Adam Copeland Admits He Seriously Considered Retirement Before Signing With AEW

In another world, Adam Copeland may never have ended up becoming All Elite.

The former Edge made his AEW debut in the closing moments of the October 1 WrestleDream pay-per-view, halting Christian Cage, Luchasaurus, and Nick Wayne's beatdown of Sting and Darby Allin. Edge will be a full-time performer in AEW and he is set to make his in-ring debut against Luchasaurus on the special 'Title Tuesday' edition of AEW Dynamite on October 10. 

Copeland made his AEW debut shortly after his WWE contract expired on September 21. Ahead of that, Copeland stated he was contemplating retirement following the final match of his WWE contract on the August 18 edition of SmackDown when he defeated Sheamus in Toronto, Canada.

Speaking with Shakiel Mahjouri of CBS Sports, Copeland reiterated him retiring was a very real option.

"As I got closer to the end of the deal, retirement was a very, very real option. It was not off the table... I really sat with the idea of retirement because I truly thought like, 'Man, WWE gave me that night. I don't know how that gets topped.' And that's still in my brain. But I guess now it's like, 'OK, how can I try and top it in this new environment.' Honestly, that Toronto show was a send-off of that character and it was the perfect way for that character to go out. Wrestling a guy that I've never wrestled that I always wanted to. It was just so much fun in there. That night, I'll never forget it. I'll always have that night with me. I told Sheamus that too. That will be one of the most special nights in my career, always," Copeland said.

There were multiple reasons as to why Copeland ended up leaving WWE for All Elite Wrestling. Relatively speaking, Copeland's AEW debut was also a surprise at WrestleDream.