Cope celebrates 33 years in wrestling: ‘It won’t last a lot longer’
Adam Copeland, aka Cope, posted a statement on Tuesday celebrating his 33rd anniversary in wrestling.
Copeland had his first match on July 1, 1992. He had begun training with Ron Hutchinson and Sweet Daddy Siki the year prior after winning free classes in an essay-writing contest run by The Toronto Star.
On Monday, Copeland posted to Instagram that he knows his career won’t last much longer, so he’s going to soak it all in while he can.
He wrote:
“On Canada Day 33 yrs ago I made my wrestling debut. In Oakland Raiders Zubaz and a pair of Converse. Nowhere to go but up. Since then, I’ve travelled the world. Literally. Everywhere you can think of. From Moose Landing to Monterrey, from Bloodvein to Bucharest. It’s been a long, fruitful, soul expanding, soul diminishing, amazing, frustrating, exhausting, exhilarating journey over 3 decades. The best part? I hear every one of you when I blast out of that entranceway and sing Metalingus at the top of your lungs. It’s never been lost on me what a privilege that is. Australia I’m lookin at you! It won’t last a lot longer so I’m gonna soak in every second. Thank you for coming along on this ride with me.”
Cope previously told Sam Roberts in January 2024 that he felt he had a “two-year window” left in his in-ring career.
The 51-year-old hasn’t wrestled since FTR turned on him after Rated FTR lost to The Death Riders at AEW Dynasty. Last week, Fightful reported that the plan had once been for Copeland to return in time for All In on July 12, where he would team with Christian Cage against FTR. However, Christian reportedly asked for the match to be delayed so that he can finish up his storyline with Nick Wayne.