It's been two days since Edge arrived in Toronto, having flown straight from a SmackDown! in Cleveland. Undoubtedly, he was still recovering from jet lag and time changes from the Smackdown! Tour of Asia only two weeks earlier. But if he's tired, it's not showing--in spite of having woken early today.

After four years on the road as a WWE Superstar, Edge has high-speed preparedness down to a science. "Take a shower the night before," he said, "that's the key." This morning, however, he did take a shower, although he didn't roll out of bed until about 7:00. Yet, he still managed to be at the Automotive Building on the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) grounds, the site of Fan Axxess, by 7:30.

"If I have an 8:00 AM flight, I'll get up at a quarter to 7:00," he said.

The reason he had to arise so early was that he--along with Christian, William Regal and Linda McMahon--was scheduled to appear on Canada AM (the Canadian equivalent of Good Morning America). Because Edge is one of a handful of Superstars from the Toronto area--Christian, Test, the Big Valbowski and Trish Stratus are the others--and he's slated for an important match at WrestleMania, he's one of the profiled talent for the weekend.

And so, once more, he'll tell the WrestleMania VI story, this time for the Canada AM audience.

"It's just a really cool story," he said. "It's one of those things that if you interview Edge about WrestleMania X8, you've got to talk about."

After the interview, Edge had the opportunity to rest for a few hours before returning to Fan Axxess for its noon start. When Edge's limousine arrives at the Automotive Building, there are throngs of fans waiting outside. As the car turns into an alley reserved for the Superstars, Edge opens the limo's tinted window and waves at the fans, who go crazy at the sight of him.

Once inside, Edge heads to the Superstars' Green Room for a few snacks and to relax before heading out to snap pictures with fans. The first two Superstars he encounters are Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, supposedly the most controversial men on the roster. But Edge is one of those people who gets along with everybody. Like most folks, he has a select number of close friends, but one would be hard-pressed to find any Superstar who Edge doesn't get along with or vice versa, and Hall and Nash are no exception.

"The reason they signed Hall and Nash," begins Nash, "was to keep down Edge and Test."

"Just us two?" responds Edge.

"I thought we were going to have to hold down some other guys," adds Nash.

All three share a laugh.

Then the Godfather walks in. "Edge is one of my best customers, man. He loves them ladies."

A few minutes later, Nash is at it again: "Among the young guys, Edge is probably the best lover. I thought Christian had it, but Edge has more passion. I haven't kissed a man like you since I kissed Costner in '81."

More laughter.

Federation officials also love Edge. As he walks in the door, an employee from the company's talent relations department asks him if he can stick around longer than scheduled to make another appearance at Axxess. Edge immediately agrees to it.

He's so agreeable that the company travel agent Rick Asciutto says, "At 3:00 PM, I'm going to need some help with the limos." He was joking, which was a good thing, because if he wasn't, Edge would have probably gone to the parking lot to coordinate the limo schedules. His rapport with the staff is such that he apparently has nicknames for everyone: Asciu is "Scootch"; photographer John Giamundo is "Photo Baggins," a derivation of Frodo Baggins from Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

Just before 12:30 PM, Edge leaves the relaxed atmosphere of the Green Room to appear at the Fan Axxess Community Relations booth. He'll take Polaroid photos with fans who make a $10 donation to benefit the Canadian Special Olympics. Over the course of the weekend, over $43,000 will be raised for the charity.

Many of the girls who line up to have themselves photographed with Edge are reduced to tears at the sight of their idol. They scream; they laugh; they smile; the braver ones come right up and tell him he's gorgeous.

"That's one thing I've never really been able to grasp," Edge says later. "I think everyone's hard on their own appearance. I'm the same as everybody else, so I've never thought of myself as a heartthrob. I never know what to say. Do you say thanks? If you say thanks, it's almost like you think that of yourself."

In America, Kurt Angle might be Pittsburgh's hero, but once outside "The Steel City," he's just another guy. In Canada, however, Edge and his fellow Canadian Superstars are "home" whether they're in Ontario, Quebec or on the other side of the continent in British Columbia.

