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Please drink some.
Make sure to follow us on all social media platforms @feudrewind
Email: feudrewind@gmail.com
Thank you!
h, 2008. The Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis is hosting WWE’s Summerslam PPV. The headline match for our event is a hell in a cell match between the Rated R Superstar Edge and the Deadman, the Undertaker. This match isnt for a title or a streak, this match is about settling a blood feud. How did we get here?
You think you know me, but we gotta rolling rolling roll this one back with a rewind
WWE’s Ruthless Agression Era occurred roughly from 2002 to 2008, and has become something of a transitory period looking through the lens of history. The Attitude Era of the 90s had seen the second boom of wrestling popularity, with the focus being on reality driven stories, a loud and brash presentation, and all of the blood and violence you wanted. The PG/Universe Era of the WWE, hitting in full stride in the 2010s, saw the company grow from a popular form of entertainment into a cultural icon that is very family friendly. In between, the WWE was trying to keep that 1990s audience that helped launch the company onto the New York Stock Exchange, while simultaneously recapturing the under 12 demographic that the company had held steadfastly onto during the 1980s. Sometimes that left us with stories or angles that had us scratching our heads or groaning out loud at the cringe. However, S Tier talent will always shine through, and the WWE was able to catch lighting in a bottle when they paired the legendary Undertaker with the rising star of Edge.
To start north of the border first, Adam Copeland was born in 1973 in Ontario, Canada. Growing up as the son of a single mom, Cope become interested in wrestling at a young age, no doubt losing himself in the warm glow of the tv set like many of us did in the 1980s. With the images of Mr Perfect, Ricky Steamboat, and Bret Hart dancing across his screen, Cope would make it his goal to enter the squared circle. Alongside childhood friend Christian, Cope would receive training from Ron Hutchison before making his debut on Canada Day in 1992. Cutting his name on the indie circuit and in Japan as Sexton Hardcastle, and often teaming with friend Christain as The Canadian Rockers and the Suicide Blondes. Cope would continue cutting his teeth in the business before receiving some supplemental training from the Hitman Bret Hart; Hart would put in a good word for Cope and Christian with the top brass at WWE. Receiving developmental deals with your dream company must have been a grateful situation to be in, but it would not be until 1998 that Copeland, now named Edge, would be paired with Gangrel and Christian in the faction The Brood. The Brood would be converted shortly in the Undertaker’s Ministry of Darkness stable, but would break away from the Ministry a few months later due to a storyline altercation with Taker. From here, Edge would quickly win the Intercontinental Championship, and his career would skyrocket from there. In our last episode covering the feud between the Hart Foundation and The British Bulldogs, I mentioned the Edge and Christian vs Hardy Boyz vs Dudley Boyz rivalry; it was this storied time and rivalry that gave us the series of matches, in essence creating a new match, that helped lock in all three teams as legitimate, but also helped propel a few of these wrestlers to storied singles careers. At this time, I am contractually obligated to strike a 5 second pose for the benefit of those with flash photography.
Focusing on Edge, he would go on to win the 2001 King of the Ring, he would become the third Grand Slam Champion under the current format, he would be the inaugural winner of the Money in the Bank match in 2005, and would have legendary feuds with the likes of Jonn Cena and Kurt Angle. During this era, the WWE would experiment multiple times with doing hard brand splits; talents would usually stay on either Raw or Smackdown (or WWECW when that was a thing). In the early part of the 2000s, around August 2002, is when the WWE did their first hard brand split; over on the Smackdown brand, this gave us the unintentional creation of the Smackdown Six; under the wings of General Manager Paul Heyman, six talents were cast off to Smackdown and literally held that brand up due to their talent. The unofficial team included Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerreo, Chavo Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Kurt Angle, and Edge. Negating that first name due to the heinous actions hs took is more than understandable, and it leaves us stil with 5 legit hall of famers that help carry this Smackdown brand through the failed Invasion angle. Edge was definitely at the top of that food chain, as his trophy case speaks for itself. In 2004, Edge would be drafted to RAW, and in 2007, a May 7th Episode of Raw is where the seeds for our freud start. The 2007 Money in the Bank Winner, Mr Kennedy…Kennedy was cutting a promo, similar to the ones he had been cutting for weeks; he will not cash in his contract until the following Wrestlemania. Edge interrupts the promo on this night to try to goad Kennedy into a match for the briefcase. Kennedy accepts, but Edge starts the offense before the match starts. Edge wins the Money in the Bank briefcase, becoming the first person to be in possession of the contract twice. He is going to focus on the World Heavyweight Championship, rightfully so, which means at some point he’s gotta face the current champ at this time; The Deadman, Big Evil himself, The Undertaker.
