The idea was eventually approved, with some small modifications. Instead of a best-of-seven series, WWE scaled it back to a five-match series, which would later be called the Terri Invitational Tournament as the two teams competed for the managerial services of Terri Runnels. After the teams went 2-2 in the tournament, Christian and Edge met The Hardy Boyz in a ladder match at No Mercy in October 1999. To up the stakes, WWE also hung a bag of money — $100,000 to be exact — over the ring for this fifth, and final, match.

Edge and Christian came within an arm’s reach of the money toward the conclusion of the match, but their efforts were soon thwarted by The Hardy Boyz. After Edge and Christian were sent crashing down to the mat, Jeff seized the opening, climbing the ladder to retrieve the cash prize and secure the victory.

Despite their loss, Edge and Christian know that their career trajectories were forever changed that night. “We just knew that was our moment,” Christian said. “We’re like, ‘We’ve got this match. Our first idea that we’ve pitched got pushed through and we have a chance to do something special here with this match.’ We just didn’t realize how special it was going to be. We had lightning in a bottle that night, and it just changed the course of all of our careers.”

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “Swerve City Podcast” with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.