top of page
Top 50 Edge Rivalries

Whether you call him Adam Copeland, COPE or Adam, the WWE Hall of Famer has been one of the most dominant wrestling stars since The Attitude Era and has had made a lot of epic rivalries along the way.

During a career that has included work on the independent scene, WWE and AEW, Edge has routinely produced career-defining feuds and matches with heavy stakes to them.

For this list, we're focusing on storyline rivalries Edge had with wrestlers and non-wrestlers alike, not speculating on what may have happened backstage. 

In counting down the Top 50 Edge Rivalries, Wrestling Merchandise and Memories looked at the following criteria:

 

  • How prominent was the rivarly?

  • What type of stage(s) did it play out on?

  • How memorable were the matches and/or segments?

  • How much did the rivalry do to advance either person's career?

 

Ready? Here we go!

50.

A-Train

While Edge had his share of matches with Albert over the years, their main rivalry came in 2002, when his name was changed to A-Train. The two battled several times on the back half of the year, including a match the Armageddon PPV.

48.

Bad News Allen

Years after Bad News Allen (a/k/a Bad News Brown) was in the WWF, and years before Edge (then known as Sexton Harcastle) would debut for the company, the two battled several times on Canada's independent scene. 

46.

The Great Khali

WWE Hall of Famer The Great Khali and Edge found themselves on opposite sides during several matches in the late 2000s. They had two straight matches during a 2010 episode of Raw, including an Over The Top Rope challenge.

44.

Brodus Clay

On the road to his World Title match against Alberto Del Rio at WrestleMania XXVII, Edge was often pitted against Del Rio's cornerman Brodus Clay. In fact, Del Rio and Clay once teamed up to take on a reunited Edge and Christian.

42.

La Resistance

In 2004, Edge teamed up with several partners to challenge tag team champions La Resistance (Sylain Grenier and Rob Conway). Edge teamed with Chris Benoit to win the titles at Taboo Tuesday, though he abandoned Benoit mid-match.

40.

Val Venis

Edge and Val Venis came up through the WWF developmental system together and faced each other on several occasions. Edge even married Venis' sister in real-life, which briefly led to a feud between the two Canadians, as well as a rivalry over the European Championship years later.

38.

Los Guerreros

Edge had several interactions with Los Guerreros (Chavo Guerrero and WWE Hall of Famer Eddie Guerrero) in different incarnations over the years. But during the era of The SmackDown Six in 2002, Edge and Rey Mysterio feuded with both men.

36.

Test

As another Canadian who came up with Edge in the WWF developmental system, Test faced The Rated R Superstar several times over the years. At the 2001 Survivor Series, Edge defeated Test to unify the United States and Intercontinental titles.

34.

Booker T

Edge and WWE Hall of Famer Booker T may have had a higher rivalry on this list had something other than "shampoo" been on the line. Heading into WrestleMania XVIII, Edge had landed a Japanese shampoo commercial, angering Booker into a match between the two.

32.

William Regal

Edge's character traits were the opposite of the proper, straight-laced William Regal. The two had several matches for Edge's Intercontinental Championship over the years, including a title match at the Vengeance 2001 pay-per-view.

30.

Gangrel

Shortly after his WWF debut, Edge was pursued by Gangrel, as the two had  similar goth personas. Gangrel then enticed Christian to join him; eventually all three formed The Brood, but not before Edge battled him in a Bloodbath Match.

28.

The Big Show

As mainstays of WWE throughout the 2000s, Edge and The Big Show did battle several times. The most high-profile took place at WrestleMania XXV, where both were fighting over the affections of Vickie Guerrero as part of a Triple Threat Match involving John Cena for the World Title.

26.

Alberto Del Rio

Edge's final feud before initially retiring from WWE was against Alberto Del Rio. The two had a rivalry leading into WrestleMania XXVII, in which Del Rio won the Royal Rumble and unsuccessfully challenged Edge for his World Title.

24.

Chris Benoit

Edge and Chris Benoit had several matches against each other during the SmackDown Six era. Years later, they teamed to defeat La Resistance, only to have Edge turn on Benoit. They had a Last Man Standing Match at Backlash 2005.

22.

Daniel Bryan

Heading into WrestleMania XXXVII, Edge was livid that Daniel Bryan had found his way into the main event to take on both Edge and Undisputed Champion Roman Reigns. This led to bad blood between the two heading into their title match.

