The man known as simply Edge step’s out from character to speak as Adam Copeland his real life name. Edge won the [WWE version] world heavyweight championship 7 times, the WWE world heavyweight title 4 times, won the WWE tag team titles a shocking 14 times during his career, and they are just a few of the Rated R Superstar’s many trophies and accomplishments. Edge was a main stay in the WWE for nearly 15 years before having to retire due to ongoing neck injuries.
On Edge is the story of Adam Copeland striving to achieve his life long ambition of wrestling for the WWE with many of the stars he grew up watching in Canada and working towards winning the WWE world heavyweight championship. Due to Copeland writing the book entirely by himself his charisma and personality really shine through the words, in the same way as Mick Foley’s or Chris Jericho’s books do. Edge takes us through his childhood and subsequent love for wrestling which would lead to him being trained by Sweet Daddy Siki, this is then followed by his formative ground breaking years in the WWE after his relatively short stint on the independent circuit. Funny and humorous all the way recounting every aspect of his life from the events in the ring that has now gone down in the annuals of wrestling history as truly innovative. Taking us through the formation of the Brood, his life long friendship with Christian outside of the ring, the feud including the TLC matches with the Hardy Boyz and the Dudley Boyz, to the slow beginnings of his rise as a singles star, his divorce and his tragic neck injury in 2003. Edge doesn’t shy away from telling it honestly from his point of view, really tapping into the readers emotions, something he is able to do so well due to personally writing the book.
At first you may think okay, at the time Edge had only been wrestling for 9 years and only 6 of them in the WWE, so this must be WWE just cashing in on it’s successful book run that it had in the early 2000’s, being that this book was released in 2004. You would most probably be right in that assumption, however Edge has made the most of his opportunity turning it into a real treat in telling his fans the journey he has undertaken so far. It is an entertaining read, funny, emotional, and really leaves you feeling as if you’ve got to know Adam Copeland that little bit better. Ending as it does with private journal notes of his first appearance back after the career altering neck surgery, Adam Copeland on Edge is the perfect first volume to precede a hopeful second volume in the near future.
Book by Adam Copeland
Published by WWE
Released November 2, 2004
Pages 256, hard back
– By Jimmy Wheeler