Where does Edge go among the greats?

On Monday Night Raw, fans were surprised with the sudden news that Edge (real name Adam Copeland), a long-time WWE wrestler, would be retiring immediately. After meeting with doctors last week regarding numbness in is hands, Edge was diagnosed with cervical spinal stenosis, a bone disease involving the narrowing of the spinal canal. Doctors advised him to retire immediately. According to reports, the WWE creative team essentially gave Edge and open mic for Monday night's live broadcast, and allowed him to go out and make a retirement speech. During this emotional de facto shoot promo, Edge talked about how he became a wrestling fan, his career, and he thanked the fans for their support. The speech can be viewed here.

Watching this segment last night, I wasn't sure if it was real. I was expecting Alberto Del Rio to ride out to his music in a luxury car and beat up Edge, or cut a promo insulting him. I expected Christian to come out to the ring and give some kind of pep talk to his long-time friend, encouraging him to keep wrestling. In general, I was expecting it to be a work. But it wasn't. It was real, and I witnessed, arguably, one of the most dramatic moments ever on a WWE broadcast.

With Edge retiring, it begs the question, 'where does he belong among the greats of the wrestling business?'

There's no denying that Edge had a great career. In WWE, he was a triple crown champion, won the King of the Ring, and was the first ever Money in the Bank winner. On a more general level, he managed to stick around WWE for about 14 years, which is impressive when you realize how few Attitude-era wrestlers are still with the company. These accomplishments will definitely get him into the WWE Hall of Fame.

In terms of where he ranks among the all-time greats of the wrestling business, I'm not sure I would necessarily put him on the same level as Hogan, Flair, The Rock, Sting, Steve Austin, and The Undertaker. Guys like that, in their prime, were the sort that wrestling companies could build their entire product around. Edge was a talented wrestler, but never, in my eyes, was a guy who a wrestling company could build everything around. He was missing that 'it' factor that could draw money like sharks to blood. However, I would put him on the same level as guys like Terry Funk, Jake "The Snake Roberts, "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig, and Dusty Rhodes. He's a guy who could go out to the ring, have a great match, entertain the fans, and put a few butts in the seats. Essentially, a great "worker," as they call it in the business. Edge fits that criteria. He was a great worker, and because of it, WWE got a ton of mileage out of him, and he will always be remembered fondly by wrestling fans.