duo took part in the highly acclaimed multi-team TLC Tag Team Title matches alongside The Hardy Boyz, The Dudley Boyz, and more. These wild bouts would define the tag division and establish a match style that’s still being used today.
1 The Rated-R Superstar
After a three-year-long run as a babyface, Edge turned heel in 2004, establishing himself as “The Rated-R Superstar,” which had adult film star energy without necessarily being a Val Venis type.
It was during this era when Edge finally won the WWE Championship, cashing in his Money in the Bank contract on John Cena at New Year’s Revolution in 2006. With his John Cena feud, Edge had established himself as WWE’s top heel, creating countless memorable moments like his “Live Sex Celebration” with Lita and his inference in the Cena/Rob Van Dam title match at One Night Stand in 2006.