WWE Didn’t Even Bother Asking To Borrow Edge For John Cena’s Retirement Tour

Although John Cena’s year-long retirement tour ended strong, there was a significant chunk in the middle where it really fell flat. Fans were expecting to see his greatest hits, for The Franchise Player to take on all of his greatest opponents one last time. That didn’t pan out, for the most part, and in one very specific case, it’s because WWE didn’t even bother trying to make it happen.

WWE Didn’t Ask AEW If They Could Borrow Edge

One of Cena’s greatest rivals was Edge, now Adam Copeland in AEW. One last match with Copeland didn’t happen, and although some fans thought it might, when it didn’t, they chalked it up to the fact that Cena and Copeland were wrestling in rival companies that couldn’t possibly do business together. The thing is, had WWE just asked, the match might have happened.

That much has now been confirmed by AEW boss Tony Khan. “I was never asked, and as far as I know, Adam was never asked,” Khan revealed to Metro. “When there have been opportunities to collaborate, I have been collaborative in the past,” he added, seemingly confirming that had he been asked, and it was possible, Khan would have been more than happy for Copeland to go back to WWE for one last match with Cena.

“I never got asked, but if I had been presented a plan and the dates and the information of what was going on, yeah, I would have supported it.” The approach was never made by WWE to try and get Copeland back, which is a shame, as it sounds like it could have happened. Either WWE just assumed AEW wouldn’t even consider doing business, or, the more likely scenario, higher-ups in WWE didn’t want to do business with a promotion that is taking away more of its fans than any other promotion since WCW in its heyday.

Giving AEW Something In Return

It would have also likely required WWE to do something for AEW in return. The most famous example suggesting that would have been the case was when WWE asked permission to have Ric Flair for the night to induct him into the Hall of Fame. In return, WWE let TNA have almost any wrestler they wanted for one night only. Superstars such as Cena and The Undertaker were presumably up for grabs, but TNA opted for Christian due to his ties to the promotion.

Cena did end up having one last dance with a few of his greatest rivals. He and Orton wrestled one last time, and Punk returned just in time to square off against Cena before he retired. There was no one last Cena vs. Edge match, however, and now there never will be.