WWE News: Edge Retires from WWE Due to Injury, Day Two

Upon viewing Edge's sudden retirement announcement on RAW this past Monday, I immediately began to snoop around for kayfabe. 

One cannot blame me for being skeptical of a pro wrestling retirement storyline, or lack thereof, and the on camera events surrounding Edge's announced retirement seemed disingenuous. 

That, or maybe I just didn't want to believe that we had seen the last of Edge. 

New information pertaining to Edge's health has been confirmed by multiple sources, thus confirming the reasons Edge gave for his sudden retirement. 

Edge showed incredible toughness by coming back from a major neck fusion surgery in 2003, and amazingly extended his shelf life, according to congruent reports regarding Edge's small library of medical records. 

While Edge's history of injuries will be an unfortunate tidbit of his decorated legacy, the fact that Edge was able to recover from serious injury multiple times should be a testament to his well-documented dedication to the pro wrestling business. 

I didn't see anything in Edge when he first debuted in the WWE in 1998 as an enigmatic Superstar who walked to the beat of his own drum. 

Debuting in the heart of WWE's attitude era, where personalities were pivotal, Edge never spoke and his gimmick centered around the fact that he entered through the crowd.

I was positive he wouldn't last in the sea of strong characters that was WWE circa the late 90's, and I just didn't think he had the charisma or flashiness to carry a gimmick where he had to do all the talking in the ring. 

Apparently, neither did WWE. 

When Edge was grouped with real-life friend Christian and Gangrel, who had undertaken a vampire gimmick, the uniqueness of his character suddenly came to life. 

The Brood would be one of many stables and staples of WWE that helped carry the company to ultimate victory over WCW in the Monday Night Wars. 

The Brood was something different.  Far removed from the era of the Freebirds, the Brood was a gang of free spirits who not only embraced their creepiness, but manufactured such an eerie gimmick into a profitable niche. 

One of Edge's greatest traits throughout this career was his ability to evolve, which is critical to one's success in any line of entertainment. 

Edge's 13-year career saw him go from the enigma, to a vampire, to a whiny heel, to a comedic cool dude/tag team legend alongside Christian, to a sleazy, sex-crazed heel that made Ravishing Rick Rude look like Mr. Rogers. 

Edge shined brightest as "The Rated R Superstar," playing off a real-life adulterous relationship he shared with Lita, who was dating then-WWE Superstar Matt Hardy.  

Edge was in the wrong in this situation, as he seemed to hint towards in his retirement speech.  However, he was brilliant in his capitalization on an otherwise reprehensible act. 

I knew Edge had made it when, as a jaded observer, I became sucked into the WWE work by virtue of his heel character.

Not that I didn't like the character. In fact, I loved the idea behind a "Rated R Superstar."  It just bothered me that a guy was parading around celebrating adultery. 

But he did it so well. 

Edge and Lita quickly rose to the top of the WWE food chain as wrestling's newest Bonnie & Clyde in 2006, and Edge would go on to capture multiple World Championships. 

Edge was the only character in WWE vile enough to sustain a substantive feud with consummate babyface John Cena, as the two competed in a myriad of epic World Championship matches. 

It was Edge's injuries (he had to forfeit the World Championship due to a pec injury in 2007), combined with a knack for seizing an opportunity in true heel fashion, that led to his multiple, quick-striking world championship reigns.

While injuries are to blame for Edge's multiple title reigns, they could also be attributed to the reason he didn't break Ric Flair's iconic record of being a 16-time world champion.

Edge's decorated career accomplishments only begin to scratch the surface when it comes to his unmatched career legacy and dedication to his craft. 

Edge is among some of the greatest WWE Superstars who ever lived, and in an era where WWE has gone PG, it seems painfully fitting that the Rated R Superstar call it a career. 

Follow Big Nasty on twitter, @ThisIsNasty.