More than 25 years after his debut, the roar from the crowd never gets old for Adam Copeland.
His return Saturday night at the conclusion of Worlds End in Orlando was a scene he’s played over and again. His music blasts over the arena speakers and almost immediately, people know who it is. All the energy is directed at him as his pyro hits and the building loses its collective mind.
It’s hard to explain, Copeland says. He compares it to musicians performing, a football player scoring a touchdown, and it’s part of the reason at 51 years young, despite another setback, another injury, and another surgery, he’s not ready to hang his boots up just yet.
“I think that’s part of the pull, right? And that’s why you see folks who don’t need to still be doing this doing it because it still hits that core. You can’t really explain it, man,” Copeland tells Uproxx Sports. “If you could bottle it, you’d be a trillionaire.”
On Wednesday night’s AEW Dynamite — which will be the first show simulcast on TBS and streaming on Max — we’ll get our first look at Rated FTR, marking Copeland’s first in-ring action in seven months when he joins Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler against Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta of the Death Riders.
Copeland says he’s been training in the ring for about three months getting prepared for his return, which takes place in Asheville, North Carolina on a special Fight for the Fallen episode of Dynamite. Through Fight for the Fallen, AEW will help provide support and resources to those impacted by Hurricane Helene directly through organizations already on the frontlines of disaster relief efforts.
Asheville, which was among the cities devastated by the hurricane earlier this year, currently is home for Copeland, Harwood, and Wheeler. The support from AEW CEO Tony Khan and AEW has been “amazing,” says Copeland, and goes beyond Wednesday night’s efforts.
“I was cleared and ready to come back and I had the conversation with Tony trying to work out what do you want me to come back to? And he was like, do you. Don’t worry about coming back right now because life, right? He understands that and he gets that and respects it, and because we did have a lot of work here to do, not just for our household and everything, but for the community,” Copeland says. “I’m just really happy that we’re doing this show here. It’s my first one back in the place that I now call home with two of my best buddies who also call this home. It’s storybook in that regard.”
Copeland’s return to the ring coincides with AEW’s monumental simulcast, a nod to his star power alongside FTR for the show’s live debut on Max. Copeland says at this point in his career, he’s a utility player — he can slot in wherever AEW needs him on the roster, whether it be in the opening act or in this case, the main event.
“I understand that at times, you need me to bat first or clean up. And so that’s where I feel like, okay, that’s my role right now. We’re coming back, fresh off an Emmy nomination, it feels like the time to go, okay, we should probably use this talent who’s in the midst of some pretty cool things happening and highlight that, that’s just business,” Copeland says.
“So it’s my time now to move forward and compete for the title and be involved in that storyline. And at some point it won’t be and it’ll be a different thing you need me to do. And that’s really how I’ve always looked at my position. Okay, where do you need me? Slot me in. I’ll make it work.”
That last part has been key to Copeland’s growth and his ability to last in the main event scene, and it’s something he’s “prided myself on” over the course of his career. His top priority has always been to make things work, as he believes that level of consistency is something people notice.
“There’s been some things that on paper, I’m like, ‘Oh, this is going to be a challenge,’ but again, I enjoy challenges for sure. Luckily, working a guy like Moxley and against all of these guys and getting in there with Claudio for the first time, I don’t have to worry about that where you can just get in and enjoy and perform.”
Copeland couldn’t ask for a better position to return in. He says his latest setback, breaking in his tibia in May, was more annoying than anything.
“One more scar, one more plate, seven more screws and you just get moving. That’s where it was with that. But after about three months, I was up, I was moving around, I was getting around pretty good,” Copeland says. “I got back in the ring by like the three and a half month mark. I was like, okay, there we go. Now it’s just a matter of when to come back. What’s the proper timing getting in the Percy Jackson filming before and just all of that stuff.”
His injury removed Copeland from any possibility of performing during All In at Wembley Stadium, a bucket list item that he wants to cross off before his career comes to an end, although that’s not the only place he wants to wrestle before he retires.
“I’d love to wrestle in Arena México. Never worked there for CMLL or anything like that, so I think that would be great. I’ve been as a fan, at the time I was world champ — so I went to this show with a lucha mask on and I sat in the third row and watched the entire show,” Copeland says with a laugh. “Tokyo Dome. Never performed there, love to do that. And then for me, the really big one is Maple Leaf Gardens. I don’t even know what it’s called now, but I want to do Maple Leaf Gardens.”
While venues hold a special place in his heart, Copeland says the thing that gives him the most energy right now is telling a great story with a quality opponent. He points to his time with Christian early in his AEW run and the ability to weave in countless other stars, from Nick Wayne to Daniel Garcia as a way to play chess with the AEW roster.
“I think story and opponent, they go hand in hand,” Copeland says. “That for me is still the biggest thing. That’s the thing that I enjoy the most. That’s the thing I get off on is go, okay, let’s craft this story. How many months do we have? Let’s figure out some tent poles. How many other characters can we pull into it and moving parts, and then hopefully have a few different characters come out of it with intriguing stories going forward. That to me is always really fun, and without diluting it or making it confusing, getting as many different characters involved as you can.”
More than anything, Copeland is relishing living in the moment. He understands there’s an expiration date on his career, but says it’s not something he dwells on. In his eyes, all that thinking about retirement does is make you anxious, and then the moment will either pass or fail to live up to your expectations.
Copeland knows the clock is ticking. But before it hits midnight, he’s making sure all of his focus is on what he has going on as he returns to the ring.
“There’s still some really fun stories to be explored that will probably eat up a year and a half, two years,” he says. “And then I think it’s going to be time. But again, I can’t sit there and dwell on it. I have to focus on each time I’m in that ring and go, here I am. You’ve got to be in the present. Otherwise, bad things can happen, but also being in the present, I soak it all in, I enjoy it all instead of getting too far forward.”
…..I don’t want it nomore tho,” 