The Undertaker hails from Death Valley, and he burned down his family’s funeral parlor when he was a kid.
After somehow avoiding juvi or prison time for arson and homicide, The Undertaker would receive formal wrestling training under Buzz Sawyer…no, BUZZ, NOT TOM. Making the rounds in World Class Championship Wrestling, the Continental Wrestling Alliance, and WCW, it wouldnt be until finding his forever home at WWE did the Undertaker become, in fact, the Undertaker. Often credited as one of the best characters EVER in professional wrestling, The Undertaker would instill fear and terror into crowds worldwide while beginning his Wrestlemania unbeaten streak. Legendary matches and feuds with Yokozuna, Mick Foley (bah god!), and Stone Cold Steve Austin, as well as the creation of his Ministry of Darkness Stable and the Brothers of Destruction tag team that Taker had with his legitimate half brother kane (Kayfabe isnt dead to me), lofted Undertaker into rarified air. The character would shift from the mortician to the american badass, all along the way being a talent that didnt necessarily needed a title belt to legitimize him. Taker was near 7 foot tall, big, bad, and Texan I mean Death Valleyian, and over time was starting to work in a variety of MMA inspired move to always keep opponents on their toes. Jumping forward ever so slightly to 2007, we encounter a feat that even the iconic Undertaker hadnt accomplished yet; wining the Royal Rumble. January 28th saw 13,500 fill the AT&T Center in San Antonio, and the titular event sees Undertaker to be the first man ever to enter in as the last entrant, as the 30th man, to win the event. At Wresltemania 23, Undertaker challenges World Heavyweight Champion Batista for the title, and successfully wins, while also extending his own Wrestlemania undefeated streak to 15-0. Batista and Taker would have a few rematches, and its specifically the rematch that takes place on the may 11th edition of Smackdown, that our feud starts in earnest.
Chapter 2.
The May 11th Episode of Smackdown took place in Pittsburgh, PA, and saw the Undertaker defending his title against Batista in a steel cage match. Just over 23 minutes of a back and forth affair see both men exit the cage simultaneously, ending this match in a draw, and with a title retention for Taker. There had been vignettes in the previous weeks hyping up the return for Mark Henry from injury, and it’s at this moment that Henry makes his presence known. Henry cranks Taker into the ring post and splashes Taker inside the ring. It’s at this moment that Edge’s music hits, and he rushes down to the ring in an attempt to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase. A quick 2 count results in Edge having to his a spear for the successful 1-2-3. Undertaker is then hit with a headshot with the briefcase post match for good measure, as Edge poses triumphantly above him. Edge was the smarmy chickenshit heel taking the most opportune time to gain the advantage over the behemoth of our industry that ostensibly had to fight three men in one night.
From here, Undertaker and Edge have to tie up some loose ends of sorts before they would officially touch gloves. Taker would of course have to bring the reckoning to Mark Henry, although Taker would have to take some time off first to heel a bicep injury. Undertaker would return at Unforgiven on September 16th to defeat Henry, and would reignite his feud with Batista, who had recovered the World Heavyweight Championship by this point in the fall.
Now, May to September is a pretty big jump, and Batista is the champ again? Well, Edge had actually successfully defended his championship against Batista on three occasions; First, at Judgement Day on May 20th; Second, in a steel cage match at One Night Stand on June 3; and finally in a last chance match at Vengeance on June 24. Entering into a feud with Undertaker’s half brother Kane after the Batista feud, Edge would unfortunately have to relinquish his championship on the July 20th edition of Smackdown due to a shoot torn left pectoral muscle. In the interim, the Great Khali had become the World Heavyweight Champion, and Batista had defeated him. With Batista holding the championship that he had stolen from him, Taker came circling back around, and a title match was booked for Cyber Sundday, wherein Batista would successfully retain. On the November 2nd episode of Smackdown, a remtach was booked for Survivor Series 2007.
November 18th 2007 saw the American Airlines Arena fill with 12,000+ Floridians as our main event was World Heavyweight Champion Batista defending against Taker in a Hell in a Cell. Over 21 minutes of bloody carnage saw Tombstone Piledriver and Batista Bomb traded back and forth for near falls from both men. The Undertaker then performed another Tombstone Piledriver on top of the steel steps and pinned Batista, but as the referee counted the pin, Edge, dressed as a cameraman, pulled the referee out of the ring, and hit The Undertaker with the camera he was holding. Edge then positions Undertaker's head on top of the steel steps, and slams a folding chair into The Undertaker's head. With the referee re-entered the ring, Edge dragged Batista onto The Undertaker, and as a result, Batista pinned The Undertaker to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. Post match, Edge came back into the ring and continue to lay the boots on the Dead Man.
