The SmarK DVD Rant for Edge: Decade of Decadence

Reviews, Wrestling DVDs

The SmarK DVD Rant for Edge: A Decade of Decadence

They totally stole that title from Motley Crue.

– Hosted by Edge (duh). This is another talk-and-show format, although the “documentary” aspect is totally abandoned 10 minutes into the first disc and then never seen again.

Disc One

Edge v. Owen Hart

From the underrated Breakdown ’98 PPV. This is in Hamilton, so Owen wears a Toronto Argos jersey to be a real dick. He still gets a pretty sizeable face pop despite that. Owen takes him down with a top wristlock and pounds on the arm, then monkey-flips Edge out of the corner, but Edge lands on his feet and hits a dropkick. Rana and clothesline put Owen on the floor, and Edge fakes a highspot before hitting a baseball slide. Edge dives at him, but Owen catches him with a powerslam on the floor and they head back in, where Owen does some old school flying with a missile dropkick for two. Gut wrench suplex gets two. Backbreaker and neckbreaker get two. Overhead belly to belly gets two. We hit the chinlock and Edge fights up, so Owen uses the Wrestlemania X victory roll for two, which Edge reverses for two. Edge gets a crossbody for two, but Owen gets the enzuigiri gets two. Owen goes up to gloat and Edge brings him down with an inverted powerbomb, then flapjacks him. Neckbreaker gets two for Edge. Edge goes up and Owen moves, but again he plays it up and Edge DDTs him for two. They trade german suplex attempts and Edge gets a northern lights for two. Owen with a german suplex for two. Owen misses a charge and Edge takes him to the top, but Owen blocks it and comes down for the Sharpshooter. Edge reverses that for two. Leg lariat follows, but the mysterious (and long-haired) Christian Cage shows up at ringside and Owen rolls Edge up for the pin at 9:16. Edge was smart and let Owen do the heavy lifting here, as he looked really tentative and nervous with everything. ***

Ladder match: The Hardy Boyz v. Edge & Christian

From No Mercy ’99, this is the final match in the Terri Invitational Tournament, for the rights to her managing services. OK, now the standard Hardy music is used here, but it’s the Brood video, so wouldn’t it have been Gangrel’s awesome music? And they were using some shitty techno piece at that point anyway. There can’t be a rights issue there since they own that one, unless it’s a “spite Jim Johnston” thing now. Anyway, E&C gain the advantage to start, whipping each other into the Hardyz and then going for the ladders right away. The Hardyz drag them back in and hit the double-team fistdrop, while the ref throws Gangrel out. Jeff grabs a ladder and Edge dropkicks it back in his face from the apron, but Matt takes him out with a dive, and then Christian follows with a springboard elbow to emerge as last man standing. He climbs, but Jeff pulls him off, then Edge pulls HIM off, and then Matt dumps the ladder over with Edge on it. Jeff and Christian play tug-of-war with the ladder and Jeff loses, so Christian follows with a dropkick into the corner. Edge dives at Matt and hits the ladder instead, but Jeff climbs and gets brought down by a Christian DDT. Matt brings him down in turn with a backdrop suplex, and Edge brings him down with a powerbomb. Edge climbs and Jeff saves with a missile dropkick, then puts Edge onto the ladder for the swanton. The Hardyz double-team Christian in the corner and then clothesline him down with the ladder, setting up Jeff’s top rope legdrop, over the ladder. Matt follows with a moonsault onto the ladder, which is more crazy than anything.

Edge gets back into the match and hits people with ladders, then catapults Jeff into the ladder. He climbs, but Matt just tosses the ladder at him to save, which is just a crazy unprotected bump to take. E&C ram the ladder into his groin (literally, unlike years later when Edge would do the same thing in a more symbolic sense), then sandwich Jeff in the ladder and give him ten shots with it. Edge slams Christian onto the ladder to really add punishment, then flapjacks Matt onto the ladder to get rid of him. Jeff takes Christian down with the Twist of Fate (called nothing more than a neckbreaker at that point) but Edge brings him off the ladder with the Downward Spiral. Edge climbs and Matt brings him down with a neckbreaker. Christian and Jeff fight on top of the ladder and Christian wins that battle with a hiptoss off the ladder. This match marks the debut of the sky-cam for spots like that one, just to show how nuts these guys are. Jeff goes up, but E&C set up for a stacker suplex before Matt saves. Jeff then comes off the top onto a pair of ladders, teeter-tottering it into both Matt & Christian. So everyone’s pretty much dead now. All four recover and climb up ladders at the same time, and all four come tumbling off in a spot that really gets the crowd on their side. Hard to remember a time when the Hardy Boyz had to work to get babyface heat. Although I guess they were supposed to be heels here. All four back up and everyone tumbles again, but this time Jeff is left on the ladder and he grabs the money for the win at 16:27. This was it — the glorious trainwreck that got all four guys over in one shot and turned E&C into tag team champions a few months later. Back when they were all young and stupid, before the heartbreaks, drugs, haircuts and neck fusion surgery, it was all about doing whatever they needed to get over. And no wonder careers end so young, but damn was it fun to watch. ****1/2

And of course, we get the sequel…

WWF tag title ladder match: The Dudley Boyz v. Edge & Christian v. The Hardy Boyz.

