WWE Hall of Famer and this year’s Royal Rumble winner Edge recently spoke with Sporting News to discuss the return of his long-time friend/partner Christian, and how Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns have risen to the top of the WWE card. Highlights are below.
Says he was one of the few who knew Christian was cleared:
I was one of the few that was privy to the fact that he got cleared a few months ago. We didn’t know he was going to be in the Rumble until Friday, though. I was in the midst of driving down to his house from North Carolina to stay for the weekend. And then we found out and we’re like “OK, well, we’ll drive over to the rumble together then.
On the emotions he felt when he saw Christian enter the Rumble:
We didn’t think we’d ever be back, period. And I think that’s what was going through my mind. Even though I knew it was going to happen, still, to see him walking down there, and for me to have been in the ring by that point for like 35 minutes, I just had to take a second. I’m learning to take these moments to really savor it. And in doing so, I’m pulling in the audience because what they’re seeing from me is real. They are seeing Adam Copeland react to seeing Jason Reso coming down to do something that he was never supposed to do again, while I’m doing something that I’m not supposed to have ever been able to do again. That’s special and it’s real. So, let it be real. And, hopefully, the audience can feel a sense that this is indeed a genuine moment in the midst of the theatre of the absurd. And that’s when you get special moments in the world of wrestling.
On how significant the moment was for fans:
I guess for me, I think what we both have kind of taken away from this is there are so many real elements within our stories that I think people can relate to. If people are struggling through things in life, they can see that Adam and Jay have struggled through some things, and you can get through them and that’s real. I think people can relate to that. We came up with a new T-shirt for me that says, “Earn your scars.” I wear my scars and I cannot help it. They are there and I can’t apologize for them nor would I. I started getting these comments from people saying things like, “That’s gonna be my shirt for my last round of chemo.” That’s when it started dawning on me that this is bigger than just a wrestling storyline because there’s so much truth to it. Rocky Balboa is still my favorite character in the history of characters, and it was just all about getting up and continuing to get up. That’s the story of Edge and Christian: Just keep getting up.
On the lack of a Rumble crowd:
There’s not that same shot of adrenaline that you get from Royal Rumble last year with 45,000 people directing their energy at you. Without that, it feels different and it doesn’t feel as good. But once I saw Randy Orton, I was just dialed in and it was time to go. But I sure do miss audiences. You know I can’t wait to have everybody back to be able to soak this in with me.
On eliminating Orton last to win the match:
When I said my promo to announce that I was gonna be in the Rumble and the stakes were higher, everything I said was real. They do feel higher given the timeframe I am working in. If I’m going to come back and give something to the business in the time that I’m here or help some of the talent, I gotta do it. I need to be out front to try, help lead the charge and spread some knowledge around. That’s why I wanted to come back. So when I’m looking at the WrestleMania sign, these dreams that just seemed astronomically impossible before are now happening. It’s easy to tap into that emotion that I feel because you are getting Adam up there now. And Adam is really stoked to be doing all of this. I am savoring it and sitting in the present with it. Everything you saw on my face was all real.
On Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns:
There was a time when I first had to retire that I had to really walk away from the industry. It wasn’t because I didn’t enjoy it anymore, it was because I couldn’t do it. And that hurt. I needed to take a couple of years to adapt and figure out what life was now without this thing that that’s consumed almost every waking moment of me. And in that time, here comes Roman Reigns. Drew McIntyre leaves. By the time I come back, Roman is starting to become who he is now and Drew is coming back after leaving to find himself. Drew took full responsibility for the mistakes he made in the past and came back to flip the world on its head. I’ve watched all of that happen. And to see them now both fully blossom into, I think, the characters, performing at their highest level, that’s really exciting. It’s an embarrassment of riches because you can’t go wrong. I truly feel like you get Drew when you see Drew McIntyre. That’s who he is. And with Reigns, I think this is the guy that I always wanted to see because I always saw it was in there. As a performer, you see a guy like him and say, “Oh man, that guy hasn’t tapped in yet. But when he does, look out!” And him not tapping was still probably the top guy in the industry. So now you got this guy who has been allowed the freedom to find what his voice is in this storytelling business. That’s exciting. And now as a performer that can possibly get into a storyline with him, that’s the kind of thing that I came back for. I want to craft those kinds of stories that hopefully kids watching now will talk about in their teen years just like I talked about Hulk Hogan vs. Macho Man Randy Savage or Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart.
If he and Christian will be tagging together at any point:
I have no idea. I truly don’t. Man, that would be fun! Even just in terms of the matchups. There are all these new matches that never seemed could have happened. But think about an Edge and Christian vs. Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins match. Incredible. That was never supposed to happen. That could feasibly happen now. That’s goosebumps stuff.