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ROBERTS'S BOOK REVIEW: "Adam Copeland On Edge" (2004) - Edge's first book & subsequent career path confirms need for second book

Mar 31, 2012 - 5:29:40 PM
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Wrestling Book Review
"Adam Copeland on Edge"
Review by Alex Roberts, PWTorch Review Specialist

EdgeArt_130GG_7.jpg

Subheadline: On the day of HOF Induction, is Copeland’s story Rags-to-Riches Triumph or Cautionary Tale?

Adam “Edge” Copeland’s 2004 autobiography feels unique within the ever-crowded ranks of pro wrestler biographies. This isn’t a book written from the perspective of an already-legendary wrestler looking back at the twilight of his career, or of a recently crowned main-eventer exploring how he reached the pinnacles of the business. Rather, Copeland here is writing just before his huge comeback that would finally catapult him to superstardom as one of WWE’s premier stars.

Unique, too, are the circumstances surrounding the writing of the book. Copeland wrote it in 2003 while recovering from major surgery after suffering two ruptured discs - essentially, a broken neck. The image of the wrestler, in a neck brace and writing his story in longhand from his couch which “has a very Homer Simpson-like indentation where I was forced to sleep, sitting up, for seven weeks,” cannot help but color what follows.

Edge may not yet have been a singles main-eventer, but he had already achieved some level of pro wrestling immortality thanks to his participation in a series of trendsetting, extremely dangerous tag team matches. By 2004, the images of he and long-time friend Jay “Christian” Reso grasping tag gold on a precarious structure of tables and ladders at WrestleMania 2000 and of his spectacular midair spear to Jeff Hardy at WrestleMania X7 had already become iconic relics of WWF’s booming Attitude Era. These moments helped to bring Copeland to the forefront of the wrestling world.

These moments came with a price. For Copeland, it was the irreparable damage done to his neck that forced him to abruptly retire in April 2011. More pressing, though, may be the cost to untold wrestlers following in Copeland’s path. The table, ladder, and chair themed matches that began as special events have now become regular attractions in WWE’s pay-per-view calendar. The need to live up to audience's impossibly high expectations for spectacle have caused wrestlers to take part in contests that are undeniable in their extreme physical toll. Unfortunately, it is exactly in exploring this difficult, pressing topic that "Adam Copeland On Edge" - and WWE Books, in general - most disappoints. In 2004, Edge still had goals to accomplish in WWE, and it is perhaps for this reason that his autobiography is so eager not to ruffle feathers of those in the company and offer an all-too-palatable, all-too-simple take on a life in wrestling.

Copeland starts his tale with his birth and childhood in Orangeville, Ontario, Canada. The son of a hardworking, single mother, Adam grows up poor but not unhappy. At a young age, he becomes obsessed with wrestling and compulsively watches every program he can, from WWF’s offerings to Canadian promotions like Stampede Wrestling. He idolizes Hulk Hogan and, with future tag partner Reso, witnesses Hogan’s showdown with The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VI in Toronto.

Eventually, Copeland wins an essay-writing contest and receives wrestling training from Sweet Daddy Siki and Ron Hutchinson. Soon after, he begins his life in the ever precarious, colorful world of independent wrestling. The descriptions of this sort of work - the mind-numbing car trips, criminally scant compensation, and bizarre cast of characters - is so common in wrestling biographies as to be almost boilerplate. It’s to Copeland’s credit, then, that this segment nevertheless features probably the most engaging storytelling in the book. Particularly memorable is a recollection of a tense situation after a tour van nearly cracks through an iced-over lake, leaving Christian soaking wet in sub-zero temperatures and Terry “Rhino” Gerin sheepishly praying for his life.

Finally, after tireless indie work and a few chance meetings with a pre-Screwjob Bret Hart, Copeland finds himself in WWF’s developmental system and finally making it onto Raw. Not long after, he finds his childhood dream come true as he is teamed with “brother” Christian and given high-profile feuds with the Hardy Boys and the Dudleys. These programs culminate, from WrestleMania 2000 to next year’s Wrestlemania X7, in a series of three triangle TLC tag matches that come to define the limits of weapons-based hardcore matches. The bumps taken in these matches are revolutionary and dangerous, and continue to have an impact on what promoters ask of their talent and what audiences expect from pro wrestling.

