20 Shocking WWE Plans You Won’t Believe
16. Edge The Deaf Mute
Edge retired from professional wrestling as not only one of the most celebrated tag team wrestlers of all-time, but a highly-decorated world title-level singles wrestler. The Rated R Superstar acquired an impressive 11 world title reigns to compliment his 14 tag title belts, and on April 11th, 2011, Edge left the business as one of the most decorated wrestlers ever.
It could’ve been entirely different had WWE followed through on their original plans, however. Edge debuted in WWE as a misfit loner character before eventually joining up with Christian and Gangrel in The Brood, but the writers originally intended for him to portray a deaf mute instead. The suggestion was that Edge was an uncharismatic wrestler who couldn’t talk, and needed an outlandish gimmick to mask his weaknesses as a performer.
Who came up with the idea? Vince Russo, of course!
The idea was fortunately scrapped, and Edge would prove the ridiculousness of Russo’s “uncharismatic” claims throughout his career. Given WWE’s lack of sensitivity when portraying other handicapped gimmicks (hi, Eugene), it’s likely that such a move would’ve left Edge’s career dead on a arrival, and instead of becoming a Hall of Famer, Edge would be remembered as another Mantaur or Max Moon.