Edge steps “Out of Character” with Ryan Satin in debut podcast episode
By Ryan Satin
FOX Sports WWE Analyst
Before main-eventing WrestleMania next month, Edge stepped "Out of Character" for the debut episode of our newest FOX Sports podcast.
Subscribe to "Out of Character with Ryan Satin" on Apple Podcasts or Spotify for weekly candid conversations with your favorite Superstars and on-air WWE talent to learn more about the people you see on TV!
Night two of WrestleMania this year is taking place on the 10-year anniversary of Edge’s retirement.
Instead of watching at home, thinking of how he was forced to retire because of an injury in 2011, though, the 47-year-old wrestler will be in the ring making up for lost time by challenging Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship alongside Daniel Bryan.
"It got pointed out to me that the second night of Mania is 10 years to the day that I announced my retirement on Raw. You can’t write stuff like that," he told Ryan Satin during their nearly 45-minute conversation.
"If I didn’t tear my triceps against Randy [Orton], the timing of this whole thing doesn’t work out. Sometimes there’s just things that fall in our laps, and you can’t map em, you can’t plan em.
"I don’t know if serendipitous is the right word — who knows? — but sometimes things work in magical ways, and I think that that’s one of them. To be able to kind of come full circle, full deck, after having this thing torn away from me. That it’s back and, somehow, I’m in the main event of WrestleMania."
Edge’s two opponents in the match are no strangers to adversity, either. Both were hit with personal hardships in the past that forced them to step away from the ring for periods of time.
For Daniel Bryan, it was overcoming a concussion-related diagnosis given to him by WWE doctors that saw him retire in 2016 and eventually return to the ring in 2018.
For Roman Reigns, it was overcoming a battle with leukemia that saw him take time away from WWE between 2018 to 2019.
As you can see, these particular circumstances make this year’s WrestleMania main event all that more special.
This is something "The Rated-R Superstar" is acutely aware of, too, not just for himself but for his opponents.
"It’s almost hard to try and tell the story of heroes and villains in a way because you got these three guys who had some pretty big lumps thrown their way," he said while discussing the bigger picture of their upcoming match.
"If you had said four years ago that there was the possibility that the three of us could be main-eventing WrestleMania, I think most people would say you’re crazy," Edge continued. "It’s weird because this is one of those instances where it’s more than Roman Reigns, Daniel Bryan and Edge. That kinda goes more to Joe, Bryan and Adam and just how crazy it all is. And I guess speaks to how stubborn the three of us are!"
Another important part of WrestleMania this year that isn’t lost on Edge is the return of fans.
The wrestler worked his butt off to make a comeback last year, only to have the fans taken away from shows not long after because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Surprisingly, however, the WWE Superstar feels worse for the younger Superstars on the roster who are losing out on big moments in front of crowds.
"This year it’s been difficult, obviously, for multiple reasons. But if I’m just looking at it from a particularity of trying to perform and weekly convey this storyline, it’s really difficult without an audience," the wrestler explained. "To get a true gauge, you need our audience there to really see where everything is lined, and I’m looking forward to that at WrestleMania."
"But I feel for a guy like Drew [McIntyre] more than a guy like me because I’ve had so many moments in front of an audience, and I have no complaints. I have had so many moments in my career that I can look back on so fondly and will bring huge smiles to my face. But for a guy like Drew, who worked so hard and took a crazy bumpy road to finally get that moment, and there’s nobody there for it, I feel for a guy like him."
For more with Edge – including discussions on pivotal moments in his career such as feuding with John Cena and the tag team TLC matches – listen to "Out of Character with Ryan Satin" now on major podcast platforms.
The full show is also available below.
Ryan Satin is a WWE analyst for FOX Sports. Satin previously appeared on FS1's "WWE Backstage" and founded Pro Wrestling Sheet, where he broke countless news stories as editor-in-chief.
