King Edge
by Phil Speer

In 1993, Adam Copeland had just begun wrestling school. He chipped in a few bucks with his buddies and ordered the first King of the Ring Pay-Per-View. Bret Hart won the tournament. "I've always been a big Bret fan," said Copeland, aka Edge. "I still am."

On Sunday, Edge joined Bret and seven other superstars as a King of the Ring.

"It feels pretty damn good," Edge said just moments after defeating Kurt Angle in the tournament finals. "There are things you dream of it you want this as a career -- the WWF Title, the Intercontinental Title, the Tag Team Title and King of the Ring."

With three years experience in the World Wrestling Federation, and at 27 years old, Edge is already one of the most decorated superstars in history.

Along with Christian, Edge has been Tag Team Champion a record-setting seven times. He's been part of some of the most memorable matches ever. He's been Intercontinental Champion. And Sunday, he joined an exclusive club that includes Stone Cold Steve Austin, Owen Hart, Triple H and Kurt Angle.

"To be included in that select group is an honor," Edge said. "Stone Cold, Triple H, Kurt Angle. They're all superstars. They're all the cream of the crop."

When Bret Hart won the crown in 1993, he was already an established, main-event caliber performer. But each year since then, a superstar with seemingly high potential has won the tournament. It has been used as a springboard to bigger and better things.

Owen Hart, the 1994 winner, used it to break out of his older brother's shadow. Triple H won the crown in 1997, and a few months later, he teamed with his good friends Chyna and Shawn Michaels to form D-Generation X. In 2000, Kurt Angle won the Federation Championship just a few months after the crown. Stone Cold Steve Austin catapulted up the ladder quicker than anyone. With his "Austin 3:16" speech, a legacy was born on the very night he won the tournament in 1996.

Clearly, Federation officials -- not to mention Edge's fellow superstars -- believe that he is ready. Is this an indication and the Edge & Christian tag team is nearing its end?

"I'm sure a lot of Edge & Christian fans will be wondering," Edge said. "And so will we. It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out."

One possibility is that Edge's closest friends will benefit as much from his coronation as he does. Ask Federation officials and superstars how they feel about Edge winning the tournament, and they quickly mention Christian and Rhyno as well.

"We need Edge, as well as Christian and Rhyno, to move to the next level," said Jim Ross, head of the Federation's talent relations department.

Added Kurt Angle, "If there was ever anyone who deserves it, Edge & Christian deserve it more than anyone. They've proven themselves this year. They've proven that they deserve to be in the main event. They've got all the tools."

According to Rhyno, it makes sense that he, Edge & Christian are grouped
together.

"We all have the same mindset and the same goals: to be the best," he said. "I couldn't be asked to be put with better guys because I know them personally and I know if I say something they won't take it the wrong way."

In Edge's three-plus years in the Federation, he's proved to be one of the "better guys." He debuted as a singles competitor, and for the first few months he merely wrestled; all fans knew was that he had a "mysterious past." Christian arrived in the Federation in the fall of 1998, and subsequently the Brood was born (Edge, Christian and Gangrel). Although the real-life Edge & Christian are not anything like the dark, gothic figures they portrayed, they made it work, and the trio had a successful Federation run. After they were broken up for unexplained reasons, the careers of Edge & Christian really took off. First they proved that they could flat-out wrestle, in several breathtaking matches with the Hardy Boyz in late 1999. Then, just before WrestleMania 2000, Edge & Christian got their first chance to express themselves as characters who are merely extensions of their real personalities. The rest -- their first Tag Team Championship at that WrestleMania, and six others -- is history.

Now it seems to be time for Edge -- as well as Christian and Rhyno -- to take another step. While the immediate future for the team of Edge & Christian is unknown, they'll have to break up one day. Like virtually every superstars, Edge has singles aspirations.

"One day I want to fight for the world title," he said. "I want to shoot for the top. I think everyone should. (The Federation Championship is) my ultimate goal. It'd be nice to get another taste of that Intercontinental Title too."

Judging by the King of the Ring history and his own past, Edge should enjoy his best year in 2001.

"This guy is going to have such momentum going his way," said RAW IS WAR announcer Paul Heyman. "When you look back to what truly launched his career -- which I think will be in a different stratosphere a year from now -- we're gonna look back on the 2001 King of the Ring Pay-Per-View and say, 'Here's where it all really kicked off for him.'