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.
On May 10, 1996, Copeland (as Sexton Hardcastle) replaced Bob Holly's opponent on short notice in the opening match of a WWF house show in Hamilton, Ontario. In 1996, Copeland initially made $210 per week while working for WWF without an official contract. The company also paid for his outstanding college debt, which was around $40,000. After a Grand Prix Wrestling tour in the summer of 1997, De Marco urged Copeland to go to Calgary, where Hart was informally training wrestlers while recovering from knee surgery. He spent his tour earnings on a plane ticket and landed with no money or place to stay. He called Johnny Smith, whom he would met twice, and Smith agreed to give him food and shelter. Smith also drove Copeland to and from the gym and Hart's house, where he trained alongside Ken Shamrock, Test, Mark Henry and Kurrgan. Copeland returned to the Maritimes for another Grand Prix tour before going back to Hart's house, bringing Christian with him. After this camp, Hart was impressed enough to put in a good word for both men at the WWF. Copeland received a developmental contract with the WWF in 1997. On Remembrance Day 1997 in Cornwall, Ontario, he (under his real name) faced Christian Cage at a Shotgun taping, a match included on WWE Home Video's 2008 retrospective, Edge: A Decade of Decadence. Upon completing his training, Copeland made his WWF television debut on the June 22, 1998 episode of Raw as Edge, a loner character who entered the arena through the crowd for his matches. This had been preceded by weeks of vignettes for the character, which included him aimlessly walking around the city streets and assaulting innocent pedestrians. Copeland took the name Edge from an Albany radio station. Edge's first televised match was against Jose Estrada, Jr. of Los Boricuas, which ended prematurely by countout when Edge performed a somersault senton from the ring to the outside, legitimately injuring Estrada's neck. In his first pay-per-view match at SummerSlam in August, he served as Sable's mystery tag team partner against Jacqueline and Marc Mero, and body-slammed Sable onto Mero in a pinning position to pick up the win. At Breakdown: In Your House, Edge faced Owen Hart in a losing effort. On October 11, 1998's edition of Sunday Night Heat, Edge defeated Vader in singles competition and at WWF Capital Carnage, Edge faced Tiger Ali Singh in a losing effort.

Q: What did he do in 1996?
A: On May 10, 1996, Copeland (as Sexton Hardcastle) replaced Bob Holly's opponent on short notice in the opening match of a WWF house show in Hamilton, Ontario.

Q: Did he win the match?
A: unknown
Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?
In 1996, Copeland initially made $210 per week while working for WWF without an official contract. The company also paid for his outstanding college debt, In 1996, Copeland initially made $210 per week while working for WWF without an official contract. In 1996, Copeland initially made $210 per week while working for WWF without an official contract. In 1996, Copeland initially made $210 per week while working for WWF without an official contract. The company also paid for his outstanding college debt, which was around $40,000. Copeland received a developmental contract with the WWF in 1997.
Copeland received a developmental contract with the WWF in 1997.