Adam Copeland Reflects On Realization He Had After TLC Match At WWE WrestleMania X-7

Adam "Edge" Copeland helped put WWE's TLC match on the map, as he was an integral part of the first three bouts. However, he realized after the second one, which took place at WWE WrestleMania 17 in 2001, that he had to focus on something else to maintain the sanctity of the match and preserve his health.

"It was that second TLC in Houston where I had the realization, we can't continue to try and top this," he told NotSam Wrestling. "A, they're going to get desensitized. They, being the audience, and it won't feel as special anymore, and in trying to top it, one of us is going to get really, really injured. And we're going to keep trying. So, I wouldn't say it was necessarily there where I was like, 'Okay, this is what I need to do now.' That didn't come until later, and it didn't come until I really started understanding what this Rated R Superstar thing was."

Of course, the "Rated R Superstar" is the character that got Copeland over as a main event singles star in WWE. The gimmick materialized during his feud with Matt Hardy in the mid-2000s and eventually led to him winning multiple championships and becoming a Hall of Famer.

That said, Copeland continued participating in TLC matches after discovering his career-boosting gimmick. He competed in some during his "Rated R Superstar" run, most notably against John Cena and The Undertaker at WWE Unforgiven and WWE One Night Stand in 2006 and 2008, respectively. WWE, meanwhile, has since turned the concept into an annual pay-per-view.