From Wrestlemania 2000. This used to be a FRESH matchup, for those who don’t remember those days. This was also the days when the Dudleyz were the hottest act in tag team wrestling and Bubba still had a southern accent. Edge & Christian were ZERO-time tag team champions at this point. Big brawl outside to start, and Matt starts in the ring with Christian, but gets dropkicked. Next up, D-Von and Edge, as Edge gets a leg lariat and they head out again. Finally, Bubba & Jeff, as Bubba chops him in the corner but gets hit with a corkscrew out of the corner. Bubba backdrops him and gets the Bubba Bomb, and they brawl out again. Back into the ring, as everyone fights it out in various combinations, and Matt tosses a ladder at Bubba, allowing Jeff to slam into it, and it’s the same situation on the other side of the ring with E&C v. D-Von. Matt slams D-Von onto the ladder and hits him with a yodeling elbow. Jeff DDTs Bubba and puts him on the ladder, but misses a 450 splash and splats on it. Wonder why Jeff stopped using that? Bubba retaliates with his senton off the middle ropes (one of the few times it actually hits), and then Edge rides a ladder down from the top, onto another one that’s on Matt. Everyone is out, so D-Von legdrops Edge beneath another ladder. Bubba does the Terry Funk spot with the ladder on his shoulders, but E&C double-dropkick it back at him. They flapjack D-Von into another ladder in the corner, and Christian climbs up a ladder by the apron, hitting Bubba & Matt with a dive to the floor. Jeff makes the first climb for the belts, but Edge spears Matt off the ladder. He climbs next, but Matt brings him down with a Fire Thunder Bomb and climbs himself. D-Von slams him off to break that up and climbs, but Christian tosses a ladder at him to stop it. Now Christian climbs, but Bubba sets up two more ladders and climbs one to chase, bringing him down with a Bubba Cutter off the ladder. The Hardyz swoop in and toss Christian, and then climb up two ladders and hit a splash/legdrop combo on Bubba from the top of them. Edge tosses Jeff, however, and E&C double-suplex D-Von off a pair of ladders. Everyone is out again. Now The Hardyz duel with E&C on the top of two ladders, and they bring each other down. So now the Dudleyz join the fray, and all six guys climb three ladders and fight it out, but Christian & Jeff get dumped over the top, while Edge & Matt get crotched on the top rope, leaving the Dudleyz all alone in the ring. Christian staggers in, so the Dudleyz sandwich him between two ladders and hit Edge with 3D. It’s time for D-Von to get the tables, but that catchphrase didn’t exist yet. So they set up two ladders and put a table on top of them as a makeshift scaffolding, but the Hardy Boyz bring them down again. They all brawl outside and Bubba powerbombs Matt through a table outside, as D-Von misses a splash and puts himself through a table in the ring. Jeff tries a railrunner on Bubba, but walks into a ladder. Bubba then finds an insanely high ladder and sets up a table next to it, but Christian hits him with the bell to put him on the table, and Jeff climbs the ladder and puts Bubba through the table with a swanton bomb to take both guys out of play. In the ring, D-Von suplexes Christian and climbs the structure, but Matt returns to pull him down and hits the Twist of Fate. Matt then climbs, along with Christian, and they slug it out up there until Edge follows them up and gets rid of Matt, and they grab the titles at 22:28, their first reign of seven. Time and perspective have shown that although the match was insanely influential, the rematch at Summerslam 2000 (Tables Ladders & Chairs) was the superior match, and this one had a slower pace and featured too much contrived setting up of the crazy spots. ****

Unfortunately we skip over the entire E&C era and head to the singles push…

Intercontinental title: Lance Storm v. Edge

From Summerslam 2001. God, I’d totally forgotten about Storm’s IC title reign. It’s also kind of funny thinking of the days when Edge was a smiling babyface. Storm complains about offbeat shenangians in his pre-match promo, but sadly gets cut off by Edge. I wanted to hear his reasoning! I should note that Edge looks WAY more cut up back then than he does now. Not that I’m accusing him of anything. They fight over a lockup and Storm grabs a headlock, but Edge faceplants him and dropkicks him to the floor. They brawl on the floor and Edge heads up with a high cross when they get back in, and that gets two. Storm comes back and suplexes Edge onto the top rope and sends him back to the floor again. Back in, Storm stomps him down, but Edge comes back with a rollup for two. Lance takes him down with a gourdbuster for two and drops some knees on the midsection to work on that, which gets two. Not sure where he’s going with this yet. Edge fights back, but whiffs on a dropkick, then recovers with a small package for two. Storm takes him down for two, but Edge fights back again. Storm blocks a crucifix attempt with a Regal Roll, and that gets two. We hit the chinlock as I guess Storm is working on the general area of the back, and a senton splash gets two. He goes to the abdominal stretch, so I guess it’s just general torso psychology tonight. Storm tries to go up and gets powerslammed as a result, and we do the double knockout before Edge makes his comeback. Backdrop and leg lariat gets two. They reverse into the Edge-O-Matic, which gets two. Storm tries a rana, but Edge counters with a powerbomb for two. Storm manages to roll into the Canadian Maple Leaf (half crab), but Edge powers himself into the ropes and then reverses to his own. The ref gets bumped and Christian runs in, but hits his own brother and Storm gets two. Storm tries to finish with the superkick, but Edge catches it and finishes with the Impaler DDT at 11:18. Not a bad opener, but certainly not as good as I originally rated it. The psychology was all over the place but it had a good pace and some nice reversals. ***

Unification match: Intercontinental champion Test v. US champion Edge

From Survivor Series 2001. See, that’s how fucked up the Invasion was — it actually gave Test the IC title for a bit. The WCW version of the US title is so much more badass than the toy they’ve been using since pulling the title out of the metaphorical trash. They fight for the lockup and a shoving match ensues, but Edge gets a crossbody for two. Test puts him down with a clothesline and they head outside, where Edge gets dropped on the railing a couple of times. Test actually flips his hair after that. It’s not even NICE hair at this point either! They brawl to the other side, with Edge getting a baseball slide to gain the advantage, but Test gets a cheapshot on the way in. Edge comes back with a neckbreaker for two, but walks into a stungun and a clothesline. Test slugs away in the corner and follows with a corner clothesline, still flipping his damn hair like he’s Kevin Nash or something. You WISH you had hair like that, buddy. He hits the chinlock, but Edge fights up and it’s more punchy-kicky before Edge gets a missile dropkick for two. Test slams him for two. This match is like getting stuck in a snow bank here in the Prairies — you can rev the engine all you want, but someone’s gotta get out and push before you go anywhere. Fuck, now I’m turning into JR. Anyway, they both head up and Edge tries a powerbomb out of the corner, but Test kicks him down and comes off the top himself, landing on Edge’s feet. He of course has time to adjust his hair again before selling anything. They slug it out and Edge gets the leg lariat and a bulldog for two. Test tries the pumphandle, but Edge reverses to the Edge-O-Matic for two. Test spears him for two. Test misses the big boot, but comes back with the pumphandle slam for two. He sets up for the powerbomb to finish, but Edge reverses to a rana and gets his own spear for two. Edge’s DDT is reversed by Test, but Edge rolls him up to win the titles at 11:18. Test’s goofy selling and hair-flipping aside, this was quite a good power match with a hot finish. ***1/4

Edge v. Mr. Perfect

From Sunday Night Heat in 2002. Odd choice, although the theme of this “section” of the DVD is Edge beating the old guard so I guess that fits. Edge dropkicks him to the floor to start, but Perfect fires back with chops in the corner and adds a hairtoss. You don’t mess with the hair, so Edge chops him back and we get the Perfect patented bump into the post. Perfect comes back with a cheapshot into the necksnap, then goes to an abdominal stretch before the ref breaks it up for using the ropes. Edge with the front-and-back atomic drops into the Edge-O-Matic for two. Perfect tosses the ref into the path of the spear, then sends Edge into the post and grabs a chair, as the ref revives and calls for the DQ at 3:40. Just a quickie TV match. *

