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Edge goes Off The Record
By
JON WALDMAN -- SLAM! Wrestling
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 Edge with his first Intercontinental title. -- Toronto Sun photo
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Edge, one of Canada's most popular wrestlers, appeared on TSN's Off the
Record Wednesday in a one-on-one interview with Michael Landsberg. Much
of the show centred on his neck surgery, but there were also a few
"shoot comments" and some discussion about drugs in wrestling. Here's
the highlights:
- Said he still has 9-1/2 months left of rehabilitation before he can
get back in the ring. Edge dropped 30 pounds at one point, but he has
gained back 15 while going to the gym.
- Said the news of needing surgery was "kind of like getting punched
in the face."
- After rolling clips of some of the TLC matches and his Smackdown
match with Eddy Guererro, Edge said he was stupid to take such
high-risks. He said that for the Eddy match, the two had the crowd in
the plams of their hands.
- Edge said that he took the higher-risk bumps in order to get noticed.
- The show rolled clips of Kurt Angle talking about getting back into
the ring from his 1-on-1 a while back. Edge says he's taking a risk in
the ring, but he's having too much fun in the squared circle.
- Edge noted Mick Foley and Shawn Michaels as being two wrestlers who
introduced the high-risk style of wrestling.
- Edge said his program with Hulk Hogan was amazing. He said that
Hogan was one of his three idols, along with Michaels and Bret Hart.
- Edge feels, however, that Smackdown should not be centred around Hogan.
- Edge is very happy for Christian and the push he is getting. He
talked about how he has no enemies in WWE, and compared it to the years
before, citing from Hogan's and Piper's books that people hated each
other back then.
- Quirky Fact: Edge was in radio broadcasting at Humber before going
into wrestling. (Editor's note: Way back in 1999, Edge and our own John
Powell rapped about life at Humber in a Q &
A session.)
- Feels that Goldberg isn't a great wrestler; more of a merge between
wrestling and UFC.
- Edge said that he promised himself at the beginning of his career
that he'd never fall into the drug scene. He said he went off
painkillers two weeks after his surgery. He also said he was very proud
of Eddy Guererro and his recovery from his problems.
- Edge promo'd the "Together for Toronto" promotion in July.
Before the show, Landsberg did word association with Edge:
RVD - Gumby, uninjurable
Booker T - underutilized
Shawn Michaels - the best at one time
Big Show - gentle giant, teddy bear
Kevin Nash - should not be the focus of RAW
Ric Flair - legend
Triple H - overly criticized
Roddy Piper - crazed, the two have never met
More on Edge
Jon Waldman has been writing for SLAM! Wrestling since 2000. He is also
a regular writer for the Winnipeg Sun, Canadian Sports Collector and
various hockey magazines. To view other articles by Jon, visit his
website at www.jonwaldman.com.