WWE's Edge retires after 13 years due to injury

WWE's Edge retires after 13 years due to injury

2011-04-12 10:00:16 GMT+7 (ICT)

LOS ANGELES (BNO NEWS) -- Adam Joseph Copeland, who is best known by his ring name Edge, announced his retirement on late Monday evening, ending a WWE career spanning 13 years and consisting of 11 World Title reigns.

The announcement came hours after news that Copeland would make an important announcement during Monday evening's show, and comes less than a week after his successful title defense against Alberto Del Rio at WrestleMania XXVII. WWE said the wrestler was forced to retire from in-ring competition due to injury.

The Rated-R Superstar had been suffering numbness and uncontrollable trembling in his arms and hands. It is not the first time Edge has experienced these symptoms of nueropraxia, and an MRI administered at Atlanta Midtown Diagnostic Imaging last Monday was sent to Dr. Joseph Maroon, a renowned neurosurgeon and professor of neurosurgery at The Pittsburgh School of Medicine. After careful examination of the MRI, WWE said, it was determined that Edge would never be cleared to compete again, and thus, he is forced to retire.

In 2003, Edge underwent a two level spinal fusion of the discs between his C5, C6 and C7 vertebrae. After being cleared to compete, The Rated-R Superstar returned to the ring, resulting in stenosis of the spine, or a narrowing of the spinal column, above and below the fused discs. This narrowing resulted in less and less of the vital fluid needed to protect the spinal cord. Medical professionals cannot clear Edge to compete ever again in WWE since doing so could result in paralysis or even death, WWE said.

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