Haircut match: Edge v. Kurt Angle

From Judgment Day 2002. This was the match that really turned Edge into a singles superstar, the big win over the main event guy he had never gotten up until then. Angle wins a wrestling sequence to start, but Edge tosses him and rams him into the railing. Back in, Edge with a backdrop and he ties Angle up in the ropes, but he charges and Angle suplexes him over the top in a sick bump. Back in, Angle fires away in the corner, but runs into Edge’s boot before coming back with a spinebuster for two. He pounds away, but Edge fights back, so Angle hits him with a DDT for two. And we hit the chinlock, which Angle turns into a front facelock on the mat. Edge fights up and comes back with an overhead suplex and a flying forearm. Leg lariat sets up the Edge-O-Matic for two. Angle bails and Edge follows with a sweet plancha, and back in he blocks the pop-up Superplex and gets a missile dropkick of his own for two. Angle does the delayed sell and fires off a german suplex in the meantime, though, and both are dazed. Angle goes for another suplex, but Edge rolls him up for two. Carpet muncher and Edge goes up, but this time Angle DOES catch him with the superplex, for two. Ha, that Kurt. Edge pulls out a superkick into the corner and follows with a tornado DDT for two, pulling out all kinds of cool stuff you don’t usually see from him. Edge spears the ref and Angle throws him clear across the ring with a release german suplex, then brings a chair in. Edge spears it out of his hands, but of course there’s no ref. Another spear attempt is blocked with an Orton-like punt, but Edge escapes the Angle slam and gets another spear. That one gets two. And then Angle recovers and gets his own spear, setting up the Angle Slam for…two. But now he’s all fired up and it’s time for the anklelock, but Edge gets a desperation enzuigiri to break free. Angle takes him down again with another anklelock and things look bleak, but Edge cradles for the pin at 15:23, and Angle’s bald from then on. I went back and downgraded the rating in “One Ring Circus”, but now I’m upgrading it again because Edge was fantastic here and the finish, with Edge reversing the deadly finisher but still making it seem like he couldn’t figure out how to truly counter it, was great stuff. ****1/4 The post-match sees Edge and Angle brawling into the back as Angle tries to escape the haircut, and at one point they pass the Gorilla position, where there’s signs saying “Stay Away From Spanish Announce Position”. WTF?

Cage match: Edge v. Kurt Angle

So this is the rematch from Smackdown, with Angle doing the Baron Von Raschke wig gag now. This is Calgary so I was probably there but I don’t remember 100%. I know for sure I was at the RAW in Edmonton the night before because that was my first live title change (Rob Van Dam winning the IC title in a ladder match over Eddie) and I don’t see why I wouldn’t have done the road trip for this show. Angle wins a wrestling sequence to start, but can’t ram Edge into the cage, as Edge comes back with a dropkick. Angle meets the cage, but Edge charges and also encounters the steel. Angle goes to a facelock on the mat, but Edge fires away with an overhead suplex and then goes up with a flying shoulderblock for two. Angle latches on with the rolling germans, however, and gets two. Edge goes into the cage three times and Angle whales on him to draw blood, and it’s a good one. You don’t actually see many blades from Edge. Edge takes him down for a catapult into the cage and hits the Edge-O-Matic for two, then hits a backdrop and bulldog for two. Ref gets bumped (already?) and Angle fires off a german suplex, although it’s hard to sell the drama when the wig is coming off. Angle goes up and Edge takes him down with a backdrop suplex, then climbs out of the cage…but there’s no ref to see it. Hulk Hogan interjects himself into the match, sending Angle into the cage to set up their King of the Ring match. We take a break and return with Edge getting two off the spear, and an Angle Slam gets two for Edge. Angle counters with the anklelock, but then Edge fights him off and does his own anklelock. That proves less effective than Angle’s version. Angle breaks free and climbs the cage, but stands on the open door and falls crotch-first on it as a result. OUCH. There’s no nice way to take that bump. Edge drags him back in and tosses from the top, then finishes with a top rope spear at 14:35. Great match, almost as good as the hair match from the week before, with lots of trading finishers and a focus on pins instead of escape goofiness. Plus a rare, manly blade from Edge. ****

WWF World tag team titles: Billy & Chuck v. Edge & Hulk Hogan

I’ve always had a soft spot for this match. This is from the Fourth of July 2002 episode of Smackdown, as Edge teams with his childhood idol. Can we be sure that Ken Kennedy isn’t just Chuck without the steroids? Because seeing him again here makes me wonder. Chuck slugs Hulk down to start and gets a slam, but showboats and gets slugged down and clotheslined as a result. Hulk drops the elbows and Billy comes in, but the challengers pinball him in the corner and it’s over to Edge. He gets the Edge-O-Matic on Billy for two and pounds away in the corner, but Chuck overpowers him and they exchange shots until Chuck gets a belly to belly suplex for two. Billy with a suplex for two. Chuck drops an elbow for two and tosses him, but Rico superkicks his own man by mistake. Chuck rams Edge into the stairs regardless and gets two back in the ring off it. Back to Billy with a facelock and Edge fights over to his corner, but gets taken down for two. Chuck comes in and Edge bulldogs him and it’s HOOOOOOOOT tag Hogan. Hulk could have extended his career another three years by being the guy to stand on the apron and get the hot tag. Big boot and legdrop look to follow, but Chuck cuts it off with the superkick, and Billy gets two. Hulk hits them both with a clothesline and brings Edge back in with a flying double clothesline, and Edge is the house of fire. Impaler for Chuck, but Rico trips him up and thus earns the wrath of Hulk. Edge spears Billy for two and it’s BONZO GONZO, as Hogan & Edge hit a double boot on Chuck, and then stereo legdrops win the tag titles at 10:00. Goofy 80s nostalgia fun here. ***1/4

