Adam Copeland On How Close He Was To Signing With AEW Prior To WWE Return

AEW/Lee South

Adam Copeland, the current AEW TNT Champion, is flying high in the promotion, having made multiple defenses of his crown against the likes of Brody King, Buddy Matthews, and even non-AEW talent like Matt Cardona. Copeland made his AEW debut in 2023, but it could have happened a lot sooner. 

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During a recent appearance on the "Insight" podcast, Copeland revealed that his initial return to wrestling in 2020 could have happened in AEW, whom he was negotiating with.

"When I first started talking to AEW, I wasn't yet cleared ... but I still wasn't cleared by company doctors," Copeland said. "So once all of those clearances started to come, I was like, 'Oh this is real now. Okay.' So before I did anything, I had to go, kind of, get the final clearance needed for either company. But I had negotiated with everybody. I was like, 'Okay, here's where I'm at, here's what I've been told I can do,' and started the process."

While Copeland was initially torn between the two companies, it was a conversation with Vince McMahon that made him figure out his decision. 

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"Sitting down with Vince, he goes, 'Well it's got to happen here,'" Copeland said. "At that stage, I looked at the equity built and it felt like having to start over, especially having to start over after having been gone for nine years, felt really daunting, if that makes sense. It felt like at least with WWE that's one thing off the table that I don't have to worry about. I can come back and walk into the history of this character." 

Copeland admitted he felt like his return should have happened in WWE, even if it was only for his initial return at the 2020 Royal Rumble, which he was happy with.