1) What Led To Edge’s Return To WWE
According to a report from Wrestlezone, Edge had some discussions with AEW prior to his return at the Royal Rumble. This is apparently what drove WWE to bring him back to the company.
Here is what the site says happened between Edge and Vince McMahon:
A source speaking with Wrestlezone said Edge coming back to WWE specifically wasn’t set in stone as he had been in discussions with going to All Elite Wrestling. It’s unclear how serious the talks with AEW were, and our source said Edge had previously approached WWE about an in-ring return but Vince McMahon was not open to it. AEW was reportedly interested because the “Rated R Superstar” had passed independent tests to be cleared for an in-ring return, but Edge ended up negotiating with WWE once the AEW offer had been on the table.
It’s unclear if WWE found out about the AEW talks or if he went back to them with the news, but Vince McMahon reportedly told him that he would be returning in a WWE ring if he was coming back at all and had him get cleared by a WWE doctor. Edge ultimately got cleared and WWE had a ring sent to North Carolina so he could train, which we reported on January 10 was so he could get his ring timing down. It was in that same report that we also reported Edge would be making his first in-ring in nine years at the Royal Rumble match.
Mike Johnson of PWInsider also corroborates the story that AEW was interested:
As PWInsider.com reported several months ago, Copeland traveled to Pittsburgh, leading to him being cleared. Around that time, Copeland signed a new contract with WWE, doing so after some brief talks with All Elite Wrestling. From that point on, as I have written and stated on PWInsider Elite audio, I believed he was returning to the ring and pegged the Rumble as the likely site of that return.
UPDATE: Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet added the following about AEW’s offer to Edge:
During talks, AEW made a serious offer for Edge aka Adam Copeland to work behind the scenes as an agent or producer – as well as wrestle a handful of matches.
My Take:
- The most important thing is that Edge’s neck is healthy and he is able to do what he loves again. Thank you to AEW for helping get this done.
Have you heard any interesting WWE rumors? Let us know in the comment section below.
On a related note, check out our predictions for the Elimination Chamber here.