INSANE Wrestling Fan Backlashes You Didn't See Coming

7. Edge Gets BOOED In Toronto

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WWE

A lot of the time, a fan backlash isn't necessarily personal.

Edge was a Toronto native who looked destined for singles stardom the very moment he stopped cosplaying as a goth and stuck a kazoo in his mouth. A very entertaining Attitude Era midcard act, he held polymath potential early. As good at talking trash as he was thrilling fans with his clever structuring of daredevil spots in those legendary TLC wars, Edge was the safest bet, in the early 2000s, of being the next top star - particularly since he was for all intents and purposes a "WWE guy". He wasn't resented by default for making his name in WCW.

While he had developed a sophisticated approach to the in-ring craft - he was no glorified stuntman - it didn't take until 2005. He was either injured or just...there for around two years. His babyface character was a bit earnest and dry, and the gags didn't land as well as they did in 2000. He was less "Hey, Edge is actually funny!" and more "Edge isn't a stand-up comic, this is cringeworthy".

Still, watching him get booed out of the building in Toronto at SummerSlam was crazy, and he echoed that with his facial expression. He looked nonplussed, or shaken-up, but the ironic message was received: Edge, the man who once invoked Billy Gunn as verb, was a bit ass as a babyface and needed to turn.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!