October 9, 2023 Observer Newsletter: Adam Copeland debuts in AEW
Adam Copeland, the former Edge, showed up at the end of the AEW WrestleDream PPV on 10/1, just ten days after his WWE contract expired.
Copeland, who turns 50 in November, had been widely expected by those in WWE to be leaving. Those in WWE said that they were far apart on a new contract money-wise and figured Copeland was going. Two nights earlier, when Edge was removed from the opening montage on the show, it seemed to confirm that would likely happen. When Copeland was looking to come back to wrestling, he was very close to signing with AEW but WWE came back with a tremendous offer, a $3 million per year deal for limited dates each year.
Copeland said that he and WWE outgrew each other and said they didn’t have more for him to do. After Copeland did what was strongly teased as his retirement match with Sheamus in Toronto in August, he tried to shoot down the AEW rumors saying he had a WWE contract offer in his hands. We were told the expectation was that he would end up in AEW. There had been talk going back some time that he wanted to end his career working with childhood best friend Christian Cage, and with Cage having far longer on his deal, that could only happen in AEW.
Subscribers can click here to read this week’s newsletter.
Dave Meltzer is the founder and lead writer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the weekly constant when it comes to news and reviews in pro wrestling and mixed martial arts for more than 40 years. Dave also co-hosts Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and had had bylines for The National, Yahoo Sports, MMA Fighting and others.