AEW’s Cope Says WWE Match Felt Like A No-Win Situation

An AEW star has reflected upon a “no-win” situation at a WWE Premium Live Event that saw them in a main event match against Randy Orton.

Taking place in June 2020, WWE Backlash was one of a number of Premium Live Events to be held in front of “no fans” due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The event would be held at the WWE Performance Center, instead of its original scheduled home of Kansas City, Missouri, with Edge vs Randy Orton as its main event.

With the match billed as “The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever”, the main event had a lot of hype to live up to, something that Adam Copeland discussed in an interview with Inside The Ropes.

Speaking to Kenny McIntosh, AEW’s Cope opened up about the “no-win situation” of the match, remaining proud of what both he and Orton accomplished, saying:

“It felt like a no-win situation. I definitely wish that Backlash match could have been in front of more than just 20 students at the PC, because I’m still really proud of it, and the circumstances that Randy and I were put in to pull something off were pretty ridiculous.

“You tell me, ‘We’re going to build the greatest wrestling match ever, only there’s no audience.’ Well, what does that even mean? There’s no such thing as the greatest anything, unless you’re in an actual athletic contest.

“We know who the best hockey team is, they win the Stanley Cup. There’s no such thing as a greatest match, because it’s different for everybody. But okay, here we go, let’s give something a shot here.

“And it was super fun. It was a great challenge, but I wish that one had an audience, for sure. With a crowd, they would have been all over that. It would have been so good.”

Edge would part ways with WWE when his contract expired on September 30, 2023, after twenty-five years with the company.

He would debut in AEW as Adam Copeland on October 1, 2023, before switching his name to just Cope in January.

WWE Backlash heads to the Enterprise Center in St Louis Missouri on May 10.

At the upcoming PLE, John Cena defends the Undisputed WWE Championship against Randy Orton in a match billed as “One Last Time“.

Two other championship matches have also been announced, with Lyra Valkyria defending her WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship against Becky Lynch, and a Fatal Four-Way match featured WWE United States Champion Jacob Fatu, LA Knight, Damian Priest and Drew McIntyre.

Pat McAfee will also make his in-ring return, facing off against GUNTHER in singles action.