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

As the WWE's "Ruthless Aggression" rolled on, new stars needed to be created to fill the void left by the likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, and more recently Brock Lesnar. Stars like John Cena, Randy Orton, and Batista were already former WWE Champions and World Heavyweight Champions by the start of 2006, as was the "Rated-R Superstar" Edge. 

Edge won the inaugural Money in the Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania 21, and after a year where he fully evolved into the heel persona that made him a main event star, he kicked off 2006 in style by cashing in his Money in the Bank contract to win his first WWE Championship...then he lost it three weeks later at the Royal Rumble to John Cena. The "Rated-R Superstar" was almost a main event guy but just sat underneath the names mentioned earlier, with some fans at the time believing that WWE just needed to get the cash-in done so the second match could happen at WrestleMania 22. You would think that Edge would want in on that match, but he had other ideas for WrestleMania 22, revenge.

In his rematch with Cena on "WWE Raw," special guest referee Mick Foley counted the fall that prevented Edge from getting his WWE Championship back, and while Foley called it right down the middle, Edge felt like he was screwed and wanted to get his own back with Foley at WrestleMania. However, Foley said no, and instead proposed a counter-offer, an environment that made him feel right at home, and an environment where Edge would have no excuse but to stand and fight, a Hardcore Match.

It has been two full decades since WrestleMania 22, and as we get ourselves excited for this year's WrestleMania, let's take a trip down memory lane and revisit arguably the most graphic match in the history of the "Grand Daddy of Them All." Without further ado, let's shine a spotlight on the Hardcore Match between Edge and Mick Foley from WrestleMania 22!

I actually covered this match during our retro review of WrestleMania 22 last year so I will try not to repeat myself, but in the words of Joey Styles, OH MY GOD! Whether or not you're a fan wrestlers dabbling in a bit of the old ultraviolence, no one can deny that this match is worthy of being considered a WrestleMania classic.

Edge and Mick Foley told a wonderful story throughout this match of the grizzled veteran tapping back into their old self to teach a hungry young lion a lesson. That all starts when Edge looks to end things early by hitting a Spear, only to roll around in agony as Foley rises up and reveals he's wrapped himself in barbed wire before the match. Obviously, Foley takes his fair share of punishment in this one, and some of the bumps he took, even the ones without any weapon involvement, look particularly nasty. The fact that Foley was still able to do this sort of stuff in 2006 is a borderline miracle. Foley is dowsed in lighter fluid (which will become important later on) and is the first to shed some of the red stuff when he tastes the barbed wire, leading to Edge bringing out some more toys that will come back to haunt him.

He covers the ring in thousands of thumbtacks, but almost immediately Edge is the one to become a human pincushion in a now iconic visual. At the drop of a hat, the tables are turned and now Foley is in control, bringing out a barbed wire covered Mr. Socko and busting Edge open with the barbed wire bat. Edge does a brilliant job of selling the shock of the situation, he sounds genuinely panicked and fearful that he might have gotten himself into something that he wasn't prepared for. You can be in all of the TLC matches you want Mr. Copeland, but when you're dealing with thumbtacks, barbed wire, and a man who has bled buckets on five continents, it's a completely different world.

The closing moment is really well set up as Foley milks the moment of grinding Edge's face on the bat and decides to put the rest of the lighter fluid on a table at ringside. However, Lita intervenes and gets Foley right in the groin with another barbed wire bat, leaving him in agony on the apron as Lita decides to quite literally add more fuel to the fire. She gets another bottle of fluid, lights the table on fire, and Edge charges right through Foley with a Spear to the flaming table below. I mentioned Edge being covered in tacks being iconic, but the sight of these two guys falling through fire is the one true visual that is remembered from this show. Quivering, shivering, and legitimately watching his own skin bubble, Edge makes the cover and mercifully survives this absolute war. Both guys get a thoroughly deserved standing ovation afterwards, and neither man was ever the same.

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.