Sick of me yet, Edge Addicts (or just sick of the amount of names I have for my fans)? Better get used to me, I guess.
Neck update: Felt good this week, even went to the first Lightning /Capitals playoff game with Christian and "The Street Fighter" Chris Jericho. Don't worry, hockey fans, my playoff predictions will be later on. I know you're waiting with bated breath! I'll find out more tomorrow from Dr. Youngblood about the old stack of dimes.
Also went to the SmackDown! Daytona Beach, Fla., house show with Mean Dean Malenko and had a great time. I spent about an hour signing stuff for the fans; it was nice to get that contact again. It was also great to see the boys. I don't have a problem watching the product, just watching old tapes of myself (and no, not because the matches were that bad!).
Glad to hear that Kurt Angle's surgery was a success. He called me right after and sounded like hell, but said it's a miracle surgery. I'm still afraid it may be a miracle for the common man, but not one for one who gets dropped on his head repeatedly (usually by me). Rest up, good buddy.
To answer an often-asked question, Christian and I are still friends and talk on an almost daily basis.
Will E&C ever reunite? Never say never, but not for a long time. It may sound selfish, but I still have things to accomplish on my own, like the WORLD TITLE (it will always appear in caps in this article, so get used to it). He has things he wants to accomplish too. We did reunite for one very special afternoon in Calgary last year. As soon as we were both in the ring the whole crowd started chanting "five-second pose!" It was incredible, and we loved every second of it. It's amazing how wrestling fans don't forget, and it felt nice to know we gave them something worth remembering. Of course, we gave them the pose and hugged. If that was the end of E&C, it wouldn't be a bad way to go.
All of these sappy memories lead me to some of my own favorite in ring moments, matches and partners.
Partners
I feel like I've really only had four of them.
Christian
Obviously the best chemistry of all my partners. We grew up together dreaming of winning those tag belts, and we did it more than anyone else. We got to a point where we didn't even need to talk in the ring. We knew each other that well. We were babyfaces and heels, but obviously had our most success and fun as heels.
I often forget some of the poses we did, or ridiculous words we came up with, until some fan reminds me. With Mick Foley and Kurt Angle, we provided some much-needed comedy, with the Hardys and Dudleys we created wrestling history. We were already living our dream but got to laugh on TV each and every week while doing it -- the Elvis pose, the jug band, the cowboy pose and all the assorted home teams we dissed. The funny thing was, the crowd was laughing with us (while also despising us). I could see us having this fun again sometime. It worked so well because Christian is also my best friend, in the business or out. I think our legacy stands intact. I'll be driving along with the top down and still have people yell, "You totally reek of awesomeness." Ah, the E&C Dynasty lives on!
Joe E. Legend
Now some of you may be going, "Who?" Or you may remember him as the brutal Just Joe character from WWE. But if you are a fan of the indies and good wrestling, you know who Joe E. Legend is. Technically, he was my first partner ever. We were a mainstay on the Michigan indy scene as Sex & Violence (I love that name). I wrestled then as Sexton Hardcastle (I still love that name, too). We started our careers together and basically had to wrestle each other for that first year of our careers. Then we decided, "Let's try teaming," and it clicked. Joe could always bust me up in there, and if you ever meet him, you'll hear why. We drove across lakes together, almost died together while doing it (along with Rhyno, Johnny Swinger and Christian), and starved together, but I can still look back at it with fondness. Joe is now working as Nord down in Puerto Rico, but hits literally everywhere in his travels. He is the ultimate full-time wrestling journeyman, and I mean that in a good way. Hola, Joe!
Rey Mysterio
Our team happened by accident. Rey and I are great friends, but we had never teamed. The New Haven Coliseum was closing down and the main event to send the place off was Edge & Mysterio vs. Angle & Eddie Guerrero. That building saw one hell of a match, and we shut down the ol' Coliseum right. That night, Rey and I just clicked. Many of my moves could complement his. From the very first night, we were a good team, so why fight it? The office put us together and we took part in some great tag action. Us vs. Chris Benoit & Angle vs. Los Guerreros reminded me of E&C vs. the Hardys vs. the Dudleys, in that it brought tag team wrestling back to the forefront.
Hulk Hogan
The biggest geek-out moment of my career was the night we won the tag titles, like I mentioned last week. It was only about a month, but I can say I'm the only guy to hold the tag belts with the Hulkster.
Rikishi gets honorable mention, because we always have so much fun teaming, but it usually happens on house shows.
Favorite team I was never in: Los Conquistadores. Damn, that second version that beat the Hardys was good!
Favorite Matches
Edge vs. Angle -- Judgment Day, Hair vs. Hair Match
You'll see Kurt's name a lot on this list, but this was just a fun match to be in, and we used a small package for the finish. Earlier in the day Vince McMahon ribbed me, saying he thought I should shave it all off. He got me too, the bastard.
Edge vs. Eddie Guerrero -- SmackDown!, No Disqualification
This one was war. The next morning, we flew home to Tampa together. It was pathetic; we looked like two old men. Eddie got nine stitches from me ramming his head into the ladder, and I couldn't turn my head or get out of bed for my three days off from the ladder powerbomb (I wonder why I have a fused neck?). This one was all ad-lib, none of this "is wrestling choreographed?" stuff. We had the finish, that was it, and it was an honor. Eddie was a heel, but he got a much-deserved standing O.
