THE ABSOLUTE BEST WWE DOCUMENTARY EVER: COMPLETE WWE 24: EDGE - THE SECOND MOUNTAIN COVERAGE

WWE debuted their WWE 24: Edge - The Second Mountain documentary this morning on the WWE Network. I will be updating as I watch the film.

The doc opened with Edge speaking to the camera. He said that initially, this documentary was designed to be about his life after wrestling. He had done 99 episodes of TV shows and three movies and it was about moving on, but then stuff started happening and it looked like there might be a possibility for him to come back and wrestle again. Then, things started snowballing. There was a lot of hard work and serendipity. There were cards put down that he didn’t expect to be put down. He was given a second act when he thought the first act was it. He’s still wrapping his mind about it.

They show footage of Edge sitting backstage, presumably at the Royal Rumble where he says that perhaps he’ll feel different “after the first one is out of the way” but right now, this all feels like a fantasy.

They show him at gorilla and the Rumble buzzer hits. He takes a deep breath and steps forward as his music hits. YOU THINK YOU KNOW ME….

Talking about his retirement, Edge said that going into his final Wrestlemania against Alberto Del Rio, he knew something was up with his neck but he didn’t know exactly what. He had undergone one surgery already and he was in pain, but assumed that’s just what it was going to be. The only person who really knew what he was going through was Jay Reso (Christian), who was interviewed and commented that Edge was pushing himself because he wanted to get through Wrestlemania.

Edge noted that he remembers taking a moment to look around and take in the crowd and the moment. His friend texted him and asked if that was his last match, saying Edge had that look on his face. Edge said no, maybe in a year, but he was going to take a break soon.

That friend, Mike Pongracz, noted that Edge had hinted he was thinking of wrapping his career up and Mike remembers asking if he was good. Edge assured him he was good.

Christian said Edge went for a doctor’s appointment and when he got him, he got a personal phone call from Vince McMahon and was told he had to retire, Edge said the choice wasn’t his and something he had wanted to do since he was a kid was, for lack of a better term, “was taken.” So, he has to adapt to this. If he doesn't, he's going to have a "very emotionally unhappy future" if he doesn't get through this.

They show footage of Edge's retirement speech from Monday Night Raw. He said that he felt sorry for himself for a few days, but he realized that he did everything he could have done to the fullest extent. He had held more titles than anyone else. He still ended his career at Wrestlemania, but he wanted to retire knowing it was his last match going in. They showed a radio appearance where he talked about breaking his neck in 2003 which led to him being told he had to retire. It was noted he was doing the SyFy series Haven.

The Executive Producer of Haven, Shawn Piller, said that they saw his retirement speech and were all moved by it and had heard what a wonderful guy he was and he had a good look. They took a chance and made a deal. He had all the experience from wrestling but he didn't have any knowledge of the techniques of filmmaking, but within 20 minutes on set, he had picked it all up. He went from being booked for one episode to doing 42. Edge said wrestling and acting are just different branches on the same tree. We see lots of behind the scenes footage. Beth Phoenix noted he started taking acting classes and went to Los Angeles to get an agent.

Edge was transitioning well but was told when he retired, he would eventually need another surgery. He kept putting it off but it was getting to the point he could go more than two or three hours without laying down flat and he was having a hard time holding a coffee mug.

They show footage of Edge being wheeled into surgery. He had a double surgery done initially. He developed problems with the disc above where he had double fusion surgery. A year after retirement, he had surgery under Dr. at Joseph Maroon in Pittsburgh and had the surgery at the C-4 level. He woke up after the surgery and Beth asked him how he was and he responded that he didn't have a headache, but realized that all that time, he didn't realize that he had been having one. Beth thought it was just the pain meds, and they'd take it one day at a time, but the pain never came back. Edge said that he didn't lose any mobility and felt fine and went about life, but had been told the future wouldn't have included wrestling, so it wasn't in the cards and he wasn't even getting checked on to see if he could return. It wasn't part of his future. He washed his hands of wrestling. He couldn't do it so he moved on with life.

He and Jay started a podcast and they got their own WWE Network show. He realized he could still watch it and enjoy it. It took years to get there and after a trip to WWE NXT, he was reminded why the business was so great, seeing the passion in the PC. After being there, he gave everyone his number and told them that if they needed something, if they had a question that he might be able to answer, to fire away and call him.

Tommaso Ciampa noted Edge was one of his favorite wrestlers ever. After texting with him for two hours, he turned to his wife and said, "I think I'm friends with Edge." They showed footage of Edge talking backstage with Ciampa, who was in a neck brace after his own surgery. He said Edge was so important to the process for his own return to the ring. Beth said that Edge was able to give back to the business that he loved. Edge said that he loved being a sounding board and being part of the business that he loved.