20.

The Miz

Edge and The Miz first faced off against one another in 2010, when both were top stars in the promotion. More than a decade later, the two rekindled their rivalry in 2022, including a mixed tag team match with both of their spouses.

18.

Jeff Hardy

While the tag team feud between Edge & Christian and The Hardy Boyz was an all-time rivalry, Edge also battled Jeff Hardy numerous times. In 2009, the two had a pair of PPV matches where they traded the World Championship back and forth.

16.

Shawn Michaels

In late-2004, Edge turned heel and immediately targeted WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels, jealous of his popularity. The two feuded leading into Royal Rumble 2005, in a memorable match in which The Rated R Superstar came out on top.

14.

Ric Flair

Edge targeted WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair in 2006, making fun of The Nature Boy's real-life road rage incident. The two faced off for Flair's Intercontinental Title at New Year's Revolution and even had a bloody TLC match. 

12.

Roman Reigns

One of Edge's most high-profile runs during his final WWE run was against Universal Champion Roman Reigns. Not only did Edge face him (and Daniel Bryan) in the main event of WrestleMania, he also had a rematch at that year's Money In The Bank PPV.

10.

Kurt Angle

In the early 2000s, Edge and Christian formed a partnership with WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle. But by 2002, Edge and Angle were stars on SmackDown and engaged in a feud over several months that saw Edge shave Angle's head bald.

8.

The Dudley Boyz

While there have been a few references to Edge & Christian's rivalry with Matt and Jeff Hardy, the feud also included WWE Hall of Famers The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray & D-Von Dudley). The three teams had a trio of huge ladder/TLC matches between 2000 and 2001.

6.

Seth Rollins

Edge's matches against Seth Freakin' Rollins were one of the highlights of the year 2021. The two battled in a trio of high-profile matches, including SummerSlam, SmackDown and finally, a Hell In A Cell match at the Crown Jewel PPV.

4.

The Undertaker

One of Edge's all-time biggest tests came in the form of WWE Hall of Famer The Undertaker. It began in 2007, when Edge cashed in Money In The Bank to defeat The Dead Man, and featured main event matches the following year at WrestleMania and SummerSlam.

2.

Christian

It doesn't get much more personal than feuding with your "brother," which was the premise of the long-standing rivalry between Edge and Christian. Christian first turned against his longtime friend in the WWF in 2001, and they added a new chapter in AEW throughout 2024.

49.

The J.O.B. Squad

In the early days of their WWF tag team, Edge & Christian battled various members of The J.O.B. Squad, a faction that included Al Snow, The Blue Meanie, Bob Holly and Scorpio. Notably, they had a series of tag team matches in late-1999. 

47.

Dominik Mysterio

While Dominik Mysterio's heel turn is best remember for turning on his father Rey Mysterio, Dirty Dom first betrayed family friend Edge at the 2022 Clash at the Castle PPV. The two went to war on a subsequent episode of Raw. 

45.

The Disciples of the Apocalypse

During the early days of the Edge & Christian tag team in the WWF, the storyline brothers were often pitted against the actual brothers of Skull & 8-Ball, half of the larger Disciples of the Apocalypse faction.

43.

The New Age Outlaws

During their run as an upcoming tag team, Edge and Christian battled WWE Hall of Famers The New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg & Billy Gunn), unsuccessfully challenging for the gold at the Unforgiven 1999 PPV.

41.

Jack Swagger

When Jack Swagger (a/k/a Jake Hager) was a top star on WWE SmackDown, he had to contend with Edge. This included a one segment where The Rated R Superstar gave a spear to Swagger's "mascot," The Swagger Soaring Eagle.

39.

The Acolytes

On route to becoming one of the WWF's top teams, Edge and Christian had to contend with The Acolytes (a/k/a The APA, WWE Hall of Famers John Bradshaw Layfield and Faarooq). The two teams often did battle in 1999, both on television and at house shows.

37.

Jeff Jarrett

Edge's first singles championship came at the hands of WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett in 1999. Edge surprisingly defeated Jarrett for the Intercontinental Title at a house show in Toronto, although Double J regained it the following night.

35.

Finn Balor

When Edge formed The Judgment Day in 2022, he recruited Finn Balor as a member. Balor immediately led the other Judgment Day members in betray The Rated R Superstar. Edge got a measure of revenge in their WrestleMania XXIX bout.

