Adam Copeland has revealed how much his recent AEW match meant to him.
Following on from his victory against Christian Cage in an “I Quit” match on March 20th, Copeland is not a 2-time TNT Champion. However, unlike the inaugural reign, Killswitch was unable to take advantage and ensure that Cage walked out of Toronto as the champion.
On March 30th, Copeland began his career as a fighting champion by hosting an open challenge on the show. In a move that few would have seen coming, the challenger was none other than Matt Cardona, who was previously an Edgehead in WWE alongside Curt Hawkins [Bryan Myers].
While Copeland came away with the victory, the match meant so much more than walking out still the champion. Discussing the match on his Instagram Page, The Rated R Superstar looked back on their history together and noted that the match took place 16 years after he was in the main event of WrestleMania 24 against The Undertaker, which saw Cardona and Myers attempt to help The Ultimate Opportunist to break The Streak and win the title but were unsuccessful:
The last two weeks have been pretty damn special in my career. Last week in Toronto vs @christian4peeps and this week in London, ON vs @themattcardona Matt and I share a long history. For years I was frequently told that wrestling fans won’t remember. To which I’ve always vehemently disagreed. Last night proved you don’t forget. And you actually enjoy seeing long stories told. Years ago Matt and @myers_wrestling emailed me with an idea. To be my Edgeheads. Nefarious Edge doppelgängers. I was really impressed that they took that chance, and it was also a helluva an idea.
We ran with it. And every night from that point forward they were either ringside watching me face Shawn Michaels, Undertaker, Batista, Kane, Rey Mysterio etc etc. or they were wrestling these guys. Absolute legends in our business. They watched, they learned. Last night that all came full circle when Matt stepped up for The Cope Open.
The Rated R Superstar vs The Self Made Superstar. It was surreal. I found after that it was also 16 years to the day, that we were all involved in the main event of WrestleMania. Serendipity. I also realized about 10 seconds in, that the lessons took. The dude is awesome. An absolute pro. He’s surpassed what he ever learned from me. It was a privilege and one more memory created in @aew Proud of ya kid.
Adam Copeland Match Announced For AEW Dynasty
Following the victory, Copeland was confronted by Malakai Black before being jumped by Buddy Murphy. The TNT Champion was saved by Eddie Kingston and Mark Briscoe, setting up a 6-man tag match against The House of Black at AEW Dynasty on April 21st.