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SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - JANUARY 28: Edge reacts during WWE Royal Rumble at the Alamodome on January 28, 2023 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images)
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - JANUARY 28: Edge reacts during WWE Royal Rumble at the Alamodome on January 28, 2023 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images)Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images

AEW's 'Edge' Adam Copeland on Retirement; WWE Rumors on Jade Cargill, Johnny Gargano

Mike ChiariOct 4, 2023

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe and All Elite Wrestling.


Copeland Considered Retirement Before Joining AEW

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Following his surprise AEW debut at WrestleDream last weekend, Adam "Edge" Copeland discussed his decision to leave WWE and sign with AEW once his contract expired.

In an interview with Shakiel Mahjouri of CBS Sports, Copeland divulged that he gave significant thought to retiring following his final WWE match against Sheamus in his hometown of Toronto in August:

"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."

At 49 years of age, it is unclear how much longer Copeland intends to wrestle, but as far as a full-time schedule goes, it looks as though AEW will be his final stop.

When asked if that would be the case, Copeland suggested that it likely would, saying:

"I think that's a very safe thing to say because I know how much work it's going to take to be able to pull it off. "I know that. I'm not in any way trying to fool myself into thinking I'm just going to trot through this whole thing.

"It's going to be hard. It's going to be a lot of hard work. I enjoy hard work. I always have. It's how I'm wired. It's what I was born with. It's in my DNA. So that's super fun. But I'm also a realist and I understand that I'm not going to be able to maintain it for a super long time."

During the post-show media scrum after WrestleDream, Copeland and AEW president Tony Khan both said he would be a full-time performer in AEW, appearing weekly.

That hadn't been the case in WWE since his return from what had been a career-ending neck injury, as Copeland would typically come back for a program, take a few months off and then do it all over again.

Copeland suggested that a full-time run interested him, as did the prospect of once again getting to work with longtime friend Christian Cage.

Fans have long clamored for Copeland and Cage to have one more run as opponents and a team, and they figure to get precisely that in AEW.


Cargill to Reportedly Attend Fastlane

After officially signing with WWE last week, former AEW star Jade Cargill is reportedly set to be present for WWE's next big event.

According to PWInsider.com (h/t H Jenkins of Ringside News), Cargill will be in attendance at the Fastlane premium live event on Saturday, and it is also believed that she will attend and SmackDown and Raw tapings.

PWInsider.com added that Cargill has been working out at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, since signing, and the current expectation is that she will eventually debut as a member of the Raw roster.

WWE has gone to great lengths to tout the signing of Cargill and present her as a major star, as the company gave ESPN the scoop on the signing, and Jade did multiple interviews the day the signing was announced.

Since then, WWE has mentioned Cargill on both Raw and SmackDown, building excitement for her eventual debut.

While it is unclear if there are plans in place for Cargill to actually appear on the Fastlane PLE, it feels as though her debut is on the horizon since WWE typically likes to capitalize on momentum and buzz.

The main storyline in the Raw women's division is the recent return of Nia Jax, who has wreaked havoc by attacking the likes of Rhea Ripley, Raquel Rodriguez and Shayna Baszler, among others.

Given Cargill's strength and athleticism, she could be an ideal opponent for Jax, and having Jade stand up to Nia in her debut would be a good way to garner crowd reactions.

It isn't yet know if WWE plans to go in that direction, but if Cargill is going to be part of Raw, it will be tough to keep her and Jax apart for long.


Reported Details on Gargano's WWE Return

After being off television for nearly five months, Johnny Gargano made his return on Monday night's episode of Raw to save longtime friend Tommaso Ciampa.

According to PWInsider.com's Mike Johnson, Gargano's return was a "late" creative decision that wasn't made until the weekend, and WWE went to great lengths to keep it under wraps by making sure Gargano was hidden backstage.

Ciampa challenged Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship in the main event of Raw, falling just short. Afterward, Imperium members Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci attacked Ciampa until Gargano made the save.

Gargano and Ciampa came into WWE together as a tag team that eventually became known as DIY. They went on to have many classic matches and rivalries as a team in NXT, and held the NXT Tag Team Championships.

Their partnership transformed into a heated rivalry when Ciampa turned heel on Gargano, leading to one of the greatest storylines in NXT history.

Now, WWE is going back to the DIY well and adding a top-flight tag team to an already deep and talented tag division.

While Ciampa and Gargano both showed in NXT that they are great individually, they were special as a team, and reforming DIY is perhaps the best chance for them to have sustained success on the main roster.


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