Edge goes 1-on-1 with TSN.ca
5/27/2003

With nine months to go in his neck rehabilitation, it was a good bet that Adam Copeland better known to wrestling fans as WWE Superstar Edge wasnt going to be doing very much in his spare time.

That is, until WWE Canada and the city of Toronto came calling for his help. The Orangeville, Ontario native returned to his hometown for an impromptu press conference on Tuesday, promoting an impressive entertainment package to revitalize a struggling local economy hit hard by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

Sitting down in Tampa with a neck injury, I keep hearing things on the news, its (SARS) full blown paranoia, said the Orangeville Ontario native. Its really being blown out of proportion and you really dont realize it until you come up.

The Together for Toronto package features a ticket for WWE SmackDown! at the Air Canada Centre on July 8, a ticket to the July 9 or 10 Toronto Blue Jays game and a three-day General Admission ticket to the Toronto Indy July 11-13. The package is being sold for only $69.00 and was put out on sale Tuesday in an effort to recover the citys tourism and entertainment losses.

Recovery, by any meaning of the word, is nothing new to Edge, who underwent spinal-cord-fusion surgery in March. The operation saw his C6 and C7 vertebrae fused together, keeping him out of the ring for a full year. The Canadian star joins a list of WWE stars that have had a similar procedure, including Stone Cold Steve Austin, Chris Benoit, Rhyno, Lita, Scotty 2 Hotty and Bob 'Hardcore' Holly.

A notable exception to the list has been his co-worker and friend Kurt Angle, who suffered a more serious neck injury and opted to go with a special neurosurgeon for repair it. Angles unique procedure cleared him for ring work in just six weeks, something Edge wasnt really prepared to risk.

I was the first guy he (Kurt) called asking about it, Edge recalled. I must admit I got a bit hot after he told me about it. But when Im healed, you can drop me off a building and the only thing that will remain intact will be the fuse. But Kurt, God bless him, is doing a very new type of procedure I hope its not a quick fix - and hopefully hes going to be fine.

In the meantime, Edge has been spending a lot of time with his wife at home in Florida and plans to visit Toronto for a few weeks during the summer. Naturally, he has not missed an episode of RAW or SmackDown! and has even offered his two cents every week on the popular WWE.com column, The Edgeucation of Adam Copeland.

I dont really critique things, he admitted. But sitting back and watching this makes me a fan again. I love what John Cena is doing right now and I think that Rhyno is not being utilized enough, but Im watching and enjoying things.

One particular segment that Edge has enjoyed has been the push given to childhood friend and former tag-team partner Jason Reso better known in wrestling circles as Christian. Orangevilles other favourite son has spent some quality time on WWE telelvision as the new Intercontinental Champion with a brand new haircut.

Yeah, I was going to do it (cut my hair) myself, but he beat me to it, said Edge, laughing. But Im really happy for him. We talk to each other every day by phone we actually talk more now that Im injured and Im glad he gets to run with the title.

Despite the new cropped look taken by stars such as Christian, Untertaker, Test and Eddie Guerrero, Edge isnt ready to lose the golden locks anytime soon. After seeing all those guys do it, I dont think Ill be doing it myself, he said flatly. I dont want it to look like Im biting off them.

Credit TSN