The following Smackdown saw a…romantic turn in our story. Smackdown General Manager Vickie Guerrero and Edge would reveal that yes, they were in a relationship. Smooching it up and basking in their newly public love, Edge and Vickie revealed that this was indeed the culmination of a four month plan, and next week, Edge was getting that championship back. Batista comes out and starts doing his Batista yelling thing, and then we get the GONG.
Lights out and back on, and Taker is in the ring with Edge and Vickie. Before Taker can get his mitts on him, Edge flees up the rampway. Vickie isnt as lucky, and she’s the one that has to eat a Tombstone Piledriver from Taker for her troubles.
The next week on the November 30th episode of Smackdown, Edge and Batista were battling it out for the World Championship, and Undertaker would interfere with a chokeslam to Batista; Edge would be able to avoid similar punishment by running out the rampway. This would cause the installation of assistant General Manager Theodore Long and his decree of a triple threat match between all three men at Armageddon.
December 16th, 2007. We’re back in Pittsburgh, and our main event is our Triple threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship between defending champion Batista, Edge and The Undertaker. Before the match, Edge tells Vickie that her love gives him the strength of three men. Getting to the work between the bells, Batista and Undertaker fight each other to decide who would fight Edge first while Edge keeps his distance outside the ring. In the ring, Undertaker applies his Hell’s Gate triangle choke on Batista. Edge sounds the ring bell and everyone (even Undertaker himself) thinks that the match is over. Edge takes this opportunity to speare both men but could not score a pinfall. Batista dominates he match in the end when he executed a spinebuster on Undertaker and speares Edge outside the ring. Undertaker chokeslamms Batista and sends an attacking Edge to the floor. Batista and Undertaker are fighting inside the ring until the three "Edges" appear on the outside floor. Complete pandemonium. Undertaker executes a Tombstone Piledriver on Batista, after which until the "real" Edge hit Undertaker with a steel chair in his spine and his skull.
Edge takes advantage and quickly pinned Batista to win the World Heavyweight Championship. Pittsburgh, Undertaker, Batista, and the WWE Universe are in complete shock.
The two Edge dopplegangers end up being Curt Hawkings and Zach Ryder, our beloved Edgeheads, and Chavo Guerrero would also enter into the fold; the stable La Familia is officially born. Edge would successfully defended his title against Rey Mysterio god i just love that song at both at the Royal Rumble and at No Way Out. Going back to the 2008 Royal Rumble really quickly tho, this plays a bit part, as entering in at number 1 is Undertaker; Big Evil really only has one goal at this point, and that’s to get his hands on Edge. Unfortunately for Taker, Shawn Michals eliminates the Dead Man in the titular bout; fortunately, at the following month’s No Way Out, Taker defeats Batista, Finlay, The Great Khali, MVP and Big Daddy V in the SmackDown Elimination Chamber match to become the number one contender for Edge's World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXIV.
The 24th iteration of the showcase of the immortals takes place March 30th, 2008, from the Citrus Bowl in Florida. Just under 75,000 are no doubt sweating from and in orifices they didnt even existed were waiting in anticipation for the Ric Flair vs Shawn Michaels career vs career match. Yeah, the “I’m sorry, but i love you” then BAM sweet chin music match. Incidentally, this is the trio of years that Shawn Michaels put on absolute bangers to bookend his storied career; here in 2008 vs Flair, and in each of the next following two Manias against Undertaker, incidentally. Going back to Taker’s first Wrestlemania main event since Wrestlemania 13, Edge and Taker start off slowly, going for the mind games and trying to anticipate their opponent’s manuevers. When they get cookin tho, these guys really cook. At various points throughout the match, Edge was able to counter Undertaker's numerous signature moves, including the Chokeslam, Old School and the Last Ride, demonstrating a level of studied aptitude that we hadnt seen from an Undertaker Wrestlemania opponent yet. Near the end, Edge hits Undertaker with a television camera while the referee was knocked down. Edge then proceeds to deliver a Tombstone Piledriver to Undertaker, while Undertaker counters this into his own version and successfully delivered it to Edge for a two-count. The Edgeheads come down to the ring for Edge's aid, but Undertaker takes them out with relative ease. Because of their distraction however, Edge is able to execute a spear on Undertaker, but is unable to pin him successfully. When Edge delivers another spear to Undertaker, Undertaker counters and applies Hell's Gate, forcing Edge to submit to win the World Heavyweight Championship, and improving his WrestleMania Undefeated Streak to 16–0.
