John Cena Reacts to Adam Copeland’s AEW Tribute at All Out
Two of wrestling’s most iconic rivals are closing their careers by showing respect in a way only legends can: through the ring.
At AEW All Out, Adam Copeland reached into his old playbook of mind games and tributes, this time tipping his cap to John Cena. During his tag team bout alongside Christian Cage against FTR, Copeland delivered not just the Five-Knuckle Shuffle, but also an Attitude Adjustment — two moves synonymous with Cena’s two-decade WWE legacy.
This wasn’t without reason. Just days earlier on WWE SmackDown (Sept. 6), Cena himself had nodded to Copeland. In his match against Sami Zayn, Cena pulled out a spear, with Michael Cole suggesting it was a nod to Roman Reigns, while Corey Graves clarified it might’ve been a wink at his longtime rival, Edge. Cena further fueled the speculation by posting a photo of Copeland in his WWE days directly to his Instagram.
After All Out, Cena kept the back-and-forth alive — once again dropping an Instagram post of Edge, continuing the silent show of respect.
Copeland, speaking on the tribute this week, had nothing but praise for Cena:
“I saw a clip a couple of days ago where he did the whole [spear] setup and everything… It’s super fun. Yeah, it’s just fun. With John and I from day one, it just clicked. And I think it was, our characters were polar opposite. I knew what the assignment was and so did he. I think you had two guys that were very willing to do what we had to do to get us both over.”
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This is the kind of rivalry-turned-brotherhood wrestling fans dream about. Cena and Copeland defined an entire generation of WWE storytelling — from TLC carnage to main-event showdowns — and now, on opposite sides of the wrestling world, they’re closing their careers with mutual respect. This isn’t about company lines anymore. It’s about legacy, and two Hall of Fame careers giving each other the flowers they’ve earned. Don’t be surprised if this continues in subtle ways until both men officially call it a career.
