AEW Signs Adam Copeland To Company

You think you know him?

On Oct. 1, in Seattle, Wash., Adam Copeland made his All Elite Wrestling debut at AEW WrestleDream.

Copeland, who performed as Edge in WWE for years, recently came back to the company for their “25 Years of Edge” celebration, where Edge had one final singles match against Sheamus, which he won.

Then, speculation rose from fans that Edge would be jumping ship to AEW.

In the WrestleDream main event, Christian Cage (who was just Christian in WWE), defended the TNT Championship against Darby Allin in a two out of three falls match. With Nick Wayne getting involved toward the end of the match, Cage retained the championship, and things got messy: as Sting came out to defend Allin, Luchasaurus also ran out to support Cage and Wayne.

Then, Climate Pledge Arena went dark, and a vignette of a figure in a black car driving into Seattle appeared on the video board.

The iconic voiceover and Alter Bridge’s “Metalingus” echoed throughout the arena, and Copeland ran out in a 2020 Royal Rumble-esque style to aid his old friend, Christian.

After the event, AEW boss Tony Khan officially announced via Twitter that the “Rated-R Superstar” was joining the company.

This is an incredible signing for AEW, as Copeland has been a beloved fan-favorite in WWE for so long.

Copeland took to Twitter to say that there was no bad blood between him or WWE; he’s just simply finishing out his career somewhere else, and he and the company had “outgrown each other.”

Edge had retired in 2011 due to injury, relinquishing the World Heavyweight Championship in the process. Though coming back here and there, with the direction that WWE is moving in, there isn’t a whole lot for Edge to do right now.

Edge’s Royal Rumble return will always be an iconic moment in the company, and the Rated R Superstar left his mark on WWE for 25 years. It’s not unlikely that somebody like Edge would decide to move on, similar to The Hardy Boyz, Chris Jericho or Cage himself.

A huge part of Copeland’s decision was made by his daughters, who told their father to “go have fun with Uncle Jay [Cage]” and end his wrestling career on a high note.

Copeland will either have to stick to his government name or change his name, as WWE owns the name “Edge.” The company also owns the original voiceover to “Metalingus,” which is why it was changed from “You Think You Know Me” to “You Think You Know Him” during Copeland’s debut.

However, WWE does not own the rights to the nickname “Rated-R Superstar” or to “Metalingus,” so Copeland and AEW can use them as they please.

Copeland will be making his official AEW debut at AEW Dynamite against Luchasaurus on Oct. 10.

Adrianna Gallucci is a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, please email amg7989@psu.edu.