Edge v. Eddie Guerero

From Unforgiven 2002, a show I do not remember in the slightest, so it’s like it’s brand new to me again! Eddie sneaks in with a rollup for two right away and we get a chase that allows Eddie to stomp him down, but Edge flapjacks him and slugs him down. The storyline here is that Edge suffered a concussion on Smackdown, so he’s doing a nice subtle selling thing as we go along. Eddie hits a powerslam for two, but Edge comes back with a suplex for two. Eddie runs to the corner and hits a NASTY tornado DDT, and that’ll give you a concussion if you don’t have one already. Eddie adds a suplex for two and wraps him up in a neck vice submission, getting two off that. Edge knees out of it, so Eddie fires back with a suplex for two and goes to a facelock. Edge fights up and Eddie elbows him down again and pounds on the head, leaving Edge all goofy. Edge fires back from the mat with a desperation KO punch that puts Eddie down with a great sell, and we get the double count. Edge recovers and charges, but he misses by a mile and Eddie pounds him down again. Edge fights back with a small package for two and gets a neckbreaker, but that hurts himself more. He still makes the comeback and fires back with an atomic drop and bulldog for two. Edge-O-Matic gets two. Eddie uses a jawbreaker to slow him down, but stops to showboat while doing the ropewalk and gets powerbombed as a result. Edge gets two from that, but he’s still grabbing the head and stumbling. He tosses Eddie into the turnbuckle to set up for the spear, but Eddie moves, so Edge goes with the Impaler instead and gets two. Edge goes up to finish with the missile dropkick, but Eddie dodges it and Edge lands on his head. Edge whips Eddie into a loosened turnbuckle, however, and they head up for a superplex, but Eddie turns it into the powerbomb and hooks the tights for the pin at 11:57. Man, Edge had some spectacular matches before his injuries slowed him up for a long while. ****

– As a special feature, it’s a six-minute montage of the TOTALLY AWESOME BEST OF EDGE & CHRISTIAN! Kazoos and streamers rule! CHICKEN SUIT! Fake barf! The collection of five-second poses is tremendous, the kind of humor that’s lacking today outside of Santino.

Disc Two

And of course Edge was out with neck surgery for all of 2003, but he returned in 2004 to face down Evolution and then reinvent himself as a hardcore specialist and cuckolder…

Intercontinental title: Randy Orton v. Edge

RATED RKO EXPLODES! From Vengeance 2004. Orton looks positively bloated here compared to his post-steroid skinny state these days. Although I’ve always felt this match was pretty overrated in general, it was huge in the bigger picture, as it was the match where some fans cheered for the cool heel (Orton) and they decided to run with him as their #1 babyface as a result, inadvertently giving them an even bigger babyface in Batista out of the backlash that followed. Meanwhile Edge was supposed to be the guy to go through Evolution on behalf of the fans, but then they changed their mind with HIM as well and turned him heel at the same time Orton was turning face. They fight for the lockup and Edge puts him down, but Orton fires back with some clubbing forearms and goes to a headlock. They actually do an old-school criss-cross off that (although it needs a good ref like Mark Curtis to coordinate his dodging at the right time) and Edge takes Orton down with his own headlock. Orton escapes and regroups on the floor, then catches Edge with a cheapshot coming in and follows with a suplex. Orton chokes away on the ropes and then goes to a top wristlock, but Edge slugs out of it. A series of clotheslines follow, with another one putting Orton on the floor, and Edge follows with a baseball slide. Back in, Edge gets a missile dropkick for two and sets up for the spear, but Orton punts him to block it and hits a neckbreaker for two. He stomps Edge down and goes to a neck vice and the fans actually cheer Orton on, which I guess is why they turned both guys. Legdrop gets two for Orton. He grinds a knee into Edge’s throat and then hits the sweet standing dropkick, for two. Orton goes to the headlock again and then drops a leg for two, then cinches in the CHINLOCK OF DOOM again. Fans start up the “boring” chant as a result, until Edge fights out and gets a rollup for two. Orton puts him down again with a clothesline and goes up, but Edge catches him with a dropkick and both guys are dazed. Edge fights for a standing neckbreaker and we get the double count. Edge recovers first with a suplex and gets two. Orton whiffs on another dropkick attempt and Edge follows with a catapult into the corner, and the Edge-O-Matic gets two. Edge goes up and Orton blocks him, but Edge manages to get a high cross, which Orton rolls through for two. Randy goes to the eyes and undoes a turnbuckle, distracting the ref long enough for Edge’s small package to only get two. Orton rolls him up for two. Again with the dropkick from Orton, which gets two. Edge comes back with the Impaler for two and slugs away in the corner, but Orton drops him on the exposed steel and puts his feet on the ropes…for two. EVERYONE thought that was the finish. The viper sets up for the RKO, but Edge shoves him off for the spear, which Orton dodges like a viper, but Edge blocks the RKO with a backslide for two. Orton gets whipped into the steel, and the spear finishes at 26:33 to give him the title. Great finish, but the body of the match is just so BORING, I don’t see where all the love for this was coming from at the time. I stand by my original *** rating.

Street Fight: Shawn Michaels v. Edge

From RAW, February 2005. Edge was still trying out his new arrogant heel persona like a pair of slippers that haven’t been broken in yet. Shawn immediately whips Edge with his belt and clotheslines him to the floor, and they brawl into the crowd. Shawn uses the garbage can and sets up a ladder, but Edge uses the lid on him to come back and then finds a chair under the ring. Back in, Shawn puts him down with a wicked chop, but Edge DDTs him on the unfolded chair, drawing BLOOD. Graphically running blood in closeup, in fact. I miss blood. We take a break and return with Shawn now painted red with his own plasma, as he gets a kneelift and then brings the ladder in, which results in Edge dropkicking it back in his face for two. Edge goes up, but Shawn throws the ladder at him and knocks him to the floor, then follows with a sloppy dive. I suspect that’s just Shawn selling the blood loss, however. Back in, the ladder gets put in the corner, but Shawn charges and Edge rams his head into it, which can’t be good for an open gash. Edge comes off the ladder with a flying splash for two. Edge goes back to his chair, but Shawn catapults him into the ladder, then absolutely DESTROYS him with a chairshot. See, but that was one of those glancing shots that looks and sounds a lot worse than it is, rather than the straight-on flat shots that scare the hell out of me now. Edge retrieves his kendo stick, but Shawn makes the comeback and puts him down with it, then drops the big elbow. The superkick misses and Edge goes low with the chair, which is a counter I’ve long thought should have been the big finish to a match somewhere. Edge sets up the conchairto, but Shawn evens up the nutshot count. He fights up with the chair, but Edge spears him for two. Edge goes a little nutty and charges again, but walks into a superkick and gets pinned at 15:03. You’d never see this kind of violence on RAW today. ****

Edge v. Kane

This is the finals of one of the endless series of #1 contender tournaments that went nowhere. Kane was happily married to Lita at this point after stealing her from Matt Hardy and raping her to impregnate her. He of course was the babyface. Kane pounds away in the corner, but misses a charge and Edge fires back. They brawl to the floor, and Kane hits him with elbows in the corner after they head back in. Edge escapes with a necksnap on the top rope and then goes low, and we take a break. Back with Edge working on the leg and boring the crap out of me, but Kane fights back with his usual punches and clotheslines. An uppercut to a flying Edge gets two. Snake Eyes and another clothesline gets two. Edge takes him down and sets up for the spear, but Kane blocks with a chokeslam attempt, so Edge reverses to a DDT for two. Kane hits him with a sideslam, but Edge shoves him into the ref and gets the spear. Edge charges with the Money in the Bank and Kane boots it out to Lita, but she promptly turns on Kane and gives it back to Edge. Briefcase to the head finishes at 11:18. And so the real life lovebirds got to be together on screen. Really warms your heart. **

