Match Spotlight: Mick Foley Vs. Edge, WWE WrestleMania 22

Despite Bruce Prichard absolutely hating this match (no surprises there), Edge and Mick Foley have a special place for it in their hearts for a variety of reasons.

For Edge, the fact that he was given a taste of what the main event scene was like, only for it to be taken away within the same month of winning his first WWE Championship left him angry. After years of proving he could hang with the best, he felt slighted and shunned with a feeling of “I’m good enough to be at the top, why is this happening to me?” Because of that, he used this match to make a statement, that being after WrestleMania 22, WWE would have no choice but to put to Edge in the world title picture, and up until his enforced retirement in 2011, that’s exactly where he stayed. 

The biggest achievement for Foley was that he finally had his WrestleMania moment, and it’s so fitting that it’s one covered in blood and fire considering what he went through in his career. It’s been said countless times, but Foley at this point in his career was a master of making young guys feel like top stars, especially in these hardcore situations. Triple H’s best work in the Attitude Era was with Cactus Jack, Randy Orton’s breakthrough performance came against Foley at Backlash 2004 to the point where he was World Heavyweight Champion by that year’s SummerSlam, and if you want to go back further, the “I Quit” match with The Rock at the 1999 Royal Rumble cemented “The Great One” as a top tier heel. That’s what happened with Edge in this match. Foley went above and beyond to make him look like the guy who was meant to be in the main event.

With all that said, it was a match where both men pulled more than their own weight, even before they went out to the ring. Foley has revealed that it was actually Edge who pushed for the stipulation to be added, claiming that Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon’s No Holds Barred Match on the same night almost forced this one to be a straight singles match, or at a push a Steel Cage Match. Considering that we are 20 years removed from WrestleMania 22 and it’s Edge and Foley’s match that is constantly brought up and not Shawn and Vince’s bout, it’s safe to say that Edge was right in pushing for a bit more violence.

After all was said and done, both men had a brief run as a duo, even becoming co-holders of the WWE Hardcore Championship (in name only). They had another bloodbath at ECW One Night Stand 2006 along with Lita against Tommy Dreamer, Terry Funk, and Beulah. By the end of the year, Foley’s thirst for a WrestleMania moment was quenched, Edge was a main event guy, and their WrestleMania 22 horror movie has stood the test of the time.