The former TNT Champion’s return is coming very soon.
At Double or Nothing, Adam Copeland thought he was Jeff Hardy for a second and opted to dive off the steel cage against Malakai Black. Unfortunately, the 51-year-old broke his tibia and was forced to vacate the TNT title. Since then, it’s been mostly quiet on AEW’s side as Adam has been using that time to fill out his acting resume.
But with recent news of the AEW star finally being cleared to return, it appears that AEW set up his return for the Fight for the Fallen show in January. According to Fightful Select, Copeland is expected to return imminently and the FTR segment this past Wednesday seemed to set up his re-debut when the former AEW World Tag Team Champions said they were not coming alone.
The January 1st episode is taking place in Asheville, North Carolina, which is where Adam currently lives. It’s not clear if this is his full return as the Emmy nominee is still filming the second season of Percy Jackson and The Olympians. However, it should be exciting to see how Copeland interacts with The Death Riders story. He would be the perfect babyface to fight Jon Moxley for the next couple of months for the AEW World title.
When Copeland spoke about his condition with The Leafs Nation, he was in high spirits about the process of his recovery and stated that he was ready to get back into the ring:
“I feel good. You know, my brain forgets I’m 51, but my body quickly reminded me: ‘Yeah, you just jumped from 21 feet, asshole. Like, that’s technically three stories. You’re 51, quit it.’ But I feel good. I’m ready to get back at it and to get busy again.”
The first AEW show of 2025 is shaping up quite nicely. Sure, AEW chose a weird route to get to Copeland’s return, but the match with The Death Riders should be great nevertheless. The only other match advertised for the show is Jamie Hayter vs. Julia Hart. More matches will be announced in the upcoming episodes of Collision and Dynamite, though there’s no word yet on what the full card will be on the very first Dynamite of 2025.