Canadian fans are passionate about their heros, and just as knowledgeable. One young lady, 17-year-old Catherine Ann Power of Nova Scotia, has done her research. She's wearing a maroon "Edgehead" T-shirt--the desigh was created by Edge for WWE ShopZone, by the way. She read in a previous issue of this magazine that Edge likes cookies, so she brought him a package of Chips Ahoy! cookies.

"I've been into wrestling since I was five," Power says. "I kind of got out of it for a couple of months, but one day I was clicking around and saw [Edge's] first match, and he was incredible, just absolutely fantastic. The first Ladder Match with the Hardy Boyz [at No Mercy 1999] just sealed the deal. When I found out he was Canadian, that was incredible."

Power apologises because she has started to cry.

"Could you tell him that this made my day?" she asks. "This is what the trip was about."

For the record, Edge does love cookies. He doesn't smoke, drink or use drugs, and he rarely stays out late. The only way Edge would ever end up in trouble is if cookie consumption was outlawed.

"Rock and I both love cookies. Cookies are my weakness," says Edge, who enjoys chocolate chip, white chocolate and peanut butter, but quickly adds, "I don't do oatmeal."

As the afternoon wears out, Edge makes his way to the Pizza Pizza Arena for a special question-and-answer session. Three fans are already in the ring, along with Federation ring announcer Howard Finkel. They're finalists in an impromptu contest to win tickets to tomorrow night's sold-out WrestleMania.

One of the finalists, Missy Whitelaw of Kitchener, Ontario, is ecstatic at seeing Edge. Two hours earlier, she was one of the several hundred fans to have her picture taken with her favourite Superstar. Edge immediately recognises her and recalls that she's an "Edgehead." He wishes her luck and hopes she wins.

Finkel gives her a relatively easy question: Who did Hulk Hogan face at WrestleMania III? But Missy is only 15 and doesn't know the answer is Andre the Giant. While she doesn't win the WrestleMania tickets, she does recieve a "consolation prize" that she won't soon forget--a big hug from Edge.

After the contest, Edge answers fans' questions for about 30 minutes. He suggests that Rob Van Dam or either of the Hardy Boyz would make a great tag team partner. He mentions some of his favourite Superstars while growing up--Hulk Hogan, Ricky Steamboat, Chris Benoit, Ted DiBiase and Bret Hart. When someone asks him to name his biggest influence, he ponders for a few moments before answering Shawn Michaels.

Before he returns backstage, Edge spots Missy at ringside, consoles her and gives her another hug.

"I am freaking out," Missy says, tears in her eyes. And she adds a few seconds later, "And I'm going to hate that match [Hogan vs. Andre the Giant at WrestleMania III] forever!"

A day that began at 7:00 AM is finally over. Just as he's arriving at his hotel, a large group of kids is walking out and shouting, "Happy birthday, Edge!" He obligingly waves, even though his birthday is actually October 30.

Edge explained the strange birthday greeting. Earlier in the day, he and Rhyno were having dinner at Planet Hollywood down the street from the hotel; resident WWE prankster Al Snow was also in the restaurant with his family.

"Al tried to embarass me by having the entire restaurant sing 'Happy Birthday' to me," Edge said. "I don't have the heart to tell [the kids] that today's not my birthday."

Edge had only one appearance scheduled for Axxess today, so he actually had some time to relax with his wife, Alanah, who arrived in Toronto late last night. They have tickets to an NHL game--the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Dallas Stars. Like most Canadians on the Federation roster, Edge loves hockey. Surprisingly, his favourite team is the New Jersey Devils; the Leavs are his second favourite.

Edge is a lucky man. His wife looks like a cross between Cameron Diaz and Amy Smart (the hot blodne in Road Trip). Plus, Alanah is totally cool--it doesn't take 72 hours to figure that out. Her smile is so bright that there is no need to turn on the lights at the Air Canada Centre. Edge and Alanag were married last November 8 in a small cerimony; they plan to renew their vows with a much more elaborate wedding as soon as there's time.

Edge doesn't take family for granted. He's extremely close to those family members who are in his life. He intends to buy his mother a house later this year. In the future, he wants to have children.

