Vince McMahon Made Late Change To Major WrestleMania 39 Match (WWE News)

Nowadays involved in the AEW main event scene as Cope, there's an interesting new report on one of the former Edge's final matches in WWE.

Back at WrestleMania 39, Edge squared off with Finn Balor within the confines of the Hell in a Cell structure. Not just that, but this was 'Demon' Balor who the WWE Hall of Famer went up against. A brutal, bloody battle - complete with Finn being heavily busted open after taking a ladder to the face - it was ultimately the Rated R Superstar who stood tall and scored the win.

As per Fightful Select, the original plan was for Finn Balor to beat Edge at WrestleMania 39, with the Canadian wanting to put over the one-time Universal Champion. However, things were changed up when Vince McMahon "pushed" for Edge to get the W. It's not known whether the talents themselves were aware of the initial plans or the subsequent change of them, as it can often be on the day of a show that wrestlers find out what's happening in terms of winners and losers.

In terms of why this story is only just now surfacing two years after the event, Fightful notes how they initially heard about this in the fall of 2023, but were unable to report the story at that time. After enquiries about all of this, the outlet is now able to run the story. This follows Fightful reports in early 2023 about how Vince McMahon's influence was being felt in the months heading into WrestleMania 39, including changes to programming, talent not being featured on TV, and, in the case of Edge vs. Balor, even on the Showcase of the Immortals.

Also, for those wondering, Cody Rhodes' loss to Roman Reigns at 'Mania 39 was not a last-minute Vince McMahon call. While McMahon was in favour of Roman winning, that match result had been the plan for a while.

Vince McMahon had initially been forced into retirement in the summer of 2022 following claims of undisclosed hush-money payments made to former WWE employees. However, he would return as Executive Chairman in January 2023 ahead of the TKO merger. McMahon would resign in disgrace a second time in January 2024 after allegations of sexual assault and sex trafficking from Janel Grant.

From Edge To Adam Copeland To Cope

As alluded to, WrestleMania 39 was one of Edge's final matches with WWE. Following that, he'd wrestle just three more times for the market leader - a triple threat SmackDown match against AJ Styles and Rey Mysterio, and a couple of SmackDown singles bouts against Grayson Waller and Sheamus - before his contract expired that September.

Just one day after his WWE deal was up, Adam Copeland would appear at AEW WrestleDream under his real name and immediately start a feud with his long-time on-off best friend/bitter rival Christian Cage. Since then, Copeland has had two runs as the AEW TNT Champion, has shortened his ring name to simply Cope, and most recently had a couple of shots at Jon Moxley's AEW World Title - including on last week's AEW Dynamite, where Mox was disgustingly impaled on Spike.

Whether his issues with Moxley and the Death Riders are a thing of the past, we'll have to wait and see, but the latest Dynamite teased brewing issues between Cope and Dax Harwood. And with Christian Cage having his own simmering problems within the Patriarchy, many fans are speculating that an E&C reunion could well be on the cards at some point in the next few months.

As for Finn Balor, that WrestleMania 39 match with Edge was part of the 11-time World Champion being kicked out of his own Judgment Day faction. Fast forward two