7 Great Talkers WWE Didn't Let Talk

2. Edge

Edge Debut
WWE.com

The eloquent, yet somehow sinister, beats to Edge's promos as the 'Rated-R Superstar' will live on forever. Before that, the Canadian had been a goofy prankster in a tag-team with Christian, and had played the straight-ahead smiling babyface role after that. 'Rated-R' was his chance to let loose and explore his personality.

It rocked.

That period also makes it more confusing that the WWF's initial plan for Edge was to make him voiceless. Vince Russo, who was the head writer when Edge debuted in 1998, has been credited for this. His idea was to make the character a "deaf mute" (so said Edge on Chris Jericho's podcast in 2014). Russo didn't think the young star could talk, and he was trying to ignore his supposed weaknesses.

The only problem with that is that they weren't actually weaknesses. Edge could talk, he just needed the opportunity to prove that instead of being saddled with a speechless gimmick. On the same pod, Edge revealed he and Val Venis almost became 'The New Midnight Express', so it could've been worse.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.