Real Reason Adam Copeland Signed With AEW

Edge is officially no more following Adam Copeland's debut in All Elite Wrestling to close out the WrestleDream pay-per-view on Sunday, October 1. Copeland made the save for Darby Allin and Sting during a post-main event beatdown by Christian Cage, Luchasaurus, and Nick Wayne.

The Rated-R Superstar will be a full-time talent and he signed with AEW shortly after his contract with WWE expired on September 21. Copeland revealed part of his reasoning for signing with AEW during the post-WrestleDream media scrum.

"Part of coming here is that I want to contribute. I wanted to help. I just felt like here, I'd really be able to do that and have the opportunity to be able to do that. I look at an entire fresh roster of faces and so many talent that I've never laid hands on before and that, to me, as a person who is driven by challenges, that for me was the biggest thing. I've never been in a ring with Samoa Joe or stood in a ring with Sting before tonight. I see Nick Wayne, Swerve, there are so many possibilities for me," Copeland said.

"At this stage of my career, that is so enticing and exciting. I felt free. It felt fun. I felt the same feeling I had when I would come out for my indie shows when I was Adam Impact or Sexton Hardcastle. It was this brand new thing I always wanted to do. That feeling, I felt it out there. At this stage in my career, to feel that, that's special. 31 years in, to feel that way, that's a gift. This is all I ever wanted to do and this feels like an opportunity to come in, and not just come in every three months. I'm going to be there every week. I'm a full-time guy. I want to do that for as long as that is possible. I feel that's how I can help the most. More than anything, that's what I'm here to do."

Copeland then revealed on X (formerly Twitter) that he and WWE simply grew apart and the company didn't have much more for him to do.

"From The Desk of... As some of you may now know, I'm no longer with WWE. My new home is AEW. I'm excited. Whole new roster. Some familiar faces that I wanted to work with again and a whole set of first ever matches. New challenges, and if you've followed my career, you know that's what I've always been driven by. But first and foremost I want to address my 25 years with WWE. I love WWE and appreciate everything the company did for me. Always have, always will. They put me on the map, gave me amazing opportunities and through hard work on both ends, I've been supplied with a wonderful life. Hell, WWE helped me meet the woman I'd start my family with. Sometimes relationships just grow apart and I feel the WWE and I have just outgrown each other. I wanted to do more. They didn't have much more for me to do. Simple as that. And that's ok. I'll still be watching and still be supporting all of my friends there," the former Edge wrote.

"I don't buy into this odd mentality of one company or the other. It's weird. If you took offense to that, take a walk, get some fresh air and soak up some sunshine. It's wrestling. An amazing gig. But still, it's wrestling. Relax. It's supposed to be fun. And it's just a segment of the fans, not most fans, and definitely not the performers. Within the industry we all know that more choices is better for everyone and pushes us all to be better. As a wrestling fan, which I still am, it's exciting that there's viable companies providing wrestling on national and worldwide platforms," he continued.

"If you’re actually a fan of wrestling, and not acronyms, that should make you happy too. I guess what I'm trying to say is this, if you've appreciated my work, you still can, no matter what the initials are. Because I'll still be bustin my ass everytime I'm out there. This ride isn't over just yet. Just try to have fun, like it should be. Because trust me I'll be having fun everytime I'm out there in an AEW ring. Let's go!"

Since October 1, Copeland has provided even more insight into why he signed with All Elite Wrestling, revealing that he wanted to end his career with real-life best friend Christian Cage, who is signed to a long-term AEW deal.

"If we could end this together, that's the dream. I sat down with my girls and I'm like, 'OK, so what does dad do, girls? What do I do?' And I laid out the scenarios for them. Lyric said it and then Ruby agreed, 'Go be with Uncle Jay and have fun.' And that doesn't mean that I'm not having fun in other places, but they know the most fun I'm going to have is with my best friend of the last 40 years," Copeland told CBS Sports' Shakiel Mahjouri.

Plans for Copeland's AEW debut ramped up after his WWE contract expired on September 21 and another conversation with his wife Beth Phoenix about Christian led to the former Edge choosing to join Tony Khan's promotion over retirement.

"It wasn't until my contract was up on [Sept. 21]. It wasn't until then. So it was really, really quick to get everything done and get everything dialled in. Figuring out so many things like getting with Alter Bridge and getting the music and doing all of those things. There were nine or 10 days. I didn't know immediately, but I thought that's where I wanted to go. I really thought that working with Jay again was what I wanted to do and how I pictured it in a perfect world. Beth said, 'What's your perfect world?' I was like, 'My perfect world is that I end my career with Jay.' So suddenly that perfect world looked like it could be there. It's tough to pass that up," Copeland added.

Copeland will make his in-ring debut on AEW Dynamite: Title Tuesday on October 10 when he goes one-on-one with Luchasaurus.

Adam Copeland revealed how he managed to keep his AEW debut (relatively speaking) a surprise. WWE are said to be happy for Edge following his debut and would welcome him back in the future.

H/T to Fightful