The True Story Of How WWE Nearly F*cked Up Edge
It wasn't for Lynch; accepting that WWE is a bumbling, incompetent organisation is just one of its fun quirks. Even in a warped anti-meritocracy, more often than not, even when Vince McMahon really, really doesn't want to do it, most wrestlers deserving of true superstar status are eventually elevated to it. That's not to excuse entire generations, plural, of super-talented upper midcard acts trading nothing wins in storylines so meaningless that none will live on the memory - it's just a counter for the following argument.
Just how f*cked might Edge have been, exactly, had the WWF stuck to the original plan?
He debuted as 'Edge'. Not Chilly McFreeze or Fang McFrost or Fringe McBoundary. Edge. By 1998 standards, it wasn't uncool. The gothic industrial aesthetic was a few years out of date by that point, but he was hardly The Patriot. Brooding long-haired figure of vaguely "alt" angst somewhat grabbed the zeitgeist, by pro wrestling standards. Whether it was cool for 14 year-olds then and a bit lame now doesn't matter. He wasn't Beaver Cleavage in name or stature. He was a well-regarded, tall, handsome prospect.
Edge, as you may recall, botched his debut. After a series of vignettes, in which Edge was depicted as an enraged tortured soul looking for "answers" at the "water's edge", he worked Jose Estrada Jr. on the June 22 edition of Monday Night RAW.
CONT'D...(3 of 6)