John Cena Details “Really Rare” Friendship With Adam ‘Edge’ Copeland [Exclusive]

John Cena wanted to ‘run the gambit’ during his 2025 retirement tour.

Given the 17-time World Champion’s murderer’s row of historic rivals, it was always going to be impossible to run them all back, however. Particularly one. Perhaps the rival Cena is most synonymous with; Adam ‘Edge’ Copeland.

While Cena revisited hostilities with the likes of Randy Orton, CM Punk and Brock Lesnar throughout his 36 final dates as an in-ring competitor, WWE fans were desperate for the ultimate forbidden door to be speared open as the curtain came down on Big Match John’s quarter-century in the spotlight.

Being that Copeland is under contract with All Elite Wrestling, where he has worked since leaving WWE after 25 years with the promotion, in 2023, the situation could never realistically present itself for the Rated-R Superstar to make the jump back from Jacksonville to the old New York territory. If only for one last dance.

Adam Copeland AEW — Copeland has been plying his trade for AEW since leaving WWE in 2023 | Lee South - All Elite Wrestling

Cena reveals he was encouraged not to drop the WWE Title to Edge

During a recent exclusive interview with Cena, I wondered if he spoke to the artist formerly known as Edge during his retirement tour. Cena explained that he kept in regular contact with the man he refers to as his ‘old shoe’.

“I talk to Adam all the time,” Cena begins, “I have great respect for him. We refer to each other as ‘old shoe’ because Adam’s got a very special place in my heart.”

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As the Ruthless Aggression era began to catch fire, Cena and Edge evolved from projects for the future to the undisputed stars of the here and now. Cena was crowned as WWE Champion at WrestleMania 21 in 2005. On the same show, Edge unhooked the inaugural Money In The Bank briefcase.

Nine months down the road and the pair were officially off to the races as generational rivals. Cena, bloodied and battered, having survived his first Elimination Chamber at New Year’s Revolution 2006, was soon interrupted to be informed he had not seen his last action of the night.

One blast of ‘Metalingus’ by Alter Bridge later, and Edge was spearing his way to his maiden voyage with the WWE Title, lighting the blue touch paper on a rivalry that would ignite into one of the fiercest and most memorable in WWE history. Only this was very close to not being the case.

“Adam and I went through a very similar trajectory. People thought Adam Copeland would be nothing more than a tag team wrestler. And I was the one fortunate enough to give him a chance to earn his first WWE Championship. And the day that was supposed to happen, everyone, except for the main creative force, said I shouldn’t do it, that I should storm into whatever room I need to and say I shouldn’t do it.”
John Cena

“I have never operated like that. I always look at ‘what are we doing today and how can we do it the best we can?’.

Cena describes ‘honor’ of helping cement Edge as WWE Champion

“I went through a very similar struggle,” Cena remembers as he documents the challenges he and Copeland faced in their embryonic years as the faces of a new era. “I heard ‘the kid’s not ready’, ‘he’s only a mid-attraction act’, ‘he’s musical comedy’. No one believed in me and I got a chance. And I felt all Adam needed was a chance. And I was honored to be able to have the chance to give him the right to be there, and he took it and ran with it.

“Now here we both are, celebrating a long living space in a wonderful business. So I talk to him often. I think both of us understood about something like (the retirement tour) it is the sports entertainment business. But then again, I only had 36 dates. I can’t work with everybody. Gosh, I had tons of fun with Khali, all of my opponents, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Batista. You name it, we could have just run the gambit of folks. I would run out of time trying to tell you the people I wanted to face.”
John Cena

“I did my best to pay my respects to those I didn’t get to share the ring with by doing some homage moves and moments to acknowledge their contributions to my life.”

Cena and Edge - Old shoes

“But I talk to Adam often. We are a pair of old shoes. And the reason we use those words is because the first time we stepped in the ring, it just felt comfortable, and that’s really rare. We just fit like an old pair of shoes. And we had a million matches since then and I’m so grateful for everything we could do for each other.”

Cena would pay his respects to Edge by imitating the Rated-R Superstar’s own spear in a US Title match against Sami Zayn during his final ever SmackDown match in Chicago in September of last year. Edge would return the favor by dropping Cena’s iconic ‘Five Knuckle Shuffle’ move during AEW’s All Out in Toronto a few weeks later.

Between them, Cena and Edge would trade WWE and World Heavyweight Championship victories, going through TLC matches, cage matches, Last Man Standing matches and WrestleMania World Title bouts together.

Edge became Cena’s foil just when the Doctor of Thuganomics needed one the most. Copeland was an attachment to the Attitude Era that a lot of WWE fans were looking for during the Ruthless Aggression era. With the likes of The Rock and Steve Austin no longer around, fans wanted new marquee attractions to fawn over. But they also craved the familiarity of a recently bygone time that they were not ready to give up just yet.

Children and women gravitated towards a more clean-cut Cena, who mostly ditched his risqué lyrical content and freestyle promos after being crowned champion in 2005. Edge, meanwhile, was Rated-R. Teenagers and older male fans adored his propensity for violence and, ahem, ‘Live Sex Celebrations’ with Lita.

Cena was apple pie and the fourth of July all rolled into one, with his marine jawline, buzzcut and questionable shorts. Edge was the scuzzball metalhead who took time away from feuding with Cena to set Mick Foley on fire at WrestleMania and pin Beulah McGillicutty in unspeakable fashion at ECW One Night Stand.

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With Cena as ‘the guy’ from 2005 onwards, he needed that undisputed enemy to bring out the very best in him after working his way through veterans such as JBL, Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle during his first few months as WWE Champion.

Edge gave Cena many of his best moments, propelling West Newbury’s finest into the stratosphere and several more title runs. While they were unable to duke it out one last time in 2025 before Cena rode off into the sunset of retirement, at least they are both out there safe in the knowledge that their other old shoe is comfortable and well.

The TakeDown on SI’s exclusive interview with John Cena came as part of Hefty’s ‘Strong Choice’ campaign, which will roll out across channels nationwide, beginning February 2026. For more information about Hefty® products, visit Hefty.com.