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Edge is considered a legend in the business at this point in time. It's clear he has the respect of everyone in the industry, including his colleagues in WWE and even wrestlers in AEW. Despite rival companies competing for ratings, fans, and talent, the performers themselves are close to one another.
Some of the AEW wrestlers have migrated from WWE in the first place and regularly support each other on social media and in person if their schedules allow. There are also various instances of wrestlers being married to other wrestlers from their rival company, such as Keith Lee, Mia Yim, Charlotte Flair, and Andrade among others.
WWE Hall of Famer Edge is a long-tenured veteran at this point. He has competed in WWE since the late 90s and despite being forced into early retirement back in 2011, he will make a triumphant return to Royal Rumble 2020 and carry on his legendary career.
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In that time, AEW has grown into becoming a viable alternative to WWE, boasting a number of former WWE talents whom Edge would consider being friends with. Here are 5 current AEW wrestlers the Rated-R Superstar has been known to be close with.
Former WWE writer buries Judgment Day HERE
#5. FTR helped train Edge for his WWE comeback
When Edge and his wife, Beth Phoniex, executed the Shatter Machine finisher during their tag team match against Rhea Ripley and Finn Balor at Elimination Chamber, it was clearly an homage to former AEW tag team champions FTR.
He is indeed real-life friends with Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler. When the Rated-R Superstar first got cleared for his head and neck injuries, he enlisted the help of the former Revival to get back into ring shape.
During an interview with ESPN, Edge revealed that WWE had sent him a ring to Asheville, North Carolina, where he was training with his wife Beth Phoenix.
“I talked to [Triple H], and I said, ‘I can’t go to a ring anywhere because people will start seeing me. I can’t go to the PC.’ So they sent me a ring. I got a warehouse space, and I set up a ring and basically had my own personal ‘Field of Dreams,’ and I just got in there and got to work. Thankfully, I’m married to another Hall of Famer who can pick up and body slam me, which you can’t say for a lot of wives. The Revival, they both live in Asheville, so they’d come, and they’d get in there with me, and they’d put me through my paces," he said back in 2020.
It clearly paid off as Edge had one of the best comebacks in WWE history and is still going strong to this day. Even when The Revival left WWE and signed with AEW, the WWE Hall of Famer would namedrop them during his rivalry with Seth Rollins.
During the home invasion segment between the Ultimate Opportunist and The Visionary, he referenced FTR by their real names "Daniel and David" as Rollins was breaking into his private property.
Both Dax and Cash would playfully respond on Twitter that they were on their way. It's clear that all three men share a mutual love and respect for one another. If FTR were to return to WWE, it would be a cool moment to see them in a six-man tag match even if it was for one night.
#4. Chris Jericho and Edge broke into the business via the Canadian independent scene around the same time
Both Chris Jericho and Edge are Canadians who started their wrestling careers in the early 90s. Being of a similar age, they first met as fresh-faced blondes making their way around the independent scene in the Great White North.
Their careers would diverge however, as Jericho would cut his teeth all over the world in Mexico, Japan, ECW, and WCW while Edge would eventually get signed by WWF at the time.
By the time Y2J made his classic debut in 1999 against The Rock, Edge had already established himself as part of The Brood during their height in The Attitude Era.
Over the years, they have become great friends and opponents, battling over the Intercontinental Championship, briefly becoming tag partners in 2009, before finally feuding over the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 26.
Having come up in the business during the same time, both men share a great admiration for one another and Edge has even been a guest on Le-Champion's podcast, Talk is Jericho previously.
#3. Edge gave Saraya (fka Paige) advice when she was forced to retire initially
Saraya joined WWE only after Edge retired. As a result, their paths didn't cross for years while the former Paige established herself as Divas Champion on the WWE main roster.
During this period, the Rated-R Superstar would only make sporadic appearances on Raw or SmackDown. However, in 2018, Paige announced that she would have to retire from the ring due to severe neck injuries, in a very similar manner to Edge back in 2011.
It was then that he reached out to the British wrestler, reassuring her that there was life beyond the ring. It was a heartwarming friendship borne out of shared experiences.
While he made his amazing in-ring comeback at Royal Rumble 2020, it would serve as inspiration for Paige if there was a chance that she could emulate that moment as well.
Saraya revealed in 2022 how the Rated-R Superstar helped her stay calm before her AEW debut at Full Gear. The former Divas Champion wrestled in her first match in over five years against Britt Baker. She recounted how the WWE Hall of Famer was able to use his own experiences to offer advice before the big day. In an exclusive interview with Metro.co.uk, she said:
"Edge was fantastic, he was texting me just being like, 'Everything’s gonna be fine, make sure you breathe'. He was there when I was walking out for my retirement speech too and helping with that, and then coming back it was like full circle. He was like, 'I did this too, we’re in this elite club of neck injuries, me, you and Stone Cold!' Having people that understood, and also my producer BJ Whitmer, he also is a wrestler and had a neck injury the same as mine."
His support for Saraya was fantastic and just showed his character as a man and mentor.
#2. Edge fought for Bryan Danielson to be included in his WrestleMania 37 main event match against Roman Reigns
Speaking of career-threatening injuries, Bryan Danielson was another wrestler who had a similar inspirational comeback story to Edge. The former WWE Champion was forced to retire in 2016 due to severe concussion issues that caused him to take two years out of the ring.
He returned to WrestleMania 34 in 2018 and has managed to wrestle regularly in WWE and now AEW ever since. Edge is clearly a fan of Bryan. He has even invited him to his E&C Pod of Awesomeness show, where Danielson opened up about how serious his medical issues were.
When the Rated-R Superstar returned to WWE, he spoke passionately about his desire to wrestle Bryan. Both he and Bryan have overcome a lot to get back to where they are now, and they had a great match at WrestleMania 37 for the Universal Heavyweight Championship. It's such a shame that the WWE Universe was robbed of a rivalry between the two excellent performers. It would have made for great television.
#1. Edge and Christian are childhood best friends
The closest friends to work for WWE and AEW may just be Adam Copeland and Jay Reso going back to their childhood time in Canada. Edge and Christian met as teenagers and developed a friendship as schoolmates who shared a love for pro wrestling.
Their passion took them all the way to WWE, where they became multi-time Tag Team Champions and revolutionized TLC matches. They have been great partners and bitter enemies, but what is clear how deep their friendship is with one another.
Christian even inducted Edge into the WWE Hall of Fame back in 2012 with a heartfelt and emotional speech. Their last in-ring appearance together was at the 2021 Royal Rumble, where Captain Charisma made his return from a long-term injury himself.
They shared a heartwarming embrace and lasted for quite a while in the match. The Ultimate Opportunist would eventually win the bout outright. Since then, Christian Cage has left WWE and forged a brand new path in AEW, winning the IMPACT World Title and reaffirming his greatness in the ring as well.
