While everyone and their wrestling-loving mother is seemingly falling in love with the idea of Edge jumping ship from WWE to AEW, with fantasy bookings ranging from the “Rated-R Superstar” taking the belt off of MJF, to serving as a much-needed locker room leader, to even another title reign alongside his life-long best friend Christian, like under the moniker Cage and Copeland, others are still holding out hope that the Hall of Famer will return to the only home he's known as a professional wrestler, even if it's in a diminished capacity.

Sure, Tony Khan could make Edge a champion, book him like a legend, and provide a few more years of high-level performance out of a star who once thought his career was done, but would doing so be worth setting aside 25 years of lore and legacy?

In the opinion of former WWE referee Nick Patrick, the answer to that question is a resounding no, as instead of leaving or retiring from the ring once and for all, he belives Edge will instead transition to a part-time role, not unlike The Undertaker before him.

“Everybody's talking about whether he's going to retire… I think he's going to be like The Undertaker. He can't do the road anymore — the road is for a young guy. It was a miracle he made his comeback [in 2020] after having neck surgery and the problems he had. Vince [McMahon] don't just pick and choose [wrestlers working a part-time schedule] … he does with Brock [Lesnar], but everybody else has to do road. He probably won't be on all of them, but I'm sure he'll be on another WrestleMania again — soon,” Nick Patrick said on his Monday Mailbag podcast via Wrestling Inc.

“If he does retire, I don't think he'll be completely gone,” Patrick added.

Is there a world where Edge becomes an ominous presence who shows up in March every year to pick a new opponent for his Wrestlemania streak, which currently sits at two straight victories, making for a fun retirement plan for the “Rated-R Superstar?” If he truly doesn't want to remain a full-time wrestler, then that sounds like an awfully interesting backup plan.

Brian Gewirtz believes Edge has nothing left to prove in wrestling.

What is there left for Edge to do in wrestling? That sounds like a dumb question, but really think about it; he's won all of the titles, he's headlined the big shows, and made friendships that will last a lifetime. Factor in a return from injury that some thought impossible, and you're left with a Superstar whose legacy is more or less set, right?

Well, in the humble opinion of Brian Gewirtz, the former WWE writer-turned-Seven Bucks Productions executive, that is definitively the case, becuase as a result, Edge can more or less do whatever makes him the most happy at this stage of the game.

“[Edge] certainly, in my opinion, doesn't have anything to look back on and go, ‘Oh, if only I had done that. He's had a pretty full, amazing career over 25 years. He's going to be 50 in November. He's a husband and father. He has a budding acting career. Pretty much, he could do whatever he sets his mind to do at this point. So, I don't know. Physically, he came back. Everyone was astonished when he came back at the Royal Rumble a few years ago and didn't really miss a step, didn't miss a beat. And Christian is back, too, in AEW, and it's really astonishing and also heartwarming to see,” Brian Gewirtz said via Wrestling Inc.

“I think [the decision comes down to] whatever Edge is feeling right now. As a fan, I'd love to see him and Christian [reunite] … They're definitely different, very vastly different, characters currently, right now, but I'd still, as a fan, love to see them work together at AEW, WWE, some weird independent show, whatever it is.”

Would any WWE fans right off Edge forever if he wrestled in AEW for a few years before signing his Legends contract? No, they would probably tune in to enjoy his work just like they have for decades. Would AEW/indie fans hate Edge for robbing them of another run with Christian if he simply decides that being a full-time wrestler is no longer in the cards? That feels incredibly unlikely, too. No, at this point, Edge is who he is and his legacy is set; why not take Gewirtz's advice and simply have some fun with this chapter of his career? After 30+ years in the ring, it's safe to say he's earned it.