Adam Copeland believes Tony Khan would have been willing to let him step back into a WWE ring for one final match against John Cena.
During Cena’s 2025 retirement tour, there was plenty of fan speculation about Copeland potentially making a one-off WWE appearance to renew one of the defining rivalries of both men’s careers. With Copeland under contract to AEW, however, the match never became a realistic possibility.
Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Copeland said he believes AEW would have been open to making it happen. In his view, WWE would have been the side standing in the way.
“Here’s what I realized: they could link up with each other. One place didn’t want it to,” Copeland said. “So, okay. Absolutely [Tony Khan would have allowed it], I truly believe that. Because he knows what it would’ve meant to a very large segment of the wrestling fan.”
Copeland stressed that there were never any actual discussions about making the match happen and that his belief WWE wouldn’t have approved it is based on his own experiences with the company. He also said he can understand WWE’s perspective.
If the decision had simply been left to Copeland and Cena, though, he believes they would have gotten back in the ring together.
“I can see it from all sides, I really can. But John knew I was there in spirit,” Copeland said. “We kind of made our bones on each other, and we’re both aware of that fact. Both of our careers would have been great, but I think that angle, that story, those two opponents kind of propelled us to a different place.”
Adam Copeland addresses rumors he was going to be John Cena’s final opponent:
"Here's what I realized: they could've linked up with each other… One place didn't want it to happen.
Absolutely, [Tony would have allowed it].
I can see it from all sides… John knew I was there… pic.twitter.com/pvG6kAJ3W6
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) August 18, 2026
