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Few athletes will ever have the tenacity and dedication to their craft quite like Adam “Edge” Copeland. At every moment throughout his WWE career, Copeland has put everything into his work. Hoisted onto anybody else, a vampire persona in wrestling may be corny and lacking any credibility. Edge, however, fully leaned into it and made it extremely cool, making himself known to the WWE Universe at large.
Outside of the ring, Edge’s heavy-metal determination proved even harder. After a doctor’s recommendation he retire from wrestling because of a serious neck injury, Edge poured his body and soul into getting healthier and ready for in-ring competition. Finally, after nine years away from the WWE faithful, he made his illustrious return in one of the Royal Rumble’s greatest entrants.
With all that in mind, we looked back at Edge’s career in WWE to select his 10 most metal moments. From his days walking out to Rob Zombie’s “Never Gonna Stop” to putting Alter Bridge on the map, Edge always comes to the ring with the best music across the entire roster. Inside the squared circle, he never backs down from competition, even when it requires major trickery.
Member of The Brood
Taking notes from Type O Negative, Nine Inch Nails and Blade, The Brood was the right persona at the right time for Edge, Christian and Gangrel. It introduced Edge to the WWE fanbase as a badass vampire with very dark and vibey music. The stable’s entrance would prove to be one of the company’s most memorable at the time, flashing the crowd with blood red lights and establishing the group as one of WWE’s best.
Edge Spears Jeff Hardy
In the numerous Tables Ladder and Chairs matches between The Hardy Boyz, The Dudley Boys and Edge and Christian, one moment stands above the rest as a death-defying stunt. As Jeff Hardy attempted to grab the Tag Team Titles from atop a ladder, he wound up hanging onto them helplessly. An opportunistic Edge decided to take him down from his spot, spearing him in midair from atop his own ladder in one of the most iconic singular visuals in WWE history. It’s a moment that’s sure to be remembered forever as proof of what’s capable in a ring and what Edge is willing to do in order to win.
Edge Returns to Royal Rumble 2020
By all counts, few people were counting on Edge returning to the ring after his 2011 retirement. Out with cervical spinal stenosis, it seemed as though Edge would be relegated to remaining outside of the ring as a personality versus an active competitor. But he would make fools of all of us, as he returned in 2020 as a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble. Looking incredibly spry and ready to go, Edge’s performance and return came because of nine years of hard work, working out and getting better.
Edge Mocks Rob Zombie
After breaking up with The Brood, in 2002 Edge wound up getting a killer intro from Rob Zombie, using his song “Never Gonna Stop” as entrance music. But there would come a time when Edge went from Rob Zombie to Alter Bridge, dropping Zombie in favor of “Metalingus,” which he’s stuck with to this day. As part of Raw’s late 2000s Celebrity GM appearances, Rob Zombie showed up in WWE to announce the participants of a Money in the Bank ladder match. A heel Edge would appear on the Titantron to antagonize Zombie, and the two wound up jawing off at each other.
Edge Has Best Alter Bridge Theme Song
As great as “Never Gonna Stop” is as a theme, Alter Bridge’s “Metalingus” wound up being a true identifier for Edge as a theme song. Its ultra chuggy intro chords and triumphant vocals courtesy of Mark Tremonti make it one of the best entrance songs in all of wrestling. There was no better way to define the next phase in his career than with the Alter Bridge banger.
Edge Spears Mick Foley at Wrestlemania 22
As we’ve said previously, nobody proves a greater test of mettle than Mick Foley. In the ultimate proving ground, Edge took on the extreme legend in a hardcore match at WrestleMania 22. Though both WWE Hall of Famers would beat the hell out of each other throughout the match, it was the grand finale that proved to be the most metal, when Edge speared Foley into a burning table. In a stacked event like WrestleMania, this moment managed to stand out as one of the most memorable of the night, cementing Edge as someone willing to do whatever it takes to win.
Edge Broodbaths The Miz
There’s nobody less metal in WWE than The Miz and his wife Maryse. The two decided to renew their vows one night on Raw, much to the chagrin of the WWE Universe and anyone with good taste. Luckily, Edge decided to crash the festivities, dropping an absolutely disgusting “Broodbath” on the couple, covering them in oily gunk ahead of their future match.
Edge Tells John Cena “I Hate You”
In Edge’s illustrious WWE history, no opponent stands as a greater rival than John Cena. After years of duking it out against each other, the pair wound up going toe-to-toe once again in 2009. Having enough of John Cena’s personality and identity, Edge breaks down and tells him exactly how he feels with a venomous “I hate you.” Though Cena nods and mouths “I know,” Edge continues with the barbs, mentioning how much he hates every fiber of Cena’s existence, from his personality down to the clothes he wears. It stands as one of Edge’s best promos in history.
Edge Starts Judgement Day
While we would have no problem if Edge decided to stay a nice guy during his return to WWE, he returned to his dastardly ways quickly by heading up his newly formed faction “The Judgement Day.” Alongside Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley, they quickly became one of WWE’s most sinister and conniving factions, setting their sights on victims like AJ Styles and Rey Mysterio. But quickly it became clear Edge created a monster even bigger than himself, the faction betrayed and left him in the dust. Though he may no longer be a part of the group, we’re thankful for his vision and decision to get things moving.
…Edge Gets revenge on Judgement Day
Unfortunately, Edge’s own creation Judgement Day turned on him. After introducing Finn Balor as the faction’s newest member, the whole crew took it upon themselves to take out Edge, solidifying themselves anew. But Edge would have his revenge, returning at Summerslam 2022 and taking out both Balor and Priest, marking his return to WWE as a singles competitor. It was a stark reminder: you’re never going to stop the Rated R Superstar.