Retired in 2011 with neck injury, made dramatic comeback in 2020

Sets 2027 as final year, targets AEW world championship before calling it quits

Adam Copeland, the WWE legend known as Edge. [Getty Images]
Adam Copeland, the WWE legend known as Edge. [Getty Images]

Adam Copeland (52, Canada), the professional wrestling star who retired due to a serious neck injury only to return to the ring nine years later, has announced he will retire for the second time. Known as Edge during his WWE prime, he has set 2027 as the final year of his in-ring career.

According to pro wrestling outlet Post Wrestling and others, Copeland announced Thursday on AEW (All Elite Wrestling) Dynamite that he would wrap up his career after next year.

Copeland defeated Josh Alexander that night to earn a spot in the Clockwork Carnage match for the AEW World Championship, then took the microphone after the bout to reveal his retirement plans.

"You won't find my face on the posters on teenagers' bedroom walls anymore. I'm getting older, and that's OK — it happens to everyone," he said. "2027 will be the last year of my professional wrestling career."

He also stated his goal of winning the AEW World Championship before he retires. No specific retirement date was given.

The decision was influenced in part by an injury to his longtime partner Christian Cage. Copeland said Cage suffered three broken ribs and a collapsed lung during a ladder match at AEW All Out. Cage was hurt after colliding with a ladder about five minutes into the match but fought through to the end.

Edge (top left) strikes Batista with a knee to the head during WWE SmackDown at Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia, in June 2008. [Getty Images]
Edge (top left) strikes Batista with a knee to the head during WWE SmackDown at Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia, in June 2008. [Getty Images]

Copeland said watching a close colleague get hurt prompted him to reflect on his own career and what lies ahead.

Active as a professional wrestler since the 1990s, Copeland rose to global stardom in WWE on the strength of his looks and in-ring ability. Known for billing himself as the "Rated-R Superstar," he won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship six times and captured world titles on 11 occasions in total, including his WWE Championship reigns.

Edge's signature move is the Spear, a charging shoulder tackle into the opponent's midsection. His arsenal also includes the Edgecution — a DDT in which he wraps an arm around the opponent's head and drives it into the mat — and the Edgecator, a leg-crossing submission hold that applies pressure to the lower back and legs.

In 2011, however, a medical determination that his serious neck injury made it impossible to continue competing led him to retire. He was later inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and stunned fans in January 2020 when he returned at the Royal Rumble after nearly nine years away.

In 2023, he left WWE and joined AEW. This year, he and longtime friend and rival Cage captured the AEW World Tag Team Championship together.

Copeland will compete for the world title against seven other wrestlers, including reigning champion Will Ospreay, in the Clockwork Carnage match at AEW WrestleDream on Sunday (Korean Standard Time). All eyes are on whether he can achieve his final goal before retirement.

Meanwhile, WWE mainstay Cody Rhodes (41, United States) recently signed a five-year contract extension with WWE. According to contract details The New York Times published Thursday, Rhodes is set to remain with WWE through 2031. Rhodes, who returned to WWE in 2022, has also said he intends to finish his in-ring career there.


yjc@heraldcorp.com