Adam Copeland

Career

Throughout the 1990s he wrestled for many independent promotions in Ontario as well in the Great Lakes region of the United States under the name Sexton Hardcastle. His previous managers were Johnny Bradford and Judd the Studd. In his indy career, he also won the SSW Tag title, the ICW Street Fight Tag title and the ICW/MWCW Midwest Unified Tag title, all with long time friend, Christian Cage as his tag team partner they were known as the suicide blondes. He showed much potential and was signed by the then-WWF in 1998.

Related Topics:
1990s - Independent - Promotions - Great Lakes - United States - Christian Cage - 1998

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Many thought that upon his arrival, he would be the next Shawn Michaels. So far, Copeland has found some success in WWE, but not to the magnitude as Michaels has found. He was at first introduced as an enigmatic character, who quickly was teamed with his former tag team partner and on-screen brother, from independent promotions, Christian. The two joined The Undertaker's Ministry of Darkness, and eventually found success as a heel comic duo of surfer dudes/teenyboppers, winning the WWE Tag-Titles 7 times. After with an on-screen feud, the team then dropped the storyline brotherhood gimmick when he and Christian broke out on their own. After the split of the team Edge continued with the character for the most part, only as a face.

Related Topics:
Shawn Michaels - Independent promotions - Christian - The Undertaker's - Heel - Face

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In 2000, he made a cameo appearance in the movie as "Road bandit".

Related Topics:
2000 - Cameo

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In 2002, Copeland suffered a neck injury that required surgery that kept him sidelined for close to a year. He wrote a column on WWE.com while he rehabilitated. He was scheduled to return to the ring in February 2004, but suffered a wrist injury just before his expected return. He was placed on the RAW brand in the draft lottery after WrestleMania XX, and returned to in-ring action shortly after that event. On April 19, 2004, he and Chris Benoit won the RAW tag team title.

Related Topics:
2002 - Neck - 2004 - WrestleMania XX - April 19 - Chris Benoit

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On July 10 at Vengeance 2004 Edge went one-on-one with Randy Orton and ended Orton's 9 month Intercontinental title reign. On September 7, 2004, Eric Bischoff stripped Edge of the title because of a injury Edge received at a non-televised wrestling match.

Related Topics:
July 10 - Randy Orton - September 7 - 2004 - Eric Bischoff

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His character was then portrayed as a crazed heel with a severe anger management problem, feuding with such wrestlers as Shawn Michaels, who he believes is the reason he did not get a chance to compete for the World Heavyweight Title at Taboo Tuesday. They have faced each other many times, including at the 2005 Royal Rumble.

Related Topics:
Heel - Feuding - Shawn Michaels - Taboo Tuesday - 2005 - Royal Rumble

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At WrestleMania 21, Edge won the "Money-in-the-Bank" Ladder Match to gain a match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. As per the stipulations of the match, his title match is guaranteed for up to a year, until WrestleMania 22.

Related Topics:
WrestleMania 21 - WrestleMania 22

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Edge, still being portrayed as a crazed heel who blames everyone else for problems and missed opportunities in his wrestling career, now refers to himself by the nickname "Mr. Money-in-the-Bank" and carries his World Heavyweight Championship match contract, which then became a WWE Championship contract when the titles exchanged shows, in a briefcase wherever he goes.

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Edge is currently feeling heat due to a recent decision to betray a fellow wrestler and real life friend, Matt Hardy. WWE upper management is displeased with the extramarital affair he had with Amy Dumas (Lita), a wrestling Diva and Matt's girlfriend of six years.

Related Topics:
Matt Hardy - Amy Dumas - Diva

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Yet, Edge was paired with Lita in the TV storyline after she turned on Kane to help Edge win the Gold Rush Tournament on the May 16, 2005 edition of RAW. Edge then faced the World Heavyweight Champion Batista the next week. Despite the interference of Christian and Tyson Tomko, Edge lost to Batista after Batista hit Edge with the Batista Bomb.