Street Fight: Matt Hardy v. Edge

From RAW, August 2005. This is the rare real life storyline handed to them on a silver platter, with Edge stealing Matt’s woman and driving him to quit the WWE and then return for a hot feud with his cuckolder. They immediately brawl into the crowd and back to the ring, where Matt uses a trashcan lid and retrieves a ladder. Edge baseball slides it into his ribs as we take a break. Back with Matt running Edge into the ladder before climbing it for a yodeling legdrop. That gets two. Matt grabs a chair, but Edge uses the kendo stick to counter and takes over. Edge gets another chair to set up for the conchairto, but Matt legsweeps out of it. Edge flapjacks him into the ladder and then beats on him with the trashcan lid and then drags him into the corner and kicks the edge of the stairs at his head. Now there’s a spot that I’m surprised he hasn’t used more. Matt, who will not die according to his press kit, comes back with a DDT on those stairs. They fight back in and Matt rams the ladder into Edge’s shoulder, but misses a moonsault and hits the ladder instead. Edge works him over with the garbage can and they do a sloppy brawl up the ramp. Matt gains the advantage and goes after Lita with an attempted powerbomb, but Edge saves and both men go crashing off the stage and through a stupid gimmicked table, complete with sparks and pyro. No contest at 15:50 or so. Here’s the thing: As a normal worked pro wrestling match it was fine, a fun street fight, but this was supposed to be a “real” blood feud. And they’re out there doing all these silly pro wrestling spots and jumping off a stage into a gimmicked set, and it just doesn’t work together. Wrestling is about suspension of disbelief, and we as fans KNOW that guys have to work together, so obviously they can’t “really” hate each other and still do a normal match. Call it about ***.

RAW World title: John Cena v. Edge

This is the surprise main event of New Year’s Revolution 2006, as Cena won the Elimination Chamber, only to have Edge immediately cash in his Money in the Bank. We get the last couple of minutes of the Chamber match, then Vince’s announcement of Edge’s title match. So Edge beats on the bloody Cena and gets two, then spears him for two. The crowd boos that kickout, but another spear is enough to ensure that there’s no comeback, and Edge wins his first World title of many, at 1:42.

Hardcore match: Mick Foley v. Edge.

Edge tries attacking with a baseball bat to start, but gets hung in the corner by Mick and elbowed. Joey’s analysis of Mick’s flannel seems a bit forced, but I guess he’s the expert. Lita retrieves the usual plunder — cookie sheets and road signs — allowing Edge to take over for the moment. Who seriously uses cookie sheets in a fight? Anyway, the spear looks to end it early, but Mick reveals that he was wearing barbed wire under his flannel. Edge just got PUNK’D! The blood starts flowing as Mick rips him up with it and retrieves the real deal — the barbed wire baseball bat. Now that’s what I’m talking about. Lita tries to slow him up, so Mick clotheslines Edge out with Lita on his back, and gets two. Neckbreaker on the floor gets two. Mick takes a run at him on the stairs, but Edge hiptosses him into the stairs instead. That wasn’t quite enough for him, so Edge whips him into them and Mick takes his usual crazy bump off it. Mick rolls back in, so Edge baseball slides him out again and then finds a table under the ring. Mick uses a cunning counter — rolling off the table, what a concept — so Edge slams him on the ramp for two. Back into the ring, and Edge finds his inner New Jack by dousing Foley with lighter fluid. Now there’s a spot you don’t see every day. Mick comes back with a piledriver and grabs a chair, but goes after Lita and Edge DDTs him for two. Edge now uses the barbed wire bat for nefarious purposes, and it’s Foley’s turn to bleed. Bulldog on the bat gets two. And now more secrets are revealed, as Edge shows off his weapons cache under the stairs and dumps some thumbtacks into the ring. And irony proves to be ironic again, as Mick suplexes him onto them instead. And now it’s Mr. Socko, with barbed wire to boot, and that’s one effective finisher. Everyone bleeds and Foley pounds on Edge with the bat in various unsavory ways. Now see, this is the difference between just doing a bunch of crazy highspots and actually taking the time to make each disgusting move mean something. Mick goes all Homer Simpson with the lighter fluid on the table, and yes, we have fire. Edge spears him through the flaming table, and yes, that is enough to end it at 14:36. ****1/4 Tremendous fun, as Foley somehow found new ways to recycle the same old hardcore spots into something new and different each time.

Edge & Mick Foley v. Tommy Dreamer & Terry Funk

From One Night Stand 2006. Edge and Foley do hilarious promos before the match, as Foley longs for the days of the Alliance and Edge talks about how all the loser fans in the crowd will run home and post reviews on the internet and then jerk off to pictures of his actual girlfriend, Lita. It’s funny because it’s true. Man, they even dragged Beulah out of mothballs for this one. And she’s aged very well, in fact, with that older Elizabeth thing going on. And so they make it a six-person match. Edge starts with Dreamer and they do a wrestling sequence, but we all know that they’re just killing time before the crazy stupid hardcore stuff begins. Foley and Funk go next and Terry smacks him around, but the Mickster doesn’t want to fight back, so he hides in the ropes and lets Edge do it instead. And everyone goes to the floor to begin the REAL match. Dreamer finds the magic trashcan full of plunder and starts hitting Mick with a road sign, and Funk tosses the can at Edge. Dreamer baseball slides the trash can into Foley’s head and they all brawl outside again. Mick and Funk fight up the aisle while Edge hits Dreamer in the face with a ladder, but gets hiptossed into the ladder to follow. Funk grabs the ladder and hits everyone with it, and then sets it up in the corner and climbs up top. Edge, wisely, just pushes it over to bring Funk down. Dreamer tries to set up Edge for the Dreamer driver, but Lita kicks him in the junk to break it up. With Dreamer down, Foley and Edge retrieve a barbed-wire board from under the ring, and suplex it onto Dreamer. The crowd, not happy with just that, wants fire. Dreamer and Funk regroup and whip Foley at the barbed wire, but he stops himself, so they slug him down and then toss him into it. Edge gets rid of Dreamer by dropping him on the railing, allowing Mick to come back on Funk by hitting him in the face with the barbed wire. And then Lita finds another length of it for Mick to wrap around his forearm, and he uses it to brutalize Funk further. And now the blood starts flowing, as Mick rips at Funk’s face and the crowd is so impressed they chant “You sick fuck” at him. Now that’s a sign of respect. And now the stick-in the-mud suits drag Funk out of the ring because apparently he can’t continue either. This leaves Dreamer alone with Mick and his best friend the barbed wire baseball bat, which Lita legdrops onto his nads. Mr. Socko appears in ECW for the first time, but Tommy sacrifices himself to save Beulah from it. Edge spears him and goes after Mrs. Dreamer, but Funk returns from the dressing room with his own barbed wire 2 x 4, despite the crowd clearly chanting for Sandman. They dropped the ball on that one. Funk hits the heels with the wood and then sets it on fire for good measure. Foley, on fire, gets knocked through the barbed-wire table, and the crowd goes nuts for that of course. Edge, however, hits Funk from behind and puts him onto Foley, before Dreamer DDTs Edge and chokes him out with the barbed wire. Lita breaks it up, but Beulah triggers a catfight until Tommy breaks it up by giving Lita the Dreamer Driver. He stops to pose, however, and Edge takes him out with the barbed wire, and then spears Beulah for the perverted pin at 18:43. Edge, playing the Raven role, fit right into that crowd as he was on the “rocket up the card” tour at this point. And yeah, to quote the crowd, this was awesome, totally stealing the show thus far and giving the fans all the crazy shit they wanted to see. It was big and stupid, but it made Edge look like a superstar and it was a nice bit of nostalgia, not to mention being entertaining as hell. ****

