8 Amazing Wrestlers That Flopped In AEW
6. Adam Copeland
This may be one of the more controversial picks on this list, but Adam Copeland has never really felt like he works as part of AEW. He is a superstar, and his aura can't be questioned, but watching Copeland run from side to side during his entrance in buildings about a fifth of the size he's used to is quite symbolic as to how his vibe doesn't ever feel very AEW.
Even when bringing violent weaponry to proceedings, Copeland naming his bat with nails sticking out of it 'Spike' and talking about it like it's an actual person, feels out of place next to the genuinely shocking violence of Swerve Strickland and 'Hangman' Adam Page's feud, or The Death Riders trying to suffocate Bryan Danielson with a plastic bag.
Add to this that the former Edge's teaming with FTR didn't really click, and his main event with Jon Moxley really let the night down at the otherwise spectacular Revolution 2025, and things just don't seem to be working for Cope. He spent the last quarter of 2025 shooting the latest season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, but it doesn't really feel like fans are clamouring for him to return to AEW anytime soon.