The History of Edge and Christian
Examining the Former Duo as a Tag Team and as Rivals
Edge and Christian were not initially a tag team when they first entered the World Wrestling Federation. Edge debuted first, in June 1998. It was while wrestling Owen Hart at the September 1998 pay-per-view event In Your House: Breakdown, that he spotted a mysterious blond man emerging from the crowd, which distracted him enough that Hart was able to pin him. Later, fans would learn that the unknown man was Edge’s estranged brother Christian.
The Beginnings of the Brood
Edge was having problems with Gangrel, a vampire-like figure who claimed to have some secret knowledge about Edge. When Christian allied himself with Gangrel, Edge was disappointed, and tried to get his brother back to his side. His efforts didn’t seem to work until, while wrestling in a Blood Bath match against Gangrel (a match in which the first wrestler to be doused with a bucketful of blood loses), Christian came to Edge’s rescue.
The brothers embraced, and a new alliance was forged between them. Shortly after that, however, Gangrel allied himself with both Edge and Christian, and they formed the Brood. Their entrance consisted of them emerging from a ring of fire, and they exited by dousing their opponents with blood when the opportunity arose. They joined the Ministry of Darkness in February 1999 and did The Undertaker’s evil bidding.
However, in April 1999, they quit when Christian was continuously ill-treated by Undertaker. The threesome went on to feud with Mideon and Viscera, two other members of the Ministry, as well as The Acolytes Faarooq and Bradshaw. But Gangrel separated from the group in the summer of 1999 and formed a New Brood with Matt and Jeff Hardy, while Edge and Christian moved on as a tag team in their own right.
Ladder Matches and the Terri Invitational Tournament
Their first high-profile feud was against the Hardy Boyz as they competed in a five-match Terri Invitational Tournament, which meant that whoever won the most out of five matches would win $100,000 and the managerial services of Terri Runnels. Edge and Christian fought hard, and put on impressive matches with the Hardys, but ultimately the Hardy Boyz won the Ladder Match at No Mercy 1999 that nevertheless put both teams on the map.
Tables, Ladders and Chairs
Edge and Christian won their first tag team championship at Wrestlemania 2000 (XVI) in a Triangle Ladder Match against the Hardy Boyz and the Dudley Boyz. They would go on to have seven tag team title reigns in total. At Summerslam, in August 2000, they faced those two same teams in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs (TLC) match.
What this meant was that the contenders were all allowed to use the above items in the match as weapons, and the first person to grab the tag team championships, which were hung above the ring, would win the match and the titles. Edge and Christian won that match at Summerslam, as well as the second TLC bout at Wrestlemania X-Seven.
Totally Reeking of Awesomeness
After they won the tag team championship at Wrestlemania 2000, Edge and Christian underwent a personality change. Instead of being quiet, mysterious loners, they became talkative braggarts who came up with their own slang such as “reeking of awesomeness” (to describe themselves and anything else they liked), “heinosity” (for any act that was not cool), “suckual overtones” (for a statement that would be unwelcome to them) and “reekazoid” to describe anyone not cool like them.
Seven-Time Tag Team Champions
Edge and Christian were the most successful tag team of the World Wrestling Federation from 2000-2001, with seven title reigns to their names. They defeated the teams of The Dudley Boyz (twice) The Undertaker and The Rock (whom they dubbed The Rockertaker), Too Cool, The Hardy Boyz (twice), and Bull Buchanan and the Goodfather (formerly the Godfather). They celebrated their seventh win of the tag titles with a 37-second pose for the fans.
The End of the E&C Dynasty
When Edge won the title of King of the Ring in June 2001, Christian began to exhibit signs of jealousy over his brother’s singles success. When Edge won the Intercontinental belt from Lance Storm at Summerslam in August that same year, Christian’s envy grew until he turned on his brother on September 3, 2001.
When Lance Storm attacked Edge after Edge won their match, Christian came to the ring seemingly to help Edge. But after hugging Edge, he hit him in the head with a steel chair, then slammed his King of the Ring trophy into his stomach. They feuded with each other for a couple months, with Christian winning the Intercontinental title from Edge in September 2001, while Edge won it back at No Mercy the next month.
Brief Reunions
Since their split in September 2001, Edge and Christian have reunited for less than half a dozen matches, mostly in 2004 and 2005. They only won two of the matches, and they did not seem to have reunited by choice, or imply that there was any emotional reconciliation between the two.
A Totally Awesome Reunion?
With Edge out of action due to an Achilles heel injury until some point in 2010 and hints of feuding with Chris Jericho when he returns, it is impossible to tell when a reunion between Edge and Christian may take place. Another roadblock is that Christian wrestles on the ECW brand.
When Edge returns, he will presumably go back to Smackdown, where he wrestled before he was injured in July 2009. However, before he became injured, Edge’s last few matches were peppered with chants of “Edge and Christian” from the audience, showing that fans are still eager to see the two reunite.
Sources:
World Wrestling Entertainment
Online World of Wrestling
Edge in the Ring
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Christian as ECW Champion
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