RAW World title: Rob Van Dam v. Edge v. John Cena

From RAW, July 3 2006. Rob got caught with pot, so we get this match. Cena and RVD take turns beating on Edge in the corner to start, and Cena gets a suplex before tossing him. We take a break and return with RVD kicking Cena down in the corner and setting up for a superplex, but Edge dumps Cena and rolls up RVD for two. Rob gets his own rollup for two and superkicks Edge into a cartwheel moonsault for two. Cena pulls Edge out and introduces him to the stairs, and RVD hits Cena with a pescado to follow. Back in, RVD gets two on Cena. Cena tries the F-U, but Edge breaks it up and lays out RVD. Cena tries to suplex Edge, but RVD comes off the top with a bodypress on both of them. Cena & Edge team up with a double spinebuster on RVD, but they turn on each other with a clothesline and everyone is out. JR gets indignant about the ref counting when it’s one fall to a finish, but he was also talking about how one guy could be eliminated earlier so really he’s got no reason to talk. Rob gets dumped and Cena clotheslines Edge to come back, and you can’t see him. Five knuckle shuffle, but Edge blocks the F-U. Lita comes in with a chair and takes the F-U in Edge’s place, but that allows RVD to get the Van Daminator. Frog splash follows, but it misses and it’s an F-U for RVD. Edge lays out Cena with the belt and pins RVD to win the title at 8:28. The image of the kid with his mouth open in shock became something of an internet staple soon after, and Edge leaving Lita in pain to continue his celebration is a totally in-character move for him. Decent three-way, although they’ve all had better matches with each other in various combinations. ***

Special Features

Adam Copeland v. Christian Cage

This is a dark match from Cornwall, ON, in November 1997, a tryout match for Christian. Edge gets a series of armdrags and lands on his feet off a monkey-flip, then takes him down with a rana. That gets two. Christian with a leg lariat for two, and a powerslam out of the corner gets two. Guillotine legdrop gets two. Flying headbutt misses and Edge gets a spinebuster to make the comeback. Edge goes up and Christian brings him down, but Edge gets a flying bodypress for two. Rotation powerbomb finishes at 4:57. Edge and Matt Striker on commentary here riffing on the match and Edge’s 1997 hair make this well worthwhile, even if the match is dark match drek.

Intercontinental title: Jeff Jarrett v. Edge

From the Skydome in Toronto, July 1999, apparently footage taken from the Jumbo-Tron screen, as Edge gets inserted into a title shot at the last minute, as Ken Shamrock misses the show due to plane trouble. Edge storms out to take his place and Jarrett attacks him, but Edge gets a leg lariat and backslide for two. Rollup gets two. Sunset flip gets two. Jarrett tries to walk out, but then pulls Edge out and sends him into the stairs. Back in, Jarrett with a sleeper, but Edge escapes and gets a neckbreaker, then a small package for two. Powerbomb gets two. Tornado DDT gets two. Debra distracts the ref and Jarrett tries to attack, but Edge dodges him and spears him for the title at 4:50. Definitely more of a historical curiosity. They had a pretty good rematch at the PPV a week later, with Jarrett winning the title back. I love lost footage like this, though, as I’ve always been a geek for title history and obviously this change has gone unseen until now.

Disc Three

RAW World title: Edge v. John Cena

From Summerslam 2006. This is from Boston, which is supposed to give Cena the hometown pop, but not so much. The DQ rule is waived here, as is Lita’s bra. Her cleavage alone adds 1/2* to the rating without even seeing the match. Cena pounds away in the corner and the hometown crowd immediately turns on him, booing his offense. Belly to belly gets two. Edge suckers him into charging, and Cena hits the post as a result, and Edge starts stomping him back in the ring. A shoulderblock sends Cena to the railing for a countout tease. A sign in the crowd says “If Cena wins, we riot”, which is somewhat contradicted by the “Cena sucks” chants. Back in, Edge gets two. Leg lariat gets two. Cena comes back with a fisherman’s suplex for two, but Edge tosses him for a nice bump to the floor. Back in, Cena slugs away , but misses a crossbody by a mile, and Edge clotheslines him for two. Edge goes to a chinlock and Cena fights up, but Edge boots him down for two. He goes up, but Cena stops him, so Edge puts him down for a flying clothesline that gets two. Edge goes to a camel clutch, but Cena fights out with a bulldog and makes the comeback. Nice bit with Lita tossing a chair in and Edge freaking out because he might get DQ’d over it. Cena puts him down with the shoulderblocks and five knuckle shuffle, but Edge reverses the FU into the Impaler for two. Edge to the top, but Cena tries another FU, which is blocked by Edge. Cena turns it into a victory roll instead and gets two. Edge with a flying bodypress, rolled through by Cena into the FU, but this time Lita breaks it up. Cena sends them together (WATCH THE BOOBIES!) and rolls up Edge for two. Double clothesline and everyone is out, but Edge gets two. He sets up for the spear, but Cena takes him down into the STFU. Lita threatens to break it up, but Edge calls her off and makes the ropes instead. Lita, however, puts brass knuckles on his hand while he holds the ropes, then gets involved long enough to take a bump and allow Edge to finish with the KO at 15:42. No riot from the fans, despite their promises. Dull match, great finishing sequence, with Edge managing to cheat even with everything against him. ***1/4

