Adam Copeland recently made his debut in AEW, just weeks after wrestling his last match against Sheamus in the WWE. The former Edge appeared at the end of WrestleDream 2023, fighting off Christian Cage, Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne and coming to the aid of Darby Allin and Sting.
This has set off a lot of intruige for fans, who are clamoring to know who Adam Copeland will face in AEW. His first match is already announced to be against Luchasaurus next week, but he already has a host of dream matches planned for his run in AEW, however long that is supposed to last.
In this article, we’ll look at five of the biggest dream matches for Adam Copeland (Edge) in AEW, looking at thee circumstances behind them and why they never happened in his previous runs in the WWE.
5. Jon Moxley
Jon Moxley debuted in WWE (as Dean Ambrose) just one year after Edge retired. When Edge returned to the WWE in 2020, coming out fo retirement after an injury that nearly left him paralyzed from the neck down, Moxley was less than year out from the company, and battling for the AEW Championship.
There has simply never been the opportunity for Jon Moxley vs Adam Copeland – until now. The three-time AEW Champion would surely relish the chance to take on the Rated-R Superstar, even though he is currently out of action due to a concussion suffered against Rey Fenix.
It would be the perfect irony if Moxley couldn’t wrestle Copeland due to injury. After years of being unable to face off, Moxley is suddenly kept out of the ring just as the former Edge debuts in AEW. While there is no timeline for Moxley’s return, I’m sure he’ll be back soon enough for a dream match against Adam Copeland.
4. Sting
Edge vs Sting is a match you book on WWE 2K23 and wish you could have seen it in real life. 15-years ago, this could main event WrestleMania and create one of the biggest spectacles ever, with the ultimate babyface Sting against the ultra-heel, Rated-R Superstar, Adam Copeland.
Sting only joined the WWE in 2014, refusing to join the company after the closure of WCW in 2001. By the time he had enough of his time in TNA and made the jump to WWE, Edge had long retired, and Adam Copeland had given up hope of wrestling one of his childhood heroes.
However, with both men now in AEW, the dream match is all-but possible. I say “all-but”, because they have a combined age of 113, and Sting hasn’t wrestled a singles match since 2015 (when he was forced to retire by Seth Rollins, but ultimately just… got better).
The best option would a tag team match – perhaps with a newly turned heel Adam Copeland teaming with Christian Cage against Sting and Darby Allin. This would be a dream match for everyone involved, and give us the Edge and Christian reunion fans have been clamoring for since 2011.
3. Samoa Joe
Adam Copeland name-dropped Samoa Joe as one of the wrestlers he’d love to face in AEW – actually, he mentioned him multiple times in his press conference after WrestleDream, indicating that we could see the two legends battle in AEW some time soon.
After his losses to CM Punk and MJF, it is clear that AEW trust Samoa Joe to work with all the top stars on the roster. Despite him retiring Tyson Kidd all those years ago, he is clearly an incredibly safe worker, who can put on incredible matches with all manner of talent.
When Edge retired in 2011, fans could never have imagined him facing Samoa Joe. Back then, Joe was a top star in TNA and was considered the best wrestler outside of the WWE (not named AJ Styles). Adam Copeland vs Samoa Joe may be 15-years later than when fans wanted, but it would definitely be a big-money match in AEW and a dream match for Adam Copeland.
2. Kenny Omega
Has an “AEW dream match” list ever been complete without adding Kenny Omega? He is the best wrestler in the world (maybe of all time), so who would not want to step into the ring with him for the first time. And with both men being Canadian, it just adds an extra flavor to the proceedings.
We saw in his last WWE run that, while he has lost a yard or two of pace and quickness since his retirement, Edge can tell a fantastic story in his wrestling matches. Jumping in the ring without somebody like Omega, who is both a fantastic storyteller and somebody who can work with anybody, can help make an absolutely incredible match for Adam Copeland to add to his already impressive canon.
1. Christian Cage
Of course, the biggest dream match for Adam Copeland in AEW has to be the long-awaited clash between himself and his long-time friend and former tag team partner, the TNT Champion, Christian Cage. The pair go back over 25-years in the ring, when they first started teaming in WWE as “The Brood” and then “Edge and Christian”.
Adam Copeland always planned for his retirement match to be against Christian Cage. Before he was forced to hang up his boots (albeit temporarily) in 2011 due to horrific neck injuries, Copeland planned to wrestle for one more year, culminating in one final match with Christian at WrestleMania 28.
That sadly never happened. The pair only shared the ring once in WWE by then (during the 2021 Royal Rumble match), before Cage was snapped up by AEW, while Copeland remained in the WWE and went on to main event WrestleMania that year, against Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns.
With Adam Copeland attacking Christian Cage on his AEW debut, it seems clear that the dream match will finally be happening, and soon. Full Gear 2023 looks like the setting for the bout, which could see Christian Cage put his TNT Championship on the line (possibly for the first time since the WrestleDream main event).
This will definitely set the scene for an emotional match. The two legends could call it a day after that match, or maybe even join forces as the most dastardly tag team ever assembled in AEW. One last tag team title run, and a match against his long time friends FTR, could be the last run Adam Copeland wanted in AEW, alongside his best friend and fake brother one last time.
Edge’s Best Matches
Here are the 10 best matches of Edge’s career so far, before he makes his debut against Luchasaurus.
10. vs The Undertaker – Hell in a Cell Match (Summerslam 2008)
The first match on this list was the culmination of a classic feud for Edge. Edge had been feuding with the Undertaker for over a year, since he cashed in his recently won Money in the Bank contract to steal the World Heavyweight Championship from the Deadman.
The Undertaker defeated Edge at Wrestlemania 24 in a fantastic match, but the feud did not end there.
The rivalry included Vickie Guerrero banning the Undertaker’s Hell’s Gate submission move, and eventually even banishing the Phenom from WWE entirely.The pair continued to feud up until Summerslam, with many twists and turns, to the most brutal match type in WWE, the Hell in a Cell.
The match went nearly thirty minutes and saw the Undertaker brutalize the Rated R Superstar. It showed months of pent-up aggression and finally gave Edge the comeuppance he had been missing, despite losing to The Deadman at WrestleMania 24 earlier that year.
Chair, tables, ladders, all sort of menacing weapons were brought out for the Undertaker to finally get his revenge on the man who terrorized him for the past 12 months. He pinned Edge with a tombstone piledriver to finally put an end to the epic Edge vs The Undertaker feud, with one of the best matches of Edge’s WWE career.
9. vs Roman Reigns & Daniel Bryan – WWE Championship (Wrestlemania 37)
Roman Reigns continued his unwanted dominance over the WWE roster in the run up to Wrestlemania 37.
He had been the focal point of the show since the Shield split in 2014, and WWE had finally decided to steer into the skid and turn him heel. With that, he became a star with his Tribal Chief gimmick.
Edge won the Royal Rumble from the number one spot, marking his return from injury for the second year in a row. He earned his spot in the main event of night two of Wrestlemania to face Reigns, and was joined by fan favourite Daniel Bryan.
Like Edge, Danielson had also been forced to retire from in-ring action, before returning to wrestling after a number of years out. They joined WWE Champion Roman Reigns, who himself missed a year of action battling a bout of Leukaemia.
The match was as action packed as they came, and at times you believed any man could walk out of the arena with the WWE Championship. However, despite fan opinion being divided between Edge and Bryan to win, it was Roman Reigns who won the match and retained the title.
He pinned both men at once, stacking them on top of each other and getting the three count to continue his dominance over the WWE. All three men in the match were brilliant wrestlers and showcased it well in this match. It certainly deserves a spot on Edge’s best matches in WWE.