In the second edition of WWE’s 30 Years Of WrestleMania podcast, retired WWE star Edge offered new insight into his 2011 retirement just days after his WrestleMania 27 victory over Alberto Del Rio.

“There were some issues that day,” Edge recalls. “I see in hindsight now that they were more concerned than I realized. And, I was doing strength tests because I knew there were issues with the neck. I was having issues, but I just assumed that I could take a break, come back and see my contract through, and ride off into the sunset.”

Edge said WWE trainers were watching his WWE World Title defense against Alberto Del Rio, which turned out to be his final match.

“By the entrance, I think I knew something was different. This feels like if it’s not the last, it’s one of the last,” Edge recalled thinking to himself.  He added that when he underwent MRIs the next day, he suspected that perhaps his career was ending earlier than he anticipated.  He then received the phone call the Thursday after WrestleMania and announced his retirement on the following Raw.

“I didn’t have to stew about it like Shawn (Michaels) did. How do you walk away when you’re there (at the top level)? I didn’t have to do any of that. That was taken out of my hands. I had no choice. I was told I would never be cleared again.” Edge said.

Regarding his WrestleMania 22 match against Mick Foley, Edge recalled being driven by anger when deciding to give Foley a spear through a flaming table.

Edge said, “I was very angry, stubborn, I had a chip on my shoulder. I thought I should have been in the main event. I was that guy that year. So, it was ‘I’ll show you, I’ll dive into a flaming table with thumbtacks in my back.'”

When asked about been synonymous with Money In The Bank, Edge said he initially did not like the match concept when it was pitched to him before WrestleMania 21 because he was tired of ladder matches and felt like he was being pigeonholed with Jeff Hardy, Christian, and Chris Jericho.  However, his views changed when he understood the concept and saw it as something new and different.  Edge described it as a “huge kick-start” to his career when he won the first Money In The Bank match.

Host Renee Young asked Edge what he considered his most special WrestleMania moment – Edge cited his match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania 24 because he felt like he finally arrived being in the main event of WrestleMania.

When asked who his opponent would be if he were to ever be cleared for one more match, Edge said he would love a “straight up match” with former tag team partner and close personal friend Christian.  He also picked Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, and The Rock as WrestleMania dream opponents.