6 Ups & 4 Downs From Edge's WWE Career

2. Winning & Cashing In Money In The Bank

Edge will forever be remembered as the very first winner of WWE's Money In The Bank concept. At WrestleMania 21, he hauled down the briefcase and carried it until the next year. That event coincided with the real-life love triangle drama between he, Lita and Matt Hardy, but the love rat persecution only made Edge a bigger villain.

He was gaining momentum fast.

By early-2006, after colliding with Hardy over the summer, it was time to pull the trigger. Edge beat John Cena at New Year's Revolution to bag his first WWE Title; there are few more satisfying sights from that era than seeing the grinning heel grow as the power begins to set in. Again, those facial expressions were second to none.

Edge was the best foil WWE had for Cena in 2006, and their feud is one anybody not watching at that time should go out of their way to check out. Similarly, a stop-gap rivalry with Mick Foley heading into 'Mania 22 shunted Edge up a level.