As Edge prepares to step into the ring against Sheamus on SmackDown, the questions around his future loom large.
On August 18th, Edge will take on Sheamus for the first time ever. On August 11th, the WWE Hall of Famer made a surprise appearance on SmackDown to address WWE’s upcoming return to Toronto. During the segment, he said he not only wanted to celebrate his time with WWE on the show, but he wanted a match.
This led to the star bringing out Sheamus and the pair broke down their friendship before agreeing to a match.
The match has taken on extra significance as back in August 2022, the veteran said he would be retiring in Toronto. Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that Edge’s long-time trainer had hinted the star would be hanging up his boots after the SmackDown clash.
“There’s a big thing here. A year ago, Edge had said he was gonna retire at the (2023) summer show in Toronto. And Ron Hutchinson, who is Edge’s trainer, and has known Edge for 30 years, he basically said that this is Edge’s last match. They certainly did not (build it up like that). But that was interesting where he said it’s probably – it’s most likely Edge’s last match.
“I think the idea was that he thought that maybe SummerSlam was gonna be in Toronto and was hoping for that, and then that would be where he would retire. Because he wants to retire in Toronto, and this is the year he was talking about retiring, for real, the second retirement.
“This is the last Toronto show for a while, I mean, there’ll be another one. So I don’t know if this is the retirement, they’re not billing it as such, but his trainer said that it’s probably his last match.”
When Did Edge Retire Before?
Edge initially retired back in April 2011 after revealing he was struggling with cervical spinal stenosis which stemmed from a previous serious neck injury. The veteran remained out of the ring for almost a decade, repeatedly claiming that he wouldn’t be back.
However, the star made a stunning return in the 2020 men’s Royal Rumble match.
H/t to Wrestle Talk