They show Edge doing some fight scenes on set. Phoenix kept saying that Edge kept being given all these physical things to do in film and TV. Beth noted that she kept checking on him and asking how he felt and he kept telling her that he "felt really good." Edge noted that he kept doing some physical things but when you get to Vikings, it was another level. The actors were doing their own stunt and he took to it. Even with doing the stunts, he never thought, if I can do this, why can't I wrestle? He was happy and it just never came through his mind.

Then, they lost Beth's dad and then his mother a few months later. They all went into this season of "funk." When it came time for his career to end, he wanted his mother to be part of that. They showed footage of his mom on stage with him after his retirement speech. Beth said they were a wreck as it unraveled. Vikings ended. His doctor said to him that he hasn't had a checkup since his surgery in 2012 and should have it looked at. It was done just to make sure he was fine for every day life, for bike riding and things like that. The local doctor told him that his neck isn't a young neck but he looks great, the hardware looks great and there's no pressure on his neck. It looks normal.

Normal?

Edge said that it all started with a bike crash. He was doing dirt bike riding with Sheamus and crashed. He came up and realized his neck doesn't hurt, at all. They show footage as they were filming Sheamus' Celtic Workouts for YouTube, The first thing he thought was he was OK. On the footage, he joked people will see that and ask why he can't wrestle. After that moment, he wondered if there was more to this than meets the eye.

He visited Toronto for Summerslam weekend as Beth had NXT. Seeing his old stomping grounds was great and for him, will always be home. The company reached out and wanted to do the 24 documentary. He agreed and brought them to what used to be his old wrestling school and where he had his first pro wrestling match. He walked out of that ring feeling like it was Wrestlemania. They show him walking around backstage at Summerslam and he talked about the history he's had in Toronto. Edge and Christian broke up there. They had their last singles match there. They had TLC there. Beth and he started dating after his Edge Appreciation Night event there. They started talking that night. His relationship with the mother of his children began in that building and it's all kind of overwhelming.

They go to footage of Edge and Jay going through a box of old artwork and papers that Edge's mother had saved that he had forgotten about. It was given to him by his aunt after his mother passed. It's all old artwork and gear designs and a comic book he made of himself and Christian as wrestlers. Edge said that he's thankful his mother saved all this for him as the memories came flooding back. Now that he has kids, he gets why she saved all of this. She knew this is all he wanted to do so she must have known one day, he'd find it. Jay said that when he processed everything that was in the box, it was therapeutic and gave him some closure.

We watch Edge backstage at NXT. It ended up being a nice week, which it wasn't supposed to be. He had to close his mom's estate. He knew he had to go and do it after putting it off for a week but at the end of the week, WWE would be there and he could go and catch up with everyone. He and Vince McMahon had talked of him doing something at Summerslam, possibly doing a promo but in WWE, until you are in the ring, nothing is certain. He loves acting but nothing matches having your theme music hit and having that rush. They show him coming out as Elias is playing. He spears Elias. Beth checks on him backstage and he says he's fine. Edge jokes that she's mad at him for it and she says she'll be mad at him off-camera.

Beth said she had snuck out into the crowd to see it but did not expect any physicality. It was one of those unplanned moments. She wondered what was going through his mind but he got a win. Edge said that he knows people were wondering why that happened but he's done stunts and physicality and he knows what he can do. He's spoken to wrestling doctors and medical doctors and he knows where he's at. He knew where he took the people and he wanted to keep them there and go home. He could feel the wave of the people and he knew he just had to do it. As a wrestler, you know your body and he had a weird inkling just like did at that last Wrestlemania and he was right.

After Summerslam, "another company in the industry contacted me and said they were interested and wanted to know if I could wrestle." They are not named but it was All Elite Wrestling. Before he could talk about anything, he decided that he needed to go find out if he could wrestle. Beth said he started to get that little bug. He said, "What if?" She told him that as his wife and the mother of his kids, she needed to hear from the best in the world that it would be OK and she needed to see that for herself, not just hear it second-hand. They ended up going to see five or six doctors and every time they had another appointment, she thought this would be the reality check of being told no, but it never happened.

Edge told them that when they give him the offer for him to come work for them, he has to go talk to Vince McMahon. He's done right by Edge his entire career. They show footage of them backstage at the WWE Hall of Fame induction. Edge trusted him to be one of his generals and to be a pillar of his company. Edge went to visit Vince and told him everything. He wasn't trying to get a bidding war going. WWE didn't know this could be possible and neither did he. He told Vince everything he had learned from doctors and Vince said that if a comeback was going to happen, it needed to happen in WWE.

Vince sent Edge to Dr. Joseph Maroon in Pittsburgh. This would be the visit PWInsider.com first reported on that Edge denied ever happened during a podcast appearance. Vince said they can look at him and he can go through all of the testing. Phoenix's heart thought Maroon was going to tell him it wasn't going to happen. Edge admitted that he felt that way too because Maroon was the doctor who personally made the decision to medically disqualify Edge from competing, leading to his original retirement.

Beth was flying to Orlando and when she landed, there was a text from Adam. Two words - "I'm cleared." With that two word text, "Edge was resurrected."

More coverage on Page 2

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