Adam Copeland is on the shelf. This past May at AEW Double or Nothing, Copeland defended his AEW TNT Championship against Malakai Black in a barbed wire steel cage match. Late into the action, Copeland scaled the side of the cage, perching himself on top while Black laid prone on a table below, barbed wire draped across his chest. Copeland leapt from the top of the cage but did not fully commit to either a splash or an elbow drop, resulting in the Rated-R Superstar taking the bulk of the landing on his feet. While he went on to successfully finish the match, Copeland did fracture his tibia in the process.
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As a result, AEW Executive Vice Presidents The Young Bucks stripped Copeland of the AEW TNT Championship and have begun a series of matches to determine participants in a ladder match for the vacant title at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door later this month.
Adam Copeland Undergoes Surgery Following AEW Injury
The Rated-R Superstar is on the road to recovery.
Taking to social media, Adam Copeland shared a video to confirm he had undergone successful surgery on his fractured tibia. The operation took 12 hours to complete.
Copeland appeared in high spirits during the video, showcasing himself walking through his own “forbidden door” into his personal weight room. Despite his limitations, Copeland enthusiastically pointed out that he can still plank, and successfully completed a lengthy plank on his Pure Plank board.
There is still no word on how long Copeland will be out of action. It’s worth noting that tibia fractures post-surgery typically take 3-4 months to recover from, meaning Copeland would not be back in an AEW ring until September at the earliest. This would result in him missing AEW ALL IN: London.
Copeland has been a member of the AEW roster since October 2023. He made his shock debut at AEW WrestleDream last fall, confronting longtime tag partner Christian Cage. The two former friends would turn into bitter enemies over the subsequent months, engaging in a barbaric feud that stretched into the spring.
With their bad blood now in the rear view, there had been speculation that The Young Bucks handpicking Cage to challenge Swerve Strickland at AEW Double or Nothing was planting a seed for Matt and Nick Jackson to face a reuniting Copeland and Cage, as Cage’s unsuccessful attempt at dethroning Swerve could lead to him being punished by the Bucks and subsequently turning face. If that hypothetical does come to fruition, it will have to go on pause until Copeland is healthy enough to return to the ring.
