With John Cena heading towards his last WWE match in December, speculation had been running rampant about who he’d face in his final bout before retiring. Rumors ran the gamut, from current WWE stars such as Sheamus, The Miz, and The Rock to former foes like Kurt Angle and Adam “Edge” Copeland.
The latter of these names, former WWE star Edge, is currently working for WWE’s competitor, All Elite Wrestling, under his real name, Adam Copeland. Due to the association, some believed that there might have been some behind-the-scenes conversations between the two professional wrestling companies to pull off an epic surprise.
There were even rumors that Cena had been in discussions with AEW to try to work something out for his final match before retirement.
There hasn’t been a lot of love between the two companies, though, and that seemed to pour water on the flames of those hot rumors. During a recent interview, AEW founder, CEO, and owner Tony Khan revealed whether WWE had contacted them about having Edge participate in the John Cena tournament.
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On “The Ariel Helwani Show” Tuesday, Khan indicated that WWE had not contacted AEW to use Copeland, aka Edge, in its John Cena retirement tour plans.
“I mean, never say never in wrestling, because I would imagine they could always extend that date past the end of the year,” he said regarding Cena’s retirement, adding, “but Adam’s gonna be here with us through the year.”
Helwani told Khan about the “big push” to get Edge as Cena’s final opponent and mentioned the recent returns of former WWE stars like Matt Cardona as Zack Ryder and Nic Nemeth as Dolph Ziggler.
“Adam Copeland is a huge part of AEW, and I have so much respect for him, and I really, really like Adam a lot. I’m glad to have him [at AEW]. He’s away filming, but he’s with us, and he’s gonna stay with us,” Khan told Helwani.
Copeland competed in WWE as Edge from 1996 to 2023, retiring in 2011 due to a neck injury and cervical vertebral fusion, which left him medically unable to compete. He received his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame, but after years away, his passion for wrestling prompted him to make an in-ring return with WWE, which lasted from 2020 to 2023 and included stories with Judgment Day and his wife, Beth Phoenix.
Once he departed the company, he opted to join Khan’s AEW, so he could take on new opponents and further expand upon his creativity in the ring. Since joining the promotion, he’s become the TNT Champion, participated in a notable feud with Christian Cage, and, more recently, reunited with Cage, also his former WWE tag team partner.
In addition to rumors of Edge possibly returning to WWE to face Cena, another AEW star’s name popped up: Chris Jericho. While he could return to WWE, it also might not occur until after his contract expires at the end of the year, which would presumably be after Cena’s retirement.
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