Edge wrestled his final match on his current (now lapsed) WWE contract this past Friday Night SmackDown, and his future is up in the air. Whether he is actually retired, comes back to WWE at some point down the line with a new contract, makes guest appearances only, or goes elsewhere is anyone’s guess—including potentially his.
But as we don’t know what’s going on in Adam Copeland’s mind right now, one of the biggest speculations is that he will be heading to All Elite Wrestling, rather than sticking with WWE.
Despite being a WWE-lifer, it isn’t crazy to think about this happening. There’s certainly going to be interest from Tony Khan, Edge has a good number of friends there, and the roster offers fresh opponents for him to work with that he’s never been in the ring with.
That final aspect is one of the most intriguing to me. So while we still don’t know if this is remotely in the works to begin with, let’s jump ahead of the timeline and talk about some of the best wrestlers it would be interesting to see Copeland go up against in AEW.
Here are my personal top 10 picks.
1) Christian Cage
Let’s get the obvious one out of the way, as it is also the most important. In my mind, this is such a no-brainer that I don’t even really need to dive deep into it.
Not only should he feud with Christian with potentially his final match, but they should team together, too. I’d love to see them up against Angelo Parker and Matt Menard, Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal, The Gunns, Jay White and Juice Robinson, FTR and so on. They could tap into their old school goofy personas to offset The Acclaimed, even. You put them against The Lucha Bros and I’ll watch. Lots of options there.
If there’s only one match to do, rather than a series of teaming and a singles match, then I’d opt for Edge vs. Christian for their retirements.
2) MJF
Another one of the “duh” picks, among several others you’ll see in the top 10. For my money, MJF’s been my favorite all-around performer in AEW since the start of the promotion and the #1 guy I’d want to put nearly everyone with in these sorts of scenarios.
Of course, Edge’s history with Christian forces MJF to get bumped off the true top of the list, but not by much.
The promo battles between these two would be enough to justify an elongated feud, but I’m sure the match would also be great, too. Ideally, MJF would be the heel in this situation.
3) Orange Cassidy
Cassidy’s arguably the most consistently entertaining in-ring performer AEW has ever had. He doesn’t miss, and he’s worked with all sorts of competitors and managed to have his style work with them whether they’re serious or fun, high up on the totem pole or a jobber.
One of the many aspects of Edge’s character that has allowed him to have such longevity is that he’s not just always The Ultimate Opportunist or a rage-filled brooding guy, but often very comedic. He can play around in his matches, whether he’s heel or face.
I think that would create a great atmosphere for a heel Edge against a babyface Cassidy to put on a fantastic show. Edge ultimately winning the match would be my call, for the most part, but not without Cassidy putting up a great fight.
4) Darby Allin and Sting
I’m group these together not just to get an 11th person on the list, but because they’re kind of a package deal at this point. It doesn’t seem like Sting will be feuding with anyone solo, so if I want to see Edge vs. Sting, I’m going to also get Edge vs. Darby Allin alongside it.
The good news about that is that I had Allin on the list already, anyway, so it’s a 2-for-1 sale!
When it comes to Sting, it’s more of a legend vs. legend thing. I’d like to see what they could come up with after putting their heads together. As far as Allin goes, he’s one of many “younger guys who could learn from being in the ring with Edge” that you’ll see referenced here. Plus, I could see a heel Edge working well with the dark themes Allin tries to bring into his feuds.
5) Sammy Guevara
Another pillar who would only get better after working with Edge. Considering how good Sammy already is, the idea of him improving with whatever wisdom Edge imparts is something I’m very curious about.
Guevara’s not my go-to option when it comes to trying to figure out who could have the best storyline with Copeland, I’ll admit that. I don’t think they’d have the most in-depth personal feud or anything. But I’d trust the match would be about as good as you could get from this roster, and if this were to take place after Tay Melo was back after her pregnancy, maybe we could even get a mixed tag team match by bringing Beth Phoenix into the fold.
