AEW All In is almost upon us. “The Biggest Event in Wrestling History” takes place this Sunday, 27 August at Wembley Stadium in London, England. However, one surprising question has emerged: will Edge be at AEW All In?
The WWE Hall of Famer wrestled what was touted as potentially being his last match on the 18 August edition of SmackDown. The event coincided with the 25th anniversary of Adam “Edge” Copeland’s WWE debut.
Prior to the match against “The Celtic Warrior” Sheamus, Edge explained that the bout was the last on his WWE contract. “This is the last match on my current contract. So, I don’t know. I honestly don’t know [if it will be his last match],” the 13-time world champion explained.
Because of the timing of his contract expiration and its close proximity to AEW’s All In event, fans are speculating that Edge will show up in front of 80,000 excited fans at London’s Wembley Stadium.
According to industry analyst @WrestleTix, 80,846 tickets had been sold for the event as of 19 August breaking the record set by WWE’s WrestleMania 32 in 2016. For context, WWE announced an inflated figure of 101,763 for that event; however, the actual paid attendance was 80,709.
So, will Edge be at AEW All In? Let’s take a look at the chances.
Will Edge be at AEW All In?
While Edge’s match against Sheamus on the 18 August episode of SmackDown was the final match on his contract, the contract itself does not expire until the end of September, the “Rated R Superstar” has confirmed. Unless he is working the dirt sheets, this makes an appearance at AEW All In on the 27 August impossible.
Prior to Edge’s momentous WWE return at the 2020 Royal Rumble event, the Hall of Famer was negotiating with AEW boss Tony Khan about a return to wrestling.
Speculation about Edge jumping ship has been simmering since his appearance on Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast back in April. During the interview, he explained that he might only have about a year left to wrestle at an “elite level”. Edge’s use of the word “elite” sparked the idea that he was hinting at a run in All Elite Wrestling.
A final year or two of competing in AEW would make sense for Edge. His longtime tag-team partner and best friend, Christian Cage, debuted for the world’s second largest wrestling promotion in March 2021. What’s more, an AEW run would give Edge an opportunity to wrestle some of the industry’s biggest stars in brand new match-ups.
Nevertheless, if Edge’s contract is indeed expiring at the end of September, there is no way he will be at All In London.
Does WWE allow wrestlers to appear in other promotions?
WWE contracts prevent stars from appearing for other promotions without prior permission. As a result, contracted talent appearing on another wrestling organisation’s television program is incredibly rare – but not unheard of.
In a highly unusual move, WWE allowed Shinsuke Nakamura to compete against The Great Muta for Pro Wrestling Noah on 1 January 2023. However, that match took place in Japan and was part of Muta’s retirement tour. What’s more, plans were already in place for Muta’s induction into the WWE Hall of Fame later in the year.
Christian made a similarly surprising appearance for TNA (now Impact Wrestling) while under contract to WWE in 2012. However, that was part of a deal to secure Ric Flair for the Hall of Fame induction of the Four Horseman.
WWE making an exception for a contracted talent to debut for a competing promotion prior to their contract expiring will almost certainly never happen. Consequently, it is safe to say that Edge will not be at All In. But that doesn’t mean he won’t appear in AEW later in the year. In fact, that is reportedly the prevailing belief within WWE.
Do you think there is a chance that Edge will be at AEW All In? Let us know in the comment section below and don’t forget to check out our other Film & TV articles…
