AEW All Out: Adam Copeland pays tribute to John Cena by using his moves ahead of WWE Wrestlepalooza

Adam Copeland and John Cena wrestle for different companies, but their bond exceeds promotional boundaries. Copeland, formerly Edge, paid tribute to Cena at AEW All Out, hours before Cena’s match with Brock Lesnar at WWE Wrestlepalooza.

Copeland and Cena are key draws for AEW and WWE, respectively. On Saturday, Copeland and Christian Cage opened All Out in Toronto, hours before Cena’s Wrestlepalooza opener. During Copeland and Cage’s match against FTR, Copeland paid homage to Cena by evoking the WWE star’s “five moves of doom.” Copeland hit Cash Wheeler with a side-release powerbomb, a five-knuckle shuffle and an Attitude Adjustment. 

Copeland’s nod to Cena is several weeks in the making. Earlier this month, Cena wrestled Sami Zayn on WWE SmackDown. Cena attacked with several signature moves belonging to his former rivals, including Copeland’s spear. It’s Cena’s way of honoring rivals he won’t get to face on his retirement tour.

“Super fun,” Copeland told The Score this week about Cena’s acknowledgment. “I think for John and I, we’re two guys who met each other at the right time. You know, he needed a bad guy and I needed a good guy, and it just clicked. You never know when something will click…

“You had two guys who were very willing to do what we had to do to get us both over. And John was already well on his way. But I feel like our angle is what really put the stamp on him being the top guy, and it put the stamp on me being a main-event guy. So, you know, I’ll always look back at that one fondly and at what we were able to do and the fun we had.”

Copeland and Cena were chief WWE rivals in the mid-2000s. Copeland famously cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Cena at the 2006 New Year’s Revolution event, pinning him to win the WWE championship.