Anybody who happens to be an old, old, old, incredibly old-school WZ poster may remember me. For those of you that do: Hi there, how y'all doing.
I'm making a quick, one-post return purely for this reason. I wanted somewhere where I could write up a little bit of my feelings on the Edgester's retirement, and seeing as this was the only forum I was ever considered a semi-regular poster on, this is the only place that make to mind. So, WrestleZone, if you'll excuse me for using you as an outlet, I hope you'll enjoy reading my thoughts. I'll probably ramble, it'll probably be too long a post for anyone to care, and it'll get pretty much the square root of bugger all reaction, but it's gonna feel good to write.
Edge always was, and always will be, one of my favourite men ever to step into a wrestling ring. He pretty much defines my life as a WWE fan - the first ever wrestling match I watched, courtesy of a good friend of mine bringing his WrestleMania X-Seven tape round with a "seriously, you have to watch this!", was the TLC II match at that event, featuring The Hardyz, The Dudleys, and of course, Edge and Christian. And while yes, I was stunned by Jeff Hardy's complete reckless abandon for his own body, and the epic (but surprisingly over-used) "ladder out of the ring into four tables" spot at the finish, but as an 8 year old kid watching his first ever wrestling match, weirdly, the one thing that stuck with me was Edge. I think it was partially to do with the fact that he and Christian won (hey, back then it was real to me - I figured since they won, they must be the best), and also of course, the second most replayed spot in history behind Foley's Cell dive, the huge spear from a ladder to a hanging Jeff Hardy, a fall of at least 10 feet that JR probably described as being nearly 20. Since then, I've followed wrestling non-stop to this day, and from the first ever event I myself video-taped (InVasion 2001) up to WrestleMania just past, Edge has been one of only three constant figures that I have always loved no matter what, only rivalled across that time by Chris Jericho and The Undertaker.
But there's something different about Edge that holds him higher up in my regards, and I think when I saw the news for the first time of his retirement, I finally figured what it was. Guys like Y2J, Undertaker, The Rock, I loved from the start, because they were right there from the start, kicking ass and taking names in every event, facing off with some of the best. But I feel like, as my knowledge as a wrestling fan has matured, so to speak, so has Edge's career. He was a tag team wrestler just about to get his first singles break, in the first match that I watched. When Christian turned on him, betraying him, as a young kid an ridiculous mark, I was behind Edge all the way. He stayed face that whole time and I loved him the whole time, right up until his neck injury and departure in 2003. By the time he was back, I was smartened up, I knew the stories were just stories, and yet I still popped ridiculously when I discovered he was set to return. I now appreciated him differently - he was still a face, and I was still mark-ish enough to cheer for him purely based on that fact, but I now appreciated that he was a great wrestler, and always knew just what to do to entertain you during a match. The beginnings of his heel turn did nothing to sway my allegiances, and I even voted for him at Taboo Tuesday to get the title shot (damn that Shawn Michaels!) that I felt he deserved.
And finally, over the past few years, as he's gone through heel and face turns, and become one of the most charismatic men in the company, I've enjoyed every step, cheering him on in every match he had, even those it was obvious that the storyline made much more sense for the other guy to win. (Except WrestleMania 24 - ain't nobody ever beating UT, I'd accepted that much.) I laughed at his genius putdowns of some of his opponents over the years (he and Lita's coining of Tommy Dreamer as "The Innovator Of Silence still makes me laugh to this day), and marked the fuck out when he and Christian finally got back together this year, even if the re-union has been cut short.
Overall, I've seen his career take off, blossom, and I believe he's done the right thing. Many wrestlers are still fighting on wayyy past their peak (Paging Mr. Flair) and if your last match of your whole career is opening a pretty awesome WrestleMania, putting on a great, exciting match, and leaving as World Champion, then I'm saying it's a job well done. Put simply, for his major part in my wrestling fandom, his entertainment, and the sacrifices he's made for me and everyone else like me who enjoys watching what he produces - Thank You Edge.
