Throughout the 1990s he wrestled for many independent promotions in Ontario as well in the Great Lakes region of the United States under the name Sexton Hardcastle. His previous managers were Johnny Bradford and Judd the Studd. He showed much potential and was signed by the then-WWF in 1998.



Many thought that upon his arrival, he would be the next Shawn Michaels. So far, Copeland has found some success in WWE, but not to the magnitude as Michaels has found. He was at first introduced as an enigmatic character, who quickly was teamed with his former tag team partner and on-screen brother, from independent promotions, Christian. The two joined The Undertaker's Ministry of Darkness, and eventually found success as a heel comic duo of surfer dudes/teenyboppers, winning the WWE Tag-Titles 7 times. After with an on-screen feud, the team then dropped the storyline brotherhood gimmick when he and Christian broke out on their own. After the split of the team Edge continued with the character for the most part, only as a face.



In 2000, he made a cameo appearance in the movie Highlander: Endgame as "Road bandit".



In 2002, Copeland suffered a neck injury that required surgery that kept him sidelined for close to a year. He wrote a column on WWE.com while he rehabilitated. He was scheduled to return to the ring in February 2004, but suffered a wrist injury just before his expected return. He was placed on the RAW brand in the draft lottery after WrestleMania XX, and returned to in-ring action shortly after that event. On April 19, 2004, he and Chris Benoit won the RAW tag team title.



On July 10 at Vengeance 2004 Edge went one-on-one with Randy Orton and ended Orton's 9 month Intercontinental title reign. On September 7, 2004, Eric Bischoff stripped Edge of the title because of a injury Edge received at a non-televised wrestling match.



His character was then portrayed as a crazed heel with a severe anger management problem, feuding with such wrestlers as Shawn Michaels, who he believes is the reason he did not get a chance to compete for the World Heavyweight Title at Taboo Tuesday. They have faced each other many times, including at the 2005 Royal Rumble.



At WrestleMania 21, Edge won the "Money-in-the-Bank" Ladder Match to gain a match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. As per the stipulations of the match, his title match is guaranteed for up to a year, until WrestleMania XXII.



Edge, still being portrayed as a crazed heel who blames everyone else for problems and missed opportunities in his wrestling career, now refers to himself by the nickname "Mr. Money-in-the-Bank" and carries his World Heavyweight Championship match contract in a briefcase wherever he goes.



Edge is currently feeling heat due to a recent decision to betray a fellow wrestler and real life friend, Matt Hardy. WWE upper management is displeased with the extramarital affair he had with Amy Dumas (Lita), a wrestling Diva and Matt's girlfriend of six years.



Yet, Edge was paired with Lita in the TV storyline after she turned on Kane to help Edge win the Gold Rush Tournament on the May 16, 2005 edition of RAW. Edge then faced the World Heavyweight Champion Batista the next week. Despite the interference of Christian and Tyson Tomko, Edge lost to Batista after Batista hit Edge with the Batista Bomb.



On Vengeance, June 26, 2005, he had a match versus Kane. Edge lost to Kane by chokeslam. On RAW, July 11, Edge was featured in the main event with Kane as Matt Hardy made a shocking appearance by twice attacking Edge backstage and in the ring and Hardy grabbed a mic during a restraining attempt by security and did what is suspected to be a worked shoot, referring to Edge as "Adam" and issued a threat to Lita as well. This episode raised suspicions of the adultery as being an storyline, using the internet community to achieve heel heat to boost Edge's standing as a major player in the WWE and all parties