33.

CM Punk

CM Punk, the Straight Edge Superstar, has battled Edge, the Rated R Superstar, several times over the years. Most notably, Punk cashed in his Money In The Bank briefcase against Edge -- after Batista destroyed The Ultimate Opportunist -- on the June 30, 2008 episode of Raw.

31.

The Death Riders

In his pursuit of AEW World Champion Jon Moxley (who will appear a bit later on this list), Cope battled several of Moxley's Death Riders stablemates, including Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta and Pac, in early 2025.

29.

AJ Styles

Heading into WrestleMania XXXVIII, Edge challenged AJ Styles into a dream match of sorts; one that had never happened before. Edge turned heel in the match and formed The Judgment Day with Damien Priest, kicking off a rivalry with Styles.

27.

House of Black

As TNT Champion, one of Cope's 2025 rivalries in AEW was with The House of Black factions (Malakai Black, Brody King and Buddy Matthews). After Black left the company, they continued to battle, while Cope suggested that King should take over the group.

25.

Too Cool

During the heel run of Edge and Christian as WWF World Tag Team Champions,  Too Cool (Grandmaster Sexay and Scotty 2 Hotty) became one of the first teams to unseat them as champions, with the help of Kid Rock's sidekick Joe C.

23.

Dolph Ziggler

Dolph Ziggler's first World Title reign came at the hands of Edge. Ziggler's girlfriend Vickie Guerrero set up a match where The Show Off could win the title if Edge used his Spear (which he did). Edge immediately regained the title, though.

21.

Batista

When Edge was World Champion in 2008, Batista was one of his most persistent challengers for the gold. This led to a title match at the Night of Champions PPV, where Edge retained thanks to help from Vickie and Chavo Guerrero.

19.

Vickie Guerrero

Shortly after Vickie Guerrero became Assistant General Manager of SmackDown in 2007, she began a romantic relationship with Edge. After their storyline marriage fell apart, Guerrero began targeting her ex-husband.

17.

Chris Jericho

Edge and Chris Jericho had several interactions in the early 2000s. The two were even tag team champions together before Edge got injured. Upon his return to WWE, Jericho turned on Edge leading to a title match at WrestleMania XXVI.

15.

Triple H

Edge had several matches with WWE Hall of Famer Triple H over the years. Their primary rivalry took place in 2008 after The Game exposed Edge cheating on Vickie Guerrero. They had a WWE Title Match at The Great American Bash.

13.

Rey Mysterio

Whie Edge and WWE Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio are best known as allies and tag team partners, the two did feud over Edge's World Heavyweight Championship. This led to a match at the 2008 Royal Rumble, which Edge won.

11.

Kane

Edge and WWE Hall of Famer Kane first feuded in 2005, when Lita turned on The Big Red Machine and sided with Edge. Years later, Kane challenged Edge for the World Heavyweight Champion on SmackDown that included the kidnapping of Kane's father Paul Bearer.

9.

Jon Moxley

We mentioned The Death Riders earlier, but Cope's feud with leader Jon Moxley became its own issue. The two had a brutal match at AEW Revolution in 2025, followed up by an equally-brutal Streetfight on an episode of Dynamite.

7.

Mick Foley

After Edge had won and lost his first WWE Championship in 2006, WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley called him out as a "transitional champion." This led to a very violent and personal match at WrestleMania 22, in which the two went through fire, barbed wire and much more.

5.

Matt Hardy

We've mentioned the tag team rivalry between Edge & Christian and The Hardy Boyz, athough the feud took on another dimension in 2005. Hardy's girlfriend Lita had engaged in a real-life affair with Edge, kicking off a very personal issue in the ring between the two that year.

3.

Randy Orton

While Edge and Randy Orton are best known for their partnership as the team Rated RKO, the two have had their share of confrontations over the years. The main feud took place in 2020, after Edge returned from retirement, leading to bouts at WrestleMania XXXVI and Backlash.

1.

John Cena

The rivalry between Edge and John Cena lasted an entire year in 2006. It began when The Rated R Superstar became the first man to cash in Money In The Bank (against Cena), and featured several encounters on PPV that same year, culminating in a brutal TLC match at that year's Unforgiven, with Cena winning the rivalry.

Learn More About Canadian Bulldog

  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
bottom of page