Adam Copeland could have made a historic appearance during John Cena’s WWE retirement tour had the company approached AEW about allowing him to take part.
In a recent interview with Metro UK’s Alistair McGeorge, Tony Khan said WWE never contacted him about Copeland. The AEW president added that he would have approved a proposal.
“I was never asked, and as far as I know, Adam was never asked, so it’s hard to say. But when there have been opportunities to collaborate, I have been collaborative in the past. I never got asked. But if I had been presented a plan and the dates and the information of what was going on, yeah, I would have supported it.”
Khan’s comments support what Copeland recently said on The Ariel Helwani Show. Copeland, formerly known as Edge, said he believed Khan would have allowed the match, but acknowledged that he never approached WWE or AEW about making it happen because he assumed WWE would not be interested.
A final showdown would have carried significant historical weight. The rivalry between John Cena and Edge began on January 8, 2006, when Copeland cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase following an Elimination Chamber Match to win his first WWE Championship. Months later, on September 17, 2006, Cena defeated Edge in a historic TLC Match in Toronto to regain the title.
Although they never shared the ring again, the two paid tribute to each other throughout 2025. Cena used a spear during his retirement tour, while Copeland hit the Five Knuckle Shuffle and Attitude Adjustment at AEW All Out.
Copeland left WWE after defeating Sheamus on August 18, 2023, and made his AEW debut on October 1, 2023. Cena officially retired on December 13, 2025, after losing to Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event.