Copeland was born in Orangeville, Ontario, the son of Judy Copeland, a single parent who worked two jobs to support her son. Copeland has stated that he has never met, nor ever seen a picture of, his father. He became interested in professional wrestling at a young age; his favorite wrestlers included Mr. Perfect, Randy Savage, Hulk Hogan, Ricky Steamboat, Shawn Michaels, and Bret Hart. As a teenager, Copeland attended WrestleMania VI sitting in the eleventh row at ringside.

Edge was placed on the Raw brand in the 2004 WWE draft lottery after WrestleMania XX and returned to in-ring action shortly after the event. At Backlash, Edge defeated Kane, and on the April 19, 2004 episode of Raw, he and World Heavyweight Champion Chris Benoit won the World Tag Team Championship. They continued a close partnership even after losing the title; at Bad Blood, Edge and Benoit defeated La Resistance in a Tag team match for the World Tag Team Championship by disqualification but didn't win the titles. The team disbanded when Edge won the Intercontinental Championship at Vengeance defeating Randy Orton, thus becoming a five time Intercontinental Champion. At SummerSlam, Edge defeated Chris Jericho and Batista in a Triple threat match to retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Following a legitimate groin injury in a non-televised match, Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff stripped Edge of the Intercontinental title.  Upon his return, Edge began to show some heel characteristics centering on his obsession for the World Heavyweight Championship. Edge, Chris Benoit, and Shawn Michaels received a title shot for Triple H's World Heavyweight Championship at Taboo Tuesday in October 2004. Michaels won the audience vote to receive the title shot, giving Edge and Benoit a tag team title shot. During the match, an angry Edge abandoned his partner (although Benoit managed to win the title on his own) and instead interfered in the main event, costing Michaels the championship. On the November 1 episode of Raw, Edge and Benoit lost the World Tag Team Championship with Edge abandoning Benoit again and sitting in a chair and watching the match. After the conclusion of the match, Edge attacked Benoit, officially turning heel for the first time since 2001. Edge then adopted a drastically different gimmick, becoming a crazed and brash villain in the process. At Survivor Series, Edge was part of Team Triple H along with Triple H, Batista and Snitsky. They were defeated by Team Orton (Randy Orton, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho and Maven). During the match, Edge eliminated both Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho before getting eliminated by Randy Orton.  On the November 29 episode of Raw, both Edge and Benoit competed in a number one contender's battle royal, but they eliminated each other simultaneously at the conclusion of the match, resulting in a draw. As a result, Triple H was forced to defend the title in a triple threat match. In the match, Benoit locked the Crippler Crossface on Edge, who shifted his weight putting Benoit's shoulders on the mat for a pin. This match also ended in a draw for Benoit and Edge, as Benoit made Edge submit at the same time the referee counted a pinfall for Edge. As a result, the World Heavyweight title was vacated the following week on Raw. In January 2005, Edge competed in his first Elimination Chamber match at New Year's Revolution for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship. Shawn Michaels (acting as special guest referee) performed a superkick on Edge, in retaliation for an accidental spear by Edge, causing Edge to be the first eliminated. This led to a match at the Royal Rumble later in the month, in which Edge defeated Michaels.

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what did he use in april of 2004?