Edge made a surprising return to WWE on last week’s (June 25) episode of SmackDown, and has been immediately booked into a Universal championship match against Roman Reigns at Money in the Bank 2021 on July 18.
The Ultimate Opportunist is no stranger to surprise returns. When you are a top guy in WWE with a long injury history, and then later featured as a part-timer, there are plenty of chances to make a dramatic return.
Edge has done it so many times, in fact, that WWE has created the following top 10 video of his greatest returns:
10. SummerSlam 2019 - Edge spears Elias
9. Raw, April 23, 2012 - Edge scolds John Cena
8. SmackDown, June 27, 2002 - Edge saves Hogan from Jericho
7. 2004 WWE Draft - Edge spears Eric Bischoff
6. SummerSlam 2011 - Edge is in Christian’s corner
5. Survivor Series 2007 - Edge blasts Undertaker with a camera
4. Royal Rumble 2010 - Edge eliminates Jericho from the Rumble
3. SmackDown, June 25, 2021 - Edge attacks Roman Reigns
2. Survivor Series 2008 - Edge wins the WWE championship from Triple H
1. Royal Rumble 2020 - Edge competes for the first time since his 2011 retirement
My personal favorite is Vickie Guerrero introducing Edge as the surprise addition to the terrible WWE championship match between Triple H and Vladimir Kozlov at Survivor Series 2008. The story created expectations that Jeff Hardy was going to be a late arrival into the match. After Triple H tried his damnedest to carry Kozlov through the match, Vickie Guerrero appeared on the stage with a mic in hand. As Vickie excitedly shouted out “He’s here!”, it suddenly dawned on me that it was actually going to be Edge, because heel Vickie wasn’t going to eagerly bring out the babyface Hardy. Then Edge came out with that beard and crazy look in his eye, and he was WWE champion in just a matter of minutes. It was a truly incredible moment.
On the other side of things, I think WWE is being quite generous by including last week’s return in the top half of this list. A return in front of piped in audio simply doesn’t compare to so many of the other entries listed above.
Which Edge return ranks as your personal favorite, Cagesiders?