With Undertaker capturing the World Heavyweight Championship after losing to Edge almost a year before, it seemed at first that Undertaker had finally avenged what Edge did to him all those times before. As The Undertaker was now holding the World Heavyweight Championship, he became a target with Edge and his group of associates coming after his championship by any means necessary. And it also made things worse for The Undertaker as Vickie Guerrero was doing everything to make sure he would lose the belt.
With Undertaker capturing the World Heavyweight Championship after losing to Edge almost a year before, it seemed at first that Undertaker had finally avenged what Edge did to him all those times before. As The Undertaker was now holding the World Heavyweight Championship, he became a target with Edge and his group of associates coming after his championship by any means necessary. And it also made things worse for The Undertaker as Edge’s now fiancee Vickie Guerrero was doing everything to make sure he would lose the belt.
A rematch was booked on the April 4th episode of Smackdown for Backlash 2008. The sixth match on our card would see Undertaker once again attempting a title defense against Edge. The match was contested back and forth between the two men, with the early portions of the match featuring The Undertaker controlling much of the action. Edge eventually takes an advantage when he exposes the turnbuckle in the corner, and The Undertaker runs head first into it. Curt Hawkins then strikes The Undertaker with the World Heavyweight Championship belt, which was followed by an unsuccessful cover by Edge. Edge then attempts to hit Undertaker with a spear, but The Undertaker counters the maneuver hitting Edge with a DDT. Zack Ryder then attempts to interfere on behalf of Edge, but The Undertaker throws Edge into Ryder and then catches Edge in an attempted Tombstone Piledriver. Edge counters the move, however, into a sunset flip. While Edge ispinning The Undertaker, however, The Undertaker counters into his Hell’s Gate submission, which forces Edge to tap. The Undertaker continues to apply the hold after the match ends, injuring Edge who is removed from the ring on a stretcher by medics,
Following Backlash, the Undertaker would be stripped of the World Heavyweight Championship by Vickie Guerrero for using the Hell's Gate, which she previously banned. Giving Undertaker some grace, Vickie insists that Taker will face the winner of a tournament to determine who would face the Undertaker for the vacant championship at Judgment Day, and wouldnt you know it, Edge wins the tournament.
May 18th, 2008. Cornhusker country has 11,000 plus packed into the Qwest Center to once again see the World Heavyweight Champion Undertaker face off against Edge. The match went in and out of the ring early on, with both competitors throwing each other out of the ring. The Undertaker instinctively tries to apply the Hell’s Gate on Edge, but the referee makes him break the hold. Edge then tries to do one of Undertaker's moves, Old School, but Undertaker counters. Mid-way thru the match, our beloved Edgeheads make an appearance, distracting Undertaker after he performes an Old School on Edge. This distraction leads Edge to remove the top turnbuckle padding. As the top turnbuckle is exposed, the Undertaker executed Snake Eyes on Edge. As the Undertaker runsoff the ropes, Edge performs a spear for a near-fall. Afterwards, the Undertaker clotheslines Edge to the outside of the ring, then rolls to the floor after. Undertaker throws Edge over the barricade to the front row with a clothesline while the referee began the 10-count. Both men struggled back to the floor and the Undertaker tackled Edge into the barricade at the eight count. He then rolls into the ring to win the match by countout and the belt. After the match, Vickie Guerrero announced that Undertaker hadn't won the title as it can only be won by pinfall or submission, leaving the title vacant. Undertaker further takes out his frustration by performing another Tombstone Piledriver on Edge.
Although Edge failed to win the World Heavyweight Championship as he lost in another rematch to The Undertaker at Judgement Day 2008 by count-out, Vickie Guerrero granted him another rematch in a TLC match against The Undertaker for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship. Only this time, the special match stipulation would be that The Undertaker's career is on the line. Throughout the match, all members of La Familia get involved, attacking The Undertaker and preventing him from climbing the ladder. The Undertaker puts both Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder through tables on the outside, before executing a Last Ride on Edge off the ladder and through two tables. The Undertaker failed to capitalise as Chavo Guerrero and Bam Neely interfere, prompting The Undertaker to hit them both with steel chairs. Taker again climbs the ladder, but Edge had recovered and pushes the ladder over, sending The Undertaker through four tables on the outside of the ring. Edge then climbs the ladder and retrieves the championship, winning the match and forcing The Undertaker to retire from the WWE.
