Edge's First WWE PPV As Talent Was 'A Weird Freaky Time'

When WWE Hall of Famer Adam "Edge" Copeland entered Montreal's Molson Centre on November 9, 1997, he was expecting the evening to be a major step up in his WWF career. That night "The Rated-R Superstar" was backstage for his first WWE pay-per-view, Survivor Series, where the main event title bout was between WWF Champion Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels, which created one of the most infamous moments in pro wrestling history — the Montreal Screwjob.

In an interview with "The Nation Network," Edge recalled being witness to the Hart-Michaels match and its shocking conclusion. "I was at the Montreal Screwjob," Edge recalled. "That was actually the first pay-per-view I was brought to as a talent. And Bret helped get me in the door."

At the time of the Montreal Screwjob, Hart was preparing to leave WWF for a stint with WCW, and Edge remembers how he felt that night in 1997. "That was a weird freaky time," said Edge. 

"The Hitman" had a great influence on Edge's love for pro wrestling, and long-lost video footage emerged last year from a Canadian talk show where a 19-year-old Edge stood up in an audience Q&A session and asked Hart –- a guest on the show -– how he could break into the wrestling industry. Hart would later claim that he influenced all of the Canadian WWF wrestlers, including Edge.

Edge never went up against Hart in the ring, although Hart stated that Edge was among the wrestlers that he wished he could have shared the ring with.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "The Nation Network" with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.