Edge, Part 3

In February 2003, Copeland suffered a (legit) neck injury that required surgery and kept him sidelined for close to a year. During his recovery he wrote a column for WWE.com. He was scheduled to return to the ring in February 2004, but suffered a (legit) broken hand just before his planned return which forced him to stay out of the ring for an additional month. He was placed on the RAW brand in the draft lottery after WrestleMania XX, and returned to in-ring action shortly after that event. On the April 19, 2004 edition of RAW he and Chris Benoit won the World Tag Team Championship. He continued to back Benoit and be there whenever Benoit needed him, even after they lost the titles. The partnership was disbanded when Edge won the Intercontinental Championship.

At Vengeance 2004, Edge defeated Randy Orton to win the Intercontinental Championship. He then began to turned heel, cheating to keep the title and getting confrontational with ally Chris Jericho. Following a (legit) groin injury in a non-televised match RAW then-General Manager Eric Bischoff stripped Edge of the Intercontinental Championship.

When Edge returned, his gimmick was portrayed as a crazed heel with severe anger management problems centered around his obsession for the World Heavyweight Championship. He, Benoit and Shawn Michaels received a chance to be voted by fans to receive a title shot at Triple H's World Heavyweight Championship for Taboo Tuesday 2004. However, Shawn Michaels won the vote, which gave the two remaining wrestlers, Edge and Benoit, a Tag Title shot. During the match Edge abandoned his partner (although Benoit managed to win the titles on his own) and instead interfered in the main event, costing Michaels the championship.

In December, both Edge and Benoit competed in a #1 contender's battle royal, eliminating each other simultaneously at the conclusion of the match, resulting in a draw. Due to this, current World Heavyweight Champion Triple H was forced to defend the title in a triple threat match. During the course of the match, Benoit locked on the Crippler Crossface, while in it Edge shifted his weight putting Benoit's shoulders on the mat for a pin. The match ended in a "Dusty finish" as Benoit made Edge submit at the same time the referee counted a pinfall for Edge. As a result of this, the World Heavyweight Title was vacated the next week on RAW.

Edge got another shot at the World Heavyweight Championship at New Year's Revolution 2005 in the Elimination Chamber. Edge and a returning Shawn Michaels, who was acting as guest referee, renewed their rivalry when Michaels hit Edge with 'Sweet Chin Music' as retaliation for an accidental Spear, causing Edge to be the first eliminated. Edge went on to defeat Michaels at the 2005 Royal Rumble later in the month.

At WrestleMania 21, Edge won the first ever "Money in the Bank ladder match", gaining him a contract that gave him a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship within one year.

It was around this time that Edge came under heavy criticism, especially from the Internet wrestling community, due to his (legit) "betrayal" of fellow wrestler and real life friend, Matt Hardy, by having an affair with Matt's girlfriend of six years Lita. Hardy had been out of action for several months with a torn anterior cruciate ligament and shortly after he recovered, Lita suffered the same injury and was put out of action. It was during this time that Edge, despite being married, began an affair with Dumas.

Edge, Part 2

In May of 1999 the Brood broke away from The Ministry after Christian was attacked by Ken Shamrock and forced by him to reveal the location of the captive Stephanie McMahon. The Undertaker chose to have Christian punished for his trespass, but Edge and Gangrel stood by him and turned against Undertaker. This was historic in the effect that no one else actually defected from the Ministry before or after that: it dissolved with all the other members intact.

Following a short feud with the Ministry, they began a feud with The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff Hardy). Soon, however, Gangrel turned on Edge and Christian and formed The New Brood with their enemies, The Hardy Boyz.

Even after the New Brood split Edge & Christian continued to feud with The Hardy Boyz. The two teams competed in the a tag team ladder match at the 1999 No Mercy pay-per-view for the "managerial services" of Terri Runnels and $100,000, however Edge & Christian came up short.

On April 2 at WrestleMania 2000, Edge and Christian defeated the Hardy Boyz and the Dudley Boyz to win their first WWF Tag Team Title in a Triangle Ladder match which birthed the Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match.

Following this victory, Edge and Christian found success as a heel duo, shifting their gimmick from borderline Goths to a comedic pair of "cool dudes", winning the WWF Tag Team Titles six more times for a total of seven. During this time their trademark became the "five second pose" where they would perform a pose in the wrestling ring for five seconds "for the benefit of those with flash photography" to mock, insult, or otherwise amuse the fans. They also competed as a team in the first three Tables, Ladders, and Chairs matches, winning the first two over The Dudley Boyz and The Hardy Boyz, at SummerSlam 2000 and then again at WrestleMania X-Seven.

At the 2001 Royal Rumble Edge and Christian were defeated by the Dudley Boyz and lost the World Tag Team Titles. They attempted (unsuccessfully) to regain their tag titles at No Way Out 2001 against the Dudley Boyz and the Brothers of Destruction but succeeded at Wrestlemania X-Seven against the Dudley Boyz and The Hardyz in TLC 2.

Edge would go on to solidify himself as a burgeoning singles star by winning the 2001 King of the Ring tournament. Christian turned on Edge shortly afterward, and the two feuded over Edge's Intercontinental Championship, which he lost to him and won right back. Edge lost the Intercontinental Title to Test and shortly afterward won the WCW United States Championship from Kurt Angle. Edge defeated Test at Survivor Series 2001 to unify the Intercontinental Championship with the WCW United States Championship he previously lost.

Throughout the winter months of 2001 Edge feuded with William Regal for the Intercontinental Title after being defeated by Regal for it. Edge came up short in the feud. When WrestleMania X8 came around Edge found himself in a match with Booker T that was the result of Edge beating out Booker for a fictitious Japanese shampoo endorsement.

Shortly after defeating Booker T at Wrestlemania, Edge was drafted to the SmackDown! brand in the first WWE Draft Lottery. Upon arriving there he began a feud against Kurt Angle, which culminated in Edge shaving Kurt's head following a hair vs. hair match at Judgment Day. It was also in this feud where Edge started the "you suck" chants every time Kurt Angle enters a WWE ring, usually in tune with Angle's entrance music. When Rey Mysterio made his SmackDown! debut, he and Edge formed a team and captured the WWE Tag Team Championship. He also received matches for the WWE Championship against title holders Brock Lesnar and The Big Show.