6) Samoa Joe
I consider Samoa Joe one of the most overlooked, underappreciated talents that should have been in WWE a long time before he did and should have worked with plenty other stars that he never stepped in the ring with.
While Edge was inactive during that time, if they would have had an opportunity to work a feud together, I think it could have been magic. Joe’s size mixed with his speed and intensity makes him someone Edge would have to really struggle to overcome, and it would result in him having to tap into his more cerebral games. Sometimes, that can produce the best Edge matches—when he’s outclassed and has to out think his opponents to overcome the odds.
Give me heel Joe against babyface Edge for a 3-match feud that spans a few reasonable months, rather than a one-off match.
7) Kenny Omega
On paper, I’m sure a lot of people would have Omega much higher up on this list. He’s one of the anchors of the company and someone who is so widely regarded that people would want to come into the company specifically just to have a match with him.
But while I’m 100% down to see Omega vs. Edge, I do think there’s a chance their styles wouldn’t complement each other. Omega wrestles a more fast-paced, hard-hitting and explosive strike type, while Edge is more methodical and has a slower approach. That could lead to a nice rhythm of pure action versus psychology, or it could mean they’re trying to wrestle two different matches and never get on the same page.
I’m willing to let it play out to see the result either way. It could very easily be a lackluster feud that all hinges on the match, which ends up being a case of bad chemistry. But if I’d bank on what would result in a higher quality storyline AND match, I’d place my bets on the 6 answers above.
8) Jack Perry
I’d imagine this would be quite different from Perry’s feud with Christian, as I don’t think Edge would make it about Jungle Boy’s father. Maybe it would be more “I used to be a talented, but cocky prick like you are, until I learned some respect” angle. That is, of course, if Perry were still a heel around the time they’d feud.
It could work either way. I’d probably be more interested in heel Perry against babyface Edge at this particular moment, but if he were to revert back to his face persona, I think having him against a heel Edge would work just fine.
Ultimately, Perry’s one of my favorite in-ring performers in the company. I want to see him up against virtually everyone, and I think he and Edge would have great chemistry, unlike potentially the Omega situation.
9) Adam Cole
Despite how he’s rather tall, Edge very infrequently has had the opportunity in his career to play the dominant competitor in a feud. Normally, he’s been up against people who are more muscular or bigger than him in some fashion. But against Adam Cole, who is definitely smaller in comparison, Edge would have a chance to work more of a style like he would do against someone like Rey Mysterio.
Of course, the match wouldn’t play out quite like that, as Cole doesn’t have the same repertoire as Mysterio. He’s talented in his own unique way. But that also makes him someone I’d like to see Copeland step in the ring with. Both have a high ring IQ and I could see them having fantastic chemistry, as well as concocting some really good spots to keep the crowd invested from bell to bell.
Heel Edge against babyface Cole would be the way to go, in my mind. Not only does it allow Cole to be the underdog from the size differential, but I think Edge could be more biting in his promos to set up Cole to have some better punchlines and comebacks.
10) Adam Page
Admittedly, Page vs. Edge would potentially result in the most boring outcome out of everything on this list (hence it being #10). But that is due in part because I think Page is limited in his overall character, which is pretty much “I’m going to kick your ass” babyface. He works best when he has a heel who is dynamic enough to bring something extra out of him that I know is there, but he doesn’t tap into on his own, and I think Edge would be exactly that type of guy to do that.
Heel Edge vs. babyface Hangman, for sure. Give them a feud where they start off just crossing paths in a tournament or something, but it gets progressively more personal with Edge going over the line until Hangman beats some respect back into him.
Honorable Mentions
While there are of course plenty other names that would be fun, here are the handful of others that just missed out on being in my personal top 10:
- Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta in particular)
- Ricky Starks
- Daniel Garcia
- Eddie Kingston
- House of Black
Who would you be most interested in seeing Edge feud with if he joins the AEW roster? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!