The insights offered into these matches, though, are scant and disappointing. The WMX7 TLC match, for instance, is given all of three-and-a-half pages (that’s being generous; there are pictures) and is largely a simple summary of the match’s big spots. It’s a summary, in other words, that anyone re-watching the match on tape could give.

Any real incisive thoughts on Copeland’s career seem to arise in "On Edge" almost by accident. Indeed, perhaps the most revealing moment of the book comes in the form of an off-handed remark made while describing the first-ever tag team ladder match between Edge & Christian and The Hardys. Copeland states, “I feel all four of us… are partially responsible for all the stupid risks taken in our industry over the last few years. But I still wouldn’t change a thing… Some people can do it posing, some people can do it drinkin’ beer, kickin’ ass, and talkin’ trash. We felt we needed to be daredevils.” The rest of "On Edge" feels completely unaware of what a damning statement this is, and what it says about the dangerous precedent these men set for the industry.

I admit it becomes difficult to tell what Copeland was hoping to accomplish in writing this book. In more ways than one, "On Edge" feels like a rough draft. The lack of a clearly defined timeline- musings swing from one point in time to another violently without giving any dates, making it often hard to follow - and the rough, very crude writing is all forgivable given Copeland’s mental and physical state at the time. What isn’t as forgivable is that this all wasn’t given a second look, polished, and given more depth before publication.

In the other sense, "On Edge" feels like a first draft simply because of where Copeland’s career was at the time of writing. Most of the largest events in Edge’s career are not documented here because they simply hadn’t happened yet. We don’t hear about his real-life affair with Amy “Lita” Dumas that turned into an on-screen feud with Matt Hardy. We don’t get insights on the development of his “Rated R Superstar” persona, or of his ascendance to the WWE Championship and a perennial main event spot. In short, readers looking for a portrait of Copeland’s career simply won’t find it here.

In On Edge’s epilogue, Copeland half-seriously notes that he’ll have to write a sequel given his return to the ring in 2004. One can only hope that this isn’t an empty promise; there’s so much to glean from Edge’s career that he seems unwilling or unable to confront in this book. Copeland does himself a great disservice by allowing "On Edge" to be his one writing about his life and work. Every indication - both in the ring and out - is that Copeland is well-spoken, charismatic, and extremely intelligent… it’s all the more a shame, then, that his life story comes across as so bland and uninspiring. I wasn’t expecting Shakespeare, but given what other wrestlers have done in writing about their lives, though (I’m thinking especially of Dustin Rhodes’s short, light, but extremely effective 2010 "Cross Rhodes"), On Edge disappoints nonetheless.

A possible sequel by Copeland could also help to make up for the most disappointing aspect of On Edge - that it fails to come to terms with the difficult, conflicting questions raised by his career of high-impact, bump-heavy matches. Hindsight is 20/20, of course, but even at the time there were critics concerned by the physical toll of the extreme matches Edge helped make popular. Copeland’s sudden retirement only feels like a confirmation of these fears. Copeland has an unquestionable amount of career accomplishments of which to be proud. He also has the injuries to prove that these accomplishments came with a severe price, and it feels irresponsible of him not to come to terms with this in some form.

With Copeland’s Hall of Fame induction at Wrestlemania 28, I hope that perhaps now Edge will have the freedom and security tell a richer, more incisive story of his life. While still in a mid-card role and writing for WWE’s books division, perhaps Copeland was forced to make "On Edge" as corporate-friendly and uncritical as it is. As a WWE Hall of Famer and legend, perhaps he can now allow himself to be candid about his biggest feuds and accomplishments. Perhaps, too, he can open up about his injuries and the unnecessary risks he took that caused them.

***

Want to talk wrestling, books, or wrestling books? Send me a tweet @RoQnRollMartian, and visit my personal website at ByAlexRoberts.wordpress.com!

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]


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