Mick Foley had thrice given his body to the business in the interest of getting performers over a hump, but Triple H, The Rock and Randy Orton never had to literally face the flames as part of their coming-of-age angle.
Edge's bloody brawl with the 'Hardcore Legend' promised and delivered new levels of brutality just a few short years before the company would outlaw it completely and the message was abundantly clear in the aftermath - he was no longer a grinning, long-haired loser but a very bad man prepared to do very bad things to gain satisfaction.
He spent the year chasing it - a three-week WWE Title reign in January only fueled his desire to regain the belt after losing it - and steamrolling through Foley in this superlatively-paced sh*tkicking got him back on track. The aforementioned finished showed bravery and cruelty in equal measure too - 'The Rated-R Superstar' was made.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