Edge vs. Angle -- Backlash
Started me on the path I'm on now. Straight-up wrestling match with great near-falls. Me losing this match did more for me than winning 10 others.
Edge vs. Chris Jericho -- SmackDown!, Steel Cage
One of the forgotten ones, but not by Chris or me. Originally, this was to be our culmination at SummerSlam, but plans change, so Chris and I treated it like SummerSlam. I remember being nervous when I took a bulldog from the top. It was the first real test for the recently (and still) torn labrum in my shoulder. The over-the-top victory is never as good as a pin, but it worked here. We even had Ric Flair tell us it may have been the best Cage Match he'd seen. Wow.
Edge vs. Angle -- SmackDown!, Steel Cage
I like Steel Cage Matches, don't know why, they're just so much drama. This took place in Calgary, and the place was nuts. We had so many false finishes. It was just a pleasure to be in. It was also the first time I bled in a match, and boy did I bleed. The finish was a spear from the top, where I tore the aforementioned labrum. It took five stitches and a torn ligament, but I felt I'd arrived in a singles capacity.
Edge vs. Christian -- Rebellion, Steel Cage
Another forgotten one, which happened in England, with a cool finish. I tied his feet in the cage with my wrist tape (although it took forever). We even had the old Hogan/Bundy blue cage, which hurts like a son of a bitch, by the way.
Edge vs. Christian -- No Mercy, Ladder Match
People were used to TLCs at this point, so we had to slow it down -- there were only two of us, not six. Christian almost ruptured a testicle during this match. It's pretty comical to watch it now, to see him checking if they are still in one piece. The one-man con-chair-to sticks out in my mind, not Christian's though, since I knocked him out with it. Hence his human slinky off the ladders.
Edge vs. Test -- Survivor Series, Title Unification Match
This was the whole invasion storyline, and it was me (WCW U.S. Champion) vs. Test (WWE Intercontinental Champion). We have good chemistry and put some good false finishes together. With all of the history those belts held, holding both of them up at the end felt great, but should have meant more. It was forgotten on TV.
E&C vs. the Hardys -- No Mercy, Ladder Match
Enough has been written already, but for better or worse (for our bodies), we revolutionized the Ladder Match, and made our marks.
E&C vs. the Hardys vs. the Dudleys -- WrestleMania 16, Triangle Ladder Match
Essentially the first TLC, since it involved all three items. It featured the first Swanton off a ladder by Jeff onto Bubba, Matt taking the flip bump off the "Ladder City," and finally us reaching up and grabbing the tag team belts for the first time. We'd talked about doing it as kids, and I swear it was like a dream sequence from "Wayne's World." All fuzzy around the edges, or I was on the verge of unconsciousness.
TLC I -- SummerSlam
'Nuff said.
TLC II -- WrestleMania X-Seven
Ditto.
TLC III -- SmackDown!
The forgotten TLC. Add Benoit & Jericho to an already potent mix. I believe this was the match where Benoit first injured his neck. I was actually opposed to doing this one. I felt TLCs are for pay-per-view and still stand by that.
Edge & Mysterio vs. Benoit & Angle -- No Mercy, First-ever SmackDown! Tag Team Champions
This was just plain ol' fun. I love tossing Rey Rey around.
Edge vs. Angle vs. Benoit vs. Eddie Guerrero -- SmackDown! Fatal Fourway for No. 1 contender
This was the one where A-Train attacked me before to explain why I was hobbling through the whole match. I had actually completely torn my right MCL (which is gone for good, in its place a big Austin-style brace) in a house show during a match with the Big Show the week before. It was tough, and every bump felt like a knife in my knee, but we pulled it off. For the next month and a half, I tried to get through matches, but my workrate went down from this match on. It's also when my neck problem first started to rear its ugly head. I think I bumped to compensate for the knee, and messed my neck up. What're ya gonna do?
Now there may be more, or you may think some of these sucked -- hey, to each his own. I could probably think of more, but I don't want people to start thinking I believe I'm Shawn Michaels or something.
Favorite Moments
I don't care what anyone says, anytime you win a belt it means something. Call me a mark if you want (I've told you every week I am one anyway), I don't care. Any tag, Intercontinental, U.S., or King of the Ring title I won was a special moment for me. The first (unexpected) IC Title in my hometown, in front of family and friends. The first tag title win. Unifying the IC and U.S. titles. Being the last man to hold the U.S. Title. Walking out for 'Mania X8 in SkyDome in front of over 68,000 of my hometown peeps, 12 years after having sat there. You just can't explain that feeling and it's why sitting here in a hard collar is made bearable. I'm greedy and I want more of them (WORLD TITLE)!
Next week, I'll go into more detail on my unexpected IC Title win against Jeff Jarrett in SkyDome.
Now it's time for my NHL playoff picks, so if you don't like hockey stop reading now. Ottawa over the Islanders; Jersey over the Bruins (of course); the Leafs over the Flyers (of course, but this will be the toughest series, and by the way, Domi smoked Brashear); sadly, the Capitals over the Lightning (sorry guys, hope you prove me wrong).
Stars over the Oilers (I'd like the Oil to win, though); hopefully, the Canucks over the Blues (another tough one); the Avalanche and Wild is a tossup to me, but I'll go safe, with the Avs; and finally my upset pick, the Ducks over the Red Wings (easy for me to say after three games).
Until next week, you have been Edgeucated!