Edge, real name Adam Copeland, made his AEW debut tonight, helping even the odds for Darby Allin and Sting against Christian Cage, Luchasaurus, and Allin’s former friend Nick Wayne. With Sting and Allin outnumbered three-to-two, Edge made his entrance, complete with his iconic music – the song Metalingus by Alterbridge. Though he first indicated that he was helping Cage, Wayne, and Luchasaurus, the former WWE star instead lent his support to Allin and Sting, turning against his longtime tag team partner. The show went off the air with Edge shaking the hands of both Sting and Allin.
Edge reportedly wrestled the last match of his WWE contract, against Sheamus, on the August 18 edition of WWE SmackDown. Since then, reports began to emerge suggesting that Edge was bound for AEW. In early September, when asked about the possibility of his former partner joining him in AEW, Cage stayed in character by declining to name the WWE Hall of Famer as his friend, foreshadowing tonight’s events.
Prior to Edge’s debut, the main event of AEW WrestleDream saw Allin and Cage battle it out in a Two Out Of Three Falls match. Allin scored the first pinfall against Cage, pulling the veteran’s turtleneck onto his face and pinning him with a jackknife. Cage would then go on to win the second fall by slamming Allin onto the steel steps several times, causing a count-out. Following the second fall, Allin was put on a stretcher as Cage began taking all of the padding off the ring. Cage then landed a frog splash on Allin before picking him up and tossing him back into the ring, complete with exposed wooden boards. Allin continued putting up a fight, eventually hitting Cage with a Coffin Drop onto the wood, but Cage was able to kick out.
After accidentally spearing referee Bryce Remsburg and hitting Allin with a low blow, Cage exited the ring to grab the TNT Championship, only for Wayne to appear and grab it out of Cage’s hands. However, Wayne turned on Allin, hitting his former friend with the title, allowing Cage to pin Allin and retain. Following the match, Sting made his way down to the ring to aid Allin against Cage and Wayne, with Cage’s protege Luchasaurus soon joining the fray, setting up Copeland’s debut.
Cage won the TNT Championship in a three-way match on the September 23 edition of AEW Collision, defeating Allin and Luchasaurus. Prior to that match, Luchasaurus had officially held the title while Cage declared himself the true champion, dating back to Luchasaurus’ victory over Wardlow in June. With Edge making his intentions clear at the end of tonight’s show, it seems very likely that a match between the two longtime friends will be happening sooner rather than later.
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