WWE legend announces final year in wrestling at 52, retirement looms

Adam Copeland has set a deadline for his professional wrestling career. On Dynamite, the AEW star—better known to WWE fans as Edge—announced that 2027 will be his last year as a professional wrestler. After defeating Josh Alexander to earn a spot in the Clockwork Carnage match for the AEW World Championship at WrestleDream, he made this declaration. Copeland, an 11-time WWE world champion, had previously quit wrestling due to a severe spinal ailment before returning years later. This time, the 52-year-old is preparing for the latter phase of a career that started many years ago.

Adam Copeland Reveals His Final Year In Wrestling

Copeland announced the news to the Cleveland audience at Dynamite on Wednesday at the Wolstein Center. He stated rather bluntly that he was making this choice because he was getting older. Copeland remarked, "I am ageing out, and that's okay; it happens to everybody," Copeland said. "But because of that, I just wanted to let y'all know that 2027 will be my last year in professional wrestling."

The statement followed his victory over Josh Alexander, which earned him a spot in WrestleDream's Clockwork Carnage battle for the AEW World Championship. Copeland has not yet won the title, which is presently held by Will Ospreay.

Even so, Copeland won the AEW championship gold. Together with longtime partner Christian Cage, he has held the AEW World Tag Team Championship and won the TNT Championship thrice.

WWE To AEW

Copeland's career was on the verge of collapse. After receiving a diagnosis of spinal stenosis in 2011, he announced his retirement at the age of just 37. Before making an unexpected comeback at the 2020 Royal Rumble, the WWE Hall of Famer avoided in-ring competition for years. Eleven world championship reigns are part of his WWE record: four WWE Championship reigns and seven World Heavyweight Championship reigns. He joined AEW after his second stint in the WWE, and he has been performing there for the last three years.

Copeland will now have one more year to compete after 2026 before ending his in-ring career in 2027. The AEW World Championship is his immediate goal, and the WrestleDream bout will let him to pursue the one significant AEW singles title that he has yet to acquire. He is the only one who can decide what he does next. Watch this space for additional developments.

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