Rob Van Dam v. Edge

From RAW, February 2007, this is a qualifier for Money in the Bank at Wrestlemania 23. Rob starts on the arm and Edge rolls him up for two. RVD comes back with a monkey flip out of the corner and Edge bails to the floor. We take a break and return with Rob holding an armbar, but Edge fights out with an eyepoke and they fight to the floor. Rob guillotines him on the railing, but Edge catches him with a neckbreaker on the way back in. Standing neckbreaker gets two. Edge hits the chinlock, but RVD fights up and hits a spinkick in the corner that, according to Edge’s intro, broke his jaw and knocked him out for a few seconds. They slug it out and Rob superkicks him, and Edge still has a glazed look in his eyes, but Edge blocks Rolling Thunder with a powerslam for two. They head up and Edge goes down, then Rob adds a spinkick to put him on the floor. Back in, Rob tries a high cross, but Edge dropkicks him out of the air for two. He tries a weak spear, but RVD leapfrogs it and then gets the split legged moonsault for two. Another spinkick and it’s frog splash time, but Randy Orton distracts him and the spear finishes for Edge at 10:33. Good TV match. ***1/2

Randy Orton v. Edge

From RAW, April 2007. Rated RKO seems to have split up and I had long since stopped caring at this point anyway. They slug it out to start and Orton chokes him out in the corner, setting up the GARVIN STOMP. Kneedrop gets two. Orton does more choking on the ropes and sends Edge into the railing, and we take a break. Back with Edge sending Orton into the post, then launching him off the apron and onto the announce table. Good bump there from Orton. Back in, that gets two. Edge goes to a chinlock and Orton fights up, but walks into a leg lariat. Edge goes up and Orton brings him down, then blocks a high cross with a dropkick. Backbreaker gets two. Powerslam gets two. Edge comes back and the crowd cheers for Orton (!), as they collide on a crossbody attempt and both are out. Edge recovers and pulls off the turnbuckle, but Orton rolls him up for two. Edge reverses for two, but Orton puts him down with a clothesline. He pounds away in the corner, but Edge drops him with Snake Eyes and gets two, using the ropes. Orton with a rollup for two, also using the ropes. Ha! Orton is cut open, and Edge gets the Impaler for two. It’s weird that the move is always sold as a killer finisher, because it never finishes. Edge sets up for the spear and misses, and Orton slithers into position for the RKO, but Edge spears him for the clean pin at 12:58. What, no cheating? This was pretty amazing because it’s two heels and yet the crowd was WAY into it by the end. And not knowing who was winning, I was totally buying into the near-falls and drama. Great match. ****

Smackdown World title: Undertaker v. Edge

From Smackdown, May 2007, as Undertaker retains the belt against Batista in a cage match (which we get the finish of) and then Edge cashes in Money in the Bank at the right time again — in this case, right after Mark Henry beats the hell out of Undertaker. Unfortunately they omitted Edge winning the briefcase from Mr. Kennedy, but this isn’t really a DVD about the timeline anyway. This kicks off a feud that lasts for, what, a year and a half? Felt like it, at least. The Big Gold Belt looked much better on Edge than the Spinny Belt did, too.

Smackdown World title: Edge v. Batista

From Vengeance 2007, aka the Benoit Death Show. These two had ZERO chemistry together and I’m pretty surprised they’d waste a DVD slot on this matchup. This is a “last chance” at the title for Batista, which of course means nothing in wrestling because he’d go on to win it after this. Batista overpowers Edge to start and works on the arm, but Edge slugs out in the corner. Batista with a sideslam for two. Edge dodges a charge and Batista ends up on the floor, and Edge follows him out and sends him into the post. Batista fights up to the apron and Edge sends him into the post again, then follows with a baseball slide. Back in, Edge works the arm with a hammerlock, then sends Batista into the post yet again. Edge goes to a LONG armbar, but Batista puts him down with a clothesline after fighting his way up. Bossman slam gets two for Batista. He sets up for the demon bomb, but Edge reverses to the Impaler for two. Edge grabs the belt, but Batista rolls him up for two. Edge gets his own for two. Batista tries a powerslam, but Edge counters into the Edge-O-Matic for a double count. Edge sets up for the spear, but Batista spears him right back, so Edge goes low and retains by DQ at 12:48. But Teddy Long comes out and orders a restart, noting that if Edge gets himself disqualified again he loses the title. Well, that’s not fair! So Edge attacks while Batista recovers, then spears him for two. Edge goes for a chair, then remembers the stip and that allows Batista to cradle for two. Batista tries the powerbomb, but Edge slips out and hits the floor. Batista follows him out and powerbombs him on the floor, but takes too long getting him in and gets counted out at 16:38. Stupid finish. **1/2

Smackdown World title: Edge v. Rey Mysterio

From Royal Rumble 2008. What’s with the hate from the crowd for Rey Rey? And what’s with a tattoo of a chain around his neck? Who DOES that? Really, though, how can you not love Edge and his circus of flunkies? They do the test of strength and Rey escapes with a headscissors, and the crowd is just all over him for some reason. Low dropkick gets two (or should I say “Boo”) and Edge backs off. Edge gets the big boot and tosses Rey, and sadly the Edgeheads get sent back to the dressing room by the ref before they can do anything. Rey fights back in and goes for the 619, but Edge bails, so Rey follows with a pescado. Senton back in gets two. Rey misses a charge in the corner and Edge kicks him in the injured knee to take over, so Rey bails. Back in, Edge stomps the crap out of the knee and goes to a half-crab. Rey fights out with an enzuigiri, but Edge powerslams him for two. Edge can’t get a horse-collar, so he goes with a kneebar instead, but Rey kicks out of it. Edge stays on the knee, but Rey comes back with the bulldog, and the crowd really hates that for some reason. It’s not my favourite move either, but geez. Edge tries a sunset flip, but Rey rolls through and boots Edge down for two. Rey takes Edge down out of a powerbomb attempt for two. To the top and a double-stomp gets two. Edge comes back with the big boot and sets up for the spear, but misses and hits the corner. 619 miraculously brings Vickie Guerrero out of her wheelchair in time to pull the ref out, and she blocks a second 619, allowing Edge to spear Rey and retain the title. Good match, weird crowd reactions. Never really took off like their tag matches together used to, but Edge is a different worker now and Rey is a lot more banged up. The soap opera finish worked well. ***1/2

Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match, Smackdown World title: Edge v. Undertaker

From One Night Stand 2008. UT slugs away in the corner to start and throws headbutts, then clotheslines Edge down and goes old school. He grabs the first ladder, but Edge baseball slides it back at him and stacks a couple of tables. Taker batters him with the ladder to put him down, then builds up the stack of tables even more. Edge takes him into the stairs and makes the first attempt to climb for the belt, but Taker yanks him down and sets up for Snake Eyes on the ladder. Edge counters out of it and we get ladders on opposite corners, but Edge gets run into one. Taker climbs for the belt, but Edge follows him up and gets knocked down, landing on the ladder in the corner. However, he has enough left to knock UT into the OTHER ladder. OK, that was a tad contrived. Edge sets up another ladder in the corner, but gets dropped with Snake Eyes and hits the floor. Taker follows with a vicious chairshot, but tries the legdrop on the apron and hits a chair instead. Edge comes back and starts working on the leg, then hits a blatant low blow to block a powerbomb. Taker fights up, so Edge drops him with a chairshot. Taker sits up, so Edge flattens him again with the chair and puts him onto a table. Edge splashes him through the table and climbs again. Taker pulls him down, so Edge spears him to put him down again. And it’s back to the leg, as he puts the leg into the ladder and smashes it with the chair, then retrieves an even bigger ladder for another climb. But first, he puts Taker down with another pair of sick chairshots, leading to the Conchairto, but Taker hits him in the nuts to come back. He follows with a chokeslam onto a ladder outside… and here comes the circus. The Edgeheads run out and attack Undertaker, then sandwich him between two tables, but that doesn’t end well for them. Hawkins gets chokeslammed through a table on the floor, as does Ryder, but Edge spears UT off the apron and into the railing. So now Edge stacks another pair of tables in the corner for no adequately explored reason and climbs up with his back to them, but Taker shockingly powerbombs him off the ladder and through the tables. You’d think that would do it, but the match won’t end until someone goes through the stack of tables on the floor. Taker climbs, and now it’s Chavo and Bam Neely to break it up, but they can’t hit him with chairs. Taker puts THEM down with chairshots, but then moves the ladder AWAY from the center…allowing Edge to push him over and through the stack of tables. You might as well send a telegraph for some of these spots. Major heat for all of this, though. Edge climbs and wins the title at 23:26, which I was NOT expecting. Dumb and contrived, but it was a lot of fun and I liked that they built the match like a normal wrestling match instead of the usual trainwreck series of spots. ***1/2

And finally…

Hell in a Cell: Edge v. Undertaker

Edge slugs away in the corner to start, unleashing the full power of his crazy. Taker boots him down, however, and fires away in return. Taker tosses him and runs him into the cage, then headbutts him down and gives him another trip into the cage. And the stairs. Back in, Taker guillotines him on the apron and brings the stairs into the ring, giving Edge a Snake Eyes on them. Edge, too crazy to go down, quickly whips Taker into the stairs in return and spears him into them. Touché. Edge pounds him down with the stairs and retrieves a table from the magic void under the ring. Two of them get stacked outside as a callback to their last match, but Edge can’t suplex him through them. He manages to necksnap UT and then hits him with a chair, as Edge seems to be making this a TLC match inside of Hell in a Cell, perhaps a sly comment on TNA’s crappy booking, but probably not. Edge puts him down with a chair and gets, yes, a ladder, trying to bring the match to something he knows. Another chairshot puts Taker down as hopefully they’re finished with the setup and now can get to the blood-soaked violence. Edge puts him on a table and elbowdrops a chair onto him, from the ladder, putting Taker through the table. That gets two. He tries the concerto, but Taker blocks him and slugs Edge down. Edge retreats to the apron, so Taker boots him into the cage. JR notes that “casualties are guaranteed” for this match, so I guess it’s kind of like a metaphor for the business in general. Taker runs the stairs into Edge’s head, but gets sent into the post, and Edge spears him right through the cage. Didn’t see that coming.

Taker’s forearm is bleeding, so maybe he’s going emo as part of another gimmick change. He can have My Chemical Romance do his entrance music and blog about how his parents don’t understand him. They fight at ringside and Taker whips Edge into the railing, but Edge comes back with a monitor to the head, and then spears him from one table to another. There’s a great effect there, too, as the cameraman shook from the impact and really made it seem like an action movie scene or something. They slug it out at ringside and Taker wins that one pretty handily, but Edge comes back with his trusty ladder to take over again. A camera to the head gets two. JR notes that very move cost Taker the title last year, which is exactly what announcers are supposed to do. What a concept. Edge sets up for the spear, but Taker catches him with the chokeslam and gets two. Last Ride is countered with a low blow, which JR sadly does not call “legal as a headlock” this time. Edge with the Impaler for two. Taker sits up and goes for the powerbomb, but then changes his mind and wants the tables instead. That allows Edge to escape and spear him for two. Edge slugs away in the corner and that allows Taker to powerbomb him for two. Then Taker gets a little crazy and sets up for the tombstone on the stairs, but Edge reverses out with the Edge-O-Matic onto the stairs, for two. Man, those tables are just hanging over the match like the Sword of Damocles. And then Edge tries to go old school, but since he was in high school in 1990 Undertaker is able to counter it and chokeslam Edge through those damn tables. Well at least they finally paid it off.

Back in, Taker gets cheeky and spears Edge, then sets up with the camera and just unloads on him with it. And then for the encore, he delivers his own concerto and Edge is pretty much dead and buried. Message delivered, I’d say. Tombstone kills him officially at 26:40. OK, now I never want to see this match on PPV again. Feud is OVER. Very enjoyable but somewhat antiseptic Hell in a Cell match (I mean, no blood?) with a lot of setup time from Edge and some good brawling to end the feud…but no blood? Really? And it didn’t really make use of the gimmick, being more of a TLC match that happened to be inside the cage. And no blood? ****1/4 And then they go and ruin all the good hatred with a stupid gimmick moment to end it, as Undertaker chokeslams Edge off a ladder and through a gimmicked part of the ring, which breaks and then bursts into flame at UT’s command. Oh come on now. I know they’re booking for children, but this is ridiculous.

So overall this is a pretty mind-blowing DVD, with an amazing TEN ****+ matches by my count and perhaps more depending on how you feels about some of the borderline stuff here. As a history of Edge it’s shit because they skip over tons of stuff and provide almost no context for anything, but for fans and those looking for great matches, it’s a home run. Strongly recommended!