Chapter 3
A post Undertaker WWE would seem to be a beautiful and bountiful place for La Familia to live, and for a short time, that’s true.
On June 29, Edge retains his championship against Batista at Night of Champions, after interference from La Familia. The next night on Raw, Edge appears to gloat that two of the top championships were on SmackDown, as WWE Champion Triple H was drafted to SmackDown in the WWE draft earlier that week. A vengeful Batista, remember him?, then appears and lays Edge out with the Batista Bomb. Just as Batista isleaving, our current Money in the Bank briefcase holder, CM Punk, runs down to the ring carrying that briefcase. Edge, who was still knocked down from the attack by Batista, is easily pinned by Punk after a Go To Sleep, losing the World Heavyweight Championship. On the July 4 episode of SmackDown, Edge takes his frustrations out on Vickie because he lost the title, and tells her that the wedding was off. The following week, however, after Guerrero saved Edge from a con-chair-to by The Big Show, Edge re-proposed, and the wedding was back on. On the July 18 episode of SmackDown, at the wedding reception for Edge and Vickie, Triple H comes out and shows a video of Edge cheating on Guerrero the day before with the wedding planner, Alicia Fox. Adding injury to the insult, Vickie is accidentally hit with a spear from Edge during Edge’s match with Triple HHH for the WWE Championship at The Great American Bash a few weeks later on July 20th. You never want to scorn a partner in general, especially with a dirtbag move such as infidelity. While i’ve never cheated on anyone, i have pissed off plenty of latinas in my day, and buddy lemme tell ya, you get real good at dodging chanclas when you constantly put your foot in your mouth like yours truly. Well, Edge is going to learn this idiom real fuckin quick, because Vickie knows exactly the way that she wants to get back at Edge; she reinstates the Undertaker and informs Edge that he will be facing the Dead Man at Summerslam in a Hell in a Cell Match.
August 17th 2008. The Conseco Fieldhouse in Indiapolis, Indiana, is the site for this year’s Summerslam. It is also notable that canonically, this is going to be the first PPV of the upcoming PG Era of the WWE. The main event on tonight’s card is the Hell In a Cell Match between Undertaker and Edge. Early in the match, Undertaker and Edge both use the steel steps as a weapon. Edge puts Undertaker through a table with a chair-assisted diving elbow drop. Undertaker then takes control until Edge performs a Spear on Undertaker through a cell panel, causing both men to fall outside the structure near the announcers' tables. Edge and Undertaker fight outside the cell, where Edge performs another Spear through a broadcast table on Undertaker. Back in the cell, Edge performed a third Spear on Undertaker for a near-fall. Edge attempted to perform Old School on Undertaker, but Undertaker countered the move and performed a chokeslam from the top-rope through two tables positioned outside the ring on Edge. Undertaker then hit Edge with a television camera, a Spear and a con-chair-to, taking revenge on Edge for attacking him the same way at the previous year's Survivor Series. The Tombstone Piledriver ended the match with a victory for the Undertaker. After the match, however, as Undertaker was leaving, he saw on the titantron that Edge was still moving. So he went back in the ring to finish him off for good and chokeslammed Edge off of a ladder through the center of the ring, through the canvas. Then Undertaker went down and posed with flames engulfing the collapsed area of the canvas.
Post feud, Edge would take some time off, before ultimately becoming the WWE Champion in November. Edge would be forced into premature retirement in 2011 due to cervical spinal stenosis, before making an unlikely and triumphant return at the 2020 Royal Rumble. Cope has cemented his legacy as one of the preeminent talents of the 21st Century, and we here at Feud Rewind wish him a speedy recovery from his current injury to his leg.
Undertaker would continue to have one of the most storied careers ever bb professional wrestling, ending his in ring run at Wrestlemania 36 in a Boneyard Match vs AJ Styles. No matter the flavor of Taker you got in any particular era, The Undertaker is at or near the top of wrestling’s mt Rushmore, and deservedly so.
To both Adam Copeland and The Undertaker, thank you so, so much for the combined 50+ years of in ring service. Yall deserve a hall of fame induction or something, I dunnooo
And with that, this brings us to the end of the rewind for the week!
I appreciate you spending some time with me this week to relive some classic wrestling drama.
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Fellow fan, im’ your host Benza Lance, and i’ll see ya next with when we roll it back with another feud, to rewind