"We need more 'us' time," Edge says, referring to he and his wife. "We don't get much as it is.

"Scotty [2 Hotty] just had a daughter. Playing with her, it's like, 'I don't know if I could leave her [to go to work], let alone my own kids.' I don't know how Scotty does it. You see a lot of guys who pull it off. You've got to hand it to them--raising great kids, while keeping up this pace."

But tonight isn't one for serious reflection. The object is to watch a great hockey game, have a few drinks (Edge doesn't drink alcohol; he has water) and try to relax a bit before WrestleMania X8.

By all indications, the night is a success. The game is great, ending in a 5-5 tie. Maple Leafs' officials even hand Edge a microphone during the game, and he addresses the crowd, encouraging the home fans to chant, "Go Leafs, Go!" He stops by the locker room after the game and visits the players (several of whom he knows). He also meets Maple Leafs' owner Steve Stavro, as well as Ken Thomson and Ted Rogers, two of the richest men in the world.

"Canada is a smaller country [than the US], and smaller countries tend to be like that," explains Thomson, a publishing magnate, about their fans' enthusiasm for their local heroes. "There are a lot of things in the United States to cheer about. [Canada has] a few. So we really take to the things we can appreciate."

Edge is particularly thrilled when he gets to sit behind the Hockey Night in Canada desk. HNIC is similar to America's Monday Night Football.

Edge walks into Hockey Night's "Coach's Corner" studio and says hello to commentator Ron MacLean. He doesn't actually say hello. Instead, it's more like, "Ron MacLean, nice to meet you. I've got to sit next to you." With that, Edge plops down into the chair normally occupied by Don Cherry, one of Canada's most famous TV personalities whose flamboyance and candidness could be compared to Jesse "the Body" Ventura. For an American sports fan, it would be like sitting behind the ESPN SportsCenter desk in Dan Patrick's chair.

After Edge and MacLean chat for a few minutes, MacLean talks about Canadians' love of their own celebrities.

"It's just crucial as a Canadian that you don't forget your roots," MacLean said. "You don't hear a lot of references to hometowns when [an American like] Madonna goes out on stage. I suppose there are exceptions. But 'hometown' is almost the first adjective for any Canadian star."

Edge arrives at SkyDome just after 1:00 PM. He goes over to where he watched WrestleMania VI, sits in roughly the same seat, and tapes the surroundings with his camcorder. He debates carrying the camcorder with him during his entrance later that evening--like some Superstars did during the Asia tour--but decides against it.

Edge is a little tense backstage because he is planning to mock Booker T and do a spin-a-roony, and he is afraid he'll embarass himself.

"When it comes to wrestling, I know I can do that," Edge says. "I'm nervous about the fact that I'm an extremely white guy attempting to break-dance for the first time in my life."

He practices the spin-a-roony until 5:00.

"It makes the final product all the much more pathetic I'm sure--the fact that I practiced it for four hours," he says.

While Edge sits backstage waiting for the seamstress to finish his new tights, Rocky Johnson--The Rock's dad and a former World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Champion--passes by. "Just wait 'til next year," Johnson says, implying that the 2003 WrestleMania will be an even bigger event for Edge.

Edge hears "you've got a bright future" speeches all the time.

"Coming from Rocky Johnson definately makes me hopeful," he sais. "It all falls back on me, though. No matter what people say, I have to produce."

"From Toronto, Canada!" Finkey bellows as Edge makes his way to the ring.

Edge's immediate concern is producing a non-embarassing spin-a-roony. At 9:42 PM, he pulls it off, and it turns out to be one of the highlights of the match.

"It was a white-a-roony, that's for sure," he jokes afterward.

Whatever it is, it's effective. Edge finishes off Booker T with an Edge-ecution moments later and pins the five-time WCW Champion to pick up the most significant individual victory of his career. All in all, not a bad first singles encounter at a WrestleMania.

"I think it was kind of a coming out," he says, "getting my first solo WrestleMania under my belt."

It's a WrestleMania story that no doubt he'll tell again and again.