Edge debuted in WWE in 1998, and over the course of the next 13 years, fans got to see him play every role in the company. First he was a tag team specialist who helped usher the division into its prime, then a breakout singles star engaged in career-making feuds, then a brilliantly unrepentant heel who finally hit the main event, and finally, the respected veteran who had returned from a devastating injury. Unfortunately, those years of action took their toll on Edge's body. After a spinal stenosis diagnosis, "The Rated-R Superstar" was forced to relinquish the World Heavyweight Championship and abruptly announce his retirement on Monday Night Raw. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCX92s4VU0Q Though Edge had spent most of his recent career as one of WWE's top villains, the fans surely recognized just how difficult the speech was for the multi-time champion. After telling the cheering crowd that he would miss them and the reaction they always gave him, a tearful Edge took his last bow.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
