Adam 'Edge' Copeland Reveals WWE Denied John Cena's Retirement Match Following Rumors amid AEW Run

During John Cena's retirement tour last year in which he stepped in the ring with many of his past WWE rivals, one name missing from the group was Edge in part because he had left to join AEW back in 2023.

Appearing on The Ariel Helwani Show, Adam Copeland was asked about the rumors he might have been the one to show up as Cena's final opponent last December.

The most interesting nugget is Copeland saying AEW president Tony Khan "absolutely" would have allowed him to do it, but he "never pursued" it knowing WWE would never consider it.

Copeland did note his original AEW contract might have expired in time for him to make a return appearance in WWE last year, but his time off due to injuries and film projects extended his tenure. He also made it clear he intends to spend the rest of his career with AEW.

"Yes. Yeah. That's where I want to," he said about ending his career in AEW. "I know that may disappoint a lot of people, but I love it there."

Appearing on Helwani's show last November (h/t Ethan Schlabaugh of SI.com), Khan confirmed WWE never reached out about letting Copeland wrestle Cena at some point during the latter's retirement run.

Even though one last Cena-Edge match never occurred, the two did pay tribute to each other in matches last year.

The onscreen rivalry between Edge and Cena throughout the mid-2000s was instrumental in elevating both men to superstardom. Cena was already on his way there, but Edge got a huge boost from the feud.

Edge won his first singles world title in WWE by defeating Cena at New Year's Revolution in January 2006 when he cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase that he won the previous year at WrestleMania.

Cena and Copeland wrestled against each other 62 times, either in singles, tag or multi-person matches, in WWE.

The Rated R Superstar went on to become an 11-time WWE/world heavyweight champion before departing the company in 2023.

Since debuting in AEW, Copeland has primarily been paired with Christian Cage. The duo won the AEW tag team titles by defeating FTR in an I Quit match at Double or Nothing in May.

Copeland and Cage are next set to defend the championships against the Young Bucks at All In on Aug. 30.