Related Topics:
Gold Rush Tournament - May 16 - Batista - Christian - Tyson Tomko - Batista Bomb

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On Vengeance, June 26, 2005, he had a match versus Kane. Edge lost to Kane by chokeslam. On RAW, July 11, Edge was featured in the main event with Kane as Matt Hardy made a shocking appearance by twice attacking Edge backstage and in the ring and Hardy grabbed a mic during a restraining attempt by security and did what is suspected to be a worked shoot, referring to Edge as "Adam" and issued a threat to Lita as well. This episode raised suspicions of the adultery as being an storyline, using the internet community to achieve heel heat to boost Edge's standing as a major player in the WWE and all parties involved conspired to fool the fans to believe what may really be kayfabe all along and this affair may never have taken place at all.

Related Topics:
June 26 - Kane - July 11 - Worked shoot - Storyline - Heel heat - Kayfabe

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Edge and Lita were interviewed by Todd Grisham on the July 18 episode of Raw, and Edge began yelling at a scared Grisham, complaining about Matt Hardy and "the geeks" who asked questions from "behind a keyboard" on ByteThis.com. Later that evening, as Edge approached the ring for his steel cage match with Kane, he was attacked by Hardy once again. Edge eventually managed to defeat Kane inside the cage after hitting his larger opponent with his omnipresent briefcase.

Related Topics:
Todd Grisham - July 18 - Geek - Keyboard - ByteThis - Steel cage match - Briefcase

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On the August 1 episode of Raw, Vince McMahon officially announced the return of Matt Hardy, and scheduled a match between Hardy and Edge at SummerSlam 2005.

Related Topics:
August 1 - Vince McMahon - SummerSlam 2005

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On August 21, 2005, at SummerSlam, Matt Hardy and Edge faced each other in a battle which was hardly considered a wrestling match but an all-out brawl. The match wound up coming to a premature end when Edge dropped Hardy onto the top of a ring-post, causing him to bleed and eventually leading to the referee ending the match on the grounds that Hardy couldn't continue. Edge was declared the winner.

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August 22, 2005, Edge came over to sit down at the commentator's desk with Lita to distract Matt Hardy during his match against Rob Conway. To Edge's delight, Hardy lost his match and Edge went to the ring, gave him several punches to the head and then put Hardy's head in between the steel steps and the ring post and kicked the steps into Hardy's head.

Related Topics:
August 22 - Rob Conway

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On August 29, 2005, Matt Hardy and Edge once again faced off on RAW in a Street Fight which saw the two superstars take it to each other like never before. Steel chairs, a ladder, steel ring steps, a singapore cane, if it wasn't glued down, it became a weapon. The match went back and forth, and eventually wound up on the stage near the Titantron. As Matt was about to powerbomb Lita off the stage in retribution for her distracting him, Edge intervened, and the two of them tried to use their finishing moves on each other but failed. Matt nailed Edge with the Side Effect, but the two of them went flying off the stage onto electrical equipment. They were then carted off by EMT's to receive medical attention.

Related Topics:
August 29 - Side Effect

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At the WWE Unforgiven PPV that took place on September 18, 2005 Edge faced Matt Hardy in a steel cage match. Hardy had just about won the match with a Side Effect off the top rope, when Lita came in and broke up the pin. In revenge, Lita was met with the Twist of Fate. As soon as this happened, Edge connected with the spear. Afterwards, Edge and Matt were on the top rope until Edge fell down to the mat. Matt went to the top of the cage and hit a legdrop, off the cage all the way to the mat onto Edge, getting the win via pinfall. Edge was helped out by referees, but could not stand.

Related Topics:
WWE Unforgiven - September 18 - 2005

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On the October 3, 2005 edition of RAW, which marks the return of RAW on the USA Network, Edge faced Matt Hardy in a Loser Leaves RAW, Money in the Bank ladder match where the winner received the Money in the Bank guaranteed title match while the loser was forced to leave RAW. Hardy lost.

Related Topics:
October 3 - USA Network

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