On New Year’s Day, a notable transformation took place in All Elite Wrestling. Acclaimed wrestler, Adam Copeland, decided to adjust his ring name on the January 1, 2025 episode of AEW Dynamite: Fight for the Fallen.
When Copeland emerged with FTR’s Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler, the announcer, Justin Roberts, and the caption on the screengreeted him as “The Rated-R Superstar Cope” instead of the usual Adam Copeland.
Excalibur, the commentator, explained the change further by pointing out that Copeland has used various sobriquets throughout his career. One notable example was his WWE alias, “Edge”, which he can’t carry on using in AEW due to rights issues. Consequently, he decided to truncate his name to ‘Cope’.
My take, as a commentator: I’m not wholly supportive of this name alteration. Personally, I would prefer for him to still identify as Edge. However, I comprehend the legal tussle with WWE over the trademark. Aside from that, while “Cope” might be his preferred nickname, as a fan, I find it sounds measurably absurd – reminiscent of the time Austin Theory was briefly known as “Theory”. Plus, considering the implication of the word “cope”, it could expose him to a barrage of jabs about coping with defeat and such. Of course, this won’t majorly affect many, as fans will most likely still think of him as Edge or whatever nickname they choose. Yet, that’s my two cents. Let us know what you think in the comments!