Friday, July 6, 2001
Hosts: Kevin Kelly and Howard Finkel
Guest: Edge

Edge's music hit in the 'Byte This! arena' and he made his way to the phone as today's guest on Byte This!. Kevin welcomed Edge to the broadcast and Kevin asked him how he's doing, and Edge says he isn't doing too bad at all. Kevin asks Edge if Christian let him hold the trophy and Edge says that he was able to hold it a couple of times.

He hasn't done anything crazy with it, such as drink whine out of it. Kevin asks Edge what winning the King of the Ring meant to him personally. Edge says that he started his career in 1993 and that was the first time the KOTR was on PPV. He watched every one, every year. It was special for him, because it's the company thinking that you can do something. To be given that chance to springboard your career is a cool thing. Kevin takes us back to the commentary that Edge gave to Billy Gunn. What he really said to Billy Gunn was very true. Kevin asks Edge what the emotions were that were going through him, when he put Billy Gunn in his place, in an entertaining fashion. Edge says that as he was saying it, he felt bad at one point. He talked to Billy before hand, and Billy was okay with it. With the change the Edge character is going through, he has to keep the sarcasm in his interviews.

Keeping the humor and sarcasm in the promos and character is important with what he's doing. Kevin says that winning the King of the Ring isn't a free pass. Are his words true, when he says if he's at WWF NY 2 years from now for the KOTR, shoot him in the head? Edge says that hopes that he doesn't put himself in that position. You never know. The King of the Ring is an opportunity to step up. Edge goes to bed at night thinking of wrestling and he wakes up thinking about wrestling. He dreams about having matches with Stone Cold and Triple H. He lives wrestling, and he's not going to stop until he gets to the top. Howard says that Edge came into the WWF surrounded with mystery. He was a loner, and he came in and was a silent force. He teamed up with Christian and they were Tag Team Champions a number of times. Howard asks Edge if he has any regrets? Edge says when he first came in, he didn't know what his character was.

It was kind of up in the air as to how to act. When they put them together as a tag team, it was a natural fit. They were teaming in Canada. They grew up together and it was natural. The only regret that they would have had was if their team was split before they had a chance to run with the titles. He would have regretted that, but he has no regrets at all. They won the Tag Team Titles 7 times. Edge says that it's been a great two years for them, and when they were able to get their characters across on TV, everyone at home has fun with you. Kevin goes over an email and it asks Edge what his next immediate goal in the WWF is, now that he has won the King of the Ring? Edge says that he's always had a special place for the Intercontinental Title. The guys that held that title are the guys that he watched and studied. Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat, guys like that. He would like to get another taste of that, and the European Title.

Who says that another Tag Team Title reign can't be in store? The Dudleys and Hardys are starting to get a little too close. Wherever the path goes, he is just going to have fun with it. Howard mentions that Edge won the Intercontinental Title in Toronto, and Kevin asks Edge to tell us the story about that. Edge says it was in the Skydome. 20-25,000 people there for a House Show. Ken Shamrock was supposed to go against Jeff Jarrett, but he was stuck in Detroit. The whole deal was that Edge was going to win the match. Because it wasn't contracted or what have you, Jeff would walk away with the Title, and they would work the next night at the PPV. Jack Lanza decided that Edge should get the title. Kevin says that it caught him by surprise. Edge says when he got told, he was like "What? What?" You can see it on the tape when they were standing together and when he was told. Howard says that when he announced Edge as the new Champion, he was numb.

Edge says it was a dream, and to do it with family and friends there, it was a really special night. They go to line 3, and Howard remembered the caller from a couple of years ago. The caller says that Edge is her favorite wrestler since Shawn Michaels. She hopes that he can go from IC Title to World Title. What wrestler influenced Edge the most to get into the business? Edge says that Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Chris Benoit and so many guys. Those were the guys that he would watch and study and pick apart what they did. There are so many guys. Mr. Perfect, Barry Windham. There are a lot of guys, but the ones he mentioned are at the top of the list. Kevin goes over an email, and it asks Edge if he feels the Hardys helped Edge rise in the WWF? Edge says that the Hardys would agree, but Edge and Christian kind of helped the Hardys. After the first ladder match, the Hardys went on as huge babyfaces. They went two separate ways. The Hardys took the high flying road while Edge and Christian stay on the ground, as heels.

Kevin says that Edge and Christian may have been an influence on what Stone Cold is doing. Edge says it's tough, because if you are too funny in the vignettes, the people are going to start liking you in the ring. Then you have to do dastardly stuff. It's tough to hate guys that are really funny, so they had to watch guys like Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard, guys that really knew how to heel in the ring. Kevin asks Edge where these words come from that they use. Edge says it's like a brainstorm. They kind of have an idea of what they are going to do, but sometimes they throw some out there. He doesn't really know where it comes from, to be honest. Kevin goes over another email, and it's about an article in a new WWF Magazine. A new menu item for WWF NY is Dork Chops, which he calls the Hardy Boyz. Kevin asks Edge if he will stay in the WWF or will he go to WCW?

Edge says that he would like to stay in the WWF, but if the powers that be thought that Edge would be able to help WCW get it's feet underneath it along with a few other guys, then he would take that as a compliment. If it was decided that Edge or Christian were able to help lay the groundwork with the talent that they already have, you have to take that as a compliment. His dream is to stay in the WWF, though. Kevin asks Edge about the WCW matches, and Edge says that he felt bad for the guys, because no matter what they did, the crowd was against them. The WWF crowd isn't a WCW fan base. The ring is bigger and the style is a lot different. It's tough to get accustomed to. He and Jericho had a conversation and Jericho didn't feel comfortable with the WWF style for a year. Edge thinks they will get accustomed to it, and he really liked Helms and Kidman.

Edge says he talked to Booker before the merge went down, and he was really impressed with his attitude. He just wants to work. He's friends with Kidman, because he lives right near him. He's a great worker and can do great things with the Cruiserweight title. Kevin asks Edge his thoughts on Albert, and Edge says that he's really picked up the pace. He's really starting to understand how big he is. He looks big on TV, but he's even bigger in person. He has had a lot of input and feedback from guys like the Undertaker and Kane to help him up his game. Howard says speaking of big men in the WWF, they have been blessed with great talent that have been exported from Canada. Christian, Edge, Bret Hart, Owen of course. Quite a few. Howard says that Test has a big chance to break out in the future. Edge says that people forget that Test has only been working for a couple of years. For a big guy, he moves pretty well. Almost too well, because you can forget how big he is.

After he has 5 years under his belt, you can expect big things from Test. Down the road, we could see some really good stuff. He's done the Hardcore thing, and he's good at that. You almost become too good at that and get stuck in it like Rhyno has. When you see a guy like Rhyno and Test go at it, you're seeing a preview of the future. They go to a caller, and the caller says with the King of the Ring Title, would he be willing to put it up for grabs in a match? Edge says it's never been done before, and it would definitely be different. He doesn't think he'll be coming out with the cup for the whole year. If it were written in, it would be interesting. Kevin says that he knows historically that it hasn't been done. If you have the King of the Ring defend his crown, so to speak, then it takes away from the importance of winning. You are going to see a lot of guys take their shot at Edge, because he won the King of the Ring. That puts you higher in the ranks.

Edge is at the next level as a single. Edge says with defending it, would it make the tournament null and void? He doesn't know if it would be a good move or not, but it would be interesting. For the record, Bret "The Hitman" Hart put the King of the Ring thinger on the line at Summer Slam in 1993. Jerry Lawler won the match as a result of a disqualification and he was announced as the undisputed King. Edge talks about the poses and Edge says it was Brian Gewartz's (sp?) idea. Kevin says Edge is renowned for the TLC matches. What were his feelings after completing the series of matches? TLC will go down as one of the greatest matches of all time. Edge says he's relieved, and he hopes that he doesn't have to do it for a long time. You can be as creative as possible, but what else can they do? They had a good run with three of those, and let's hold off for a little while. They are fun to take part in, but they are pretty stressful.

They go to a caller, and the caller says that he was at Wrestlemania in Houston. All six of those guys did a great job, and it was great to see Rhyno added to it, because he's a big ECW fan. The question is, when Edge first found out about the WCW sale, was there some wrestlers that he thought he would love to have a match with? Edge says yeah, Lance Storm, Chris Kanyon and Palumbo and O'Haire vs. Edge and Christian would be a good match. Those are off the top of his head. Kidman would be great to work. There's a lot of guys, but off the top of his head, those are the guys. They go to another caller, and the asks Edge how long he has known Christian. Edge says since grade 5, and that's 16 or 17 years ago now. Kevin goes over another email, and it asks Edge what the best match he's ever had was? Edge says that's a tough one, because certain matches bring certain things to the table. The first TLC, from a psychology standpoint, it's hard to have good psychology in a match like that.

In the second TLC, they had a slower build to the climax, and he might have enjoyed that more. The match with Benoit and Jericho was great. They went out there and beat the hell out of each other and it works. They had singles matches with a lot of guys. It's tough to narrow it down to just one, he doesn't know if he could. Howard says he's going to let someone in on a little something, and Edge is a huge hockey fan. A lot of Edge's spare time is spent watching hockey. He's a big fan of the New Jersey Devils. Kevin asks how does a kid from Toronto like the New Jersey Devils? Edge says that he saw their Jersey and was like Wow. It went from there. Kevin goes over an email, and it asks about Edge getting married of June of this year. Edge says that he wasn't getting married, that was actually Christian. He got married in Tampa, and Edge was the best man. Kevin asks Edge when he's tying the knot. Edge says that he hasn't set a date yet, but he wants to do it next summer. He wants to do it in Toronto, but they live in Tampa now.

They go to line 4, and the caller asks Edge if he remembers what his first match in the WWF was? Edge says that it was in Austin, Texas against Jose Estrada. His first non televised match was against Bob Holly. He beat Jose Estrada, but he lost to Holly. They go back to Edge's debut, and he was Adam Copeland for his first match against Bob Holly. He was nervous. Edge says he remembers it, and he got there 2 hours before the show. Before anyone else. He went up to Bob, and he said he thinks they're working tonight. Bob asked him how long he was working, and Edge told him three years. Bob rolled his eyes, and they went out and had a good solid match. Everyone was happy with it and he kept in contact. Howard asks Edge about the WWF Training Camp, and Edge says he was finishing his tour in Manitoba. He had a meeting with Jim Ross, and when he got in the ring, he blew up, because he was sick. He still got signed. He did Indy shows, and the office told him to keep up with his bookings to keep the rust off.

Ahmed Johnson, Marc Mero, Droz, Kurrgan, Albert and a number of guys were there with him. He and Val clicked, because they met before and did a lot of shows together. They busted their asses, showing that they deserve to be on TV. They really worked hard. The office liked them and put them on TV. Kevin goes back to the phones, and it's a question about Tough Enough for Edge. What did Edge think about Tough Enough? Edge thinks it's a great show, but it's too short. He can see who wants it and who doesn't. It kind of pisses him off, because these guys and girls are getting a good chance and some of them don't realize how good of a chance you're getting. Jason didn't realize what the road life was like? How could you not realize that? You need to know that going in. If you don't, what the hell are you doing? They are weeding out the weak, and as they go on, there's going to be a lot more weak than strong. Kevin asks Edge what the long term of Tough Enough is going to be?

Edge says that it's going to help. He's sure the old timers can't believe the WWF is doing this, but it'll give people a new respect for what they do. They make thinks look easy on TV, but it's not easy. They go out there injured and go through it. Edge is starting to get off on a rant, but he's very passionate for what he does. He has a great respect for what they do in the ring. Kevin tells Edge he did a great job and he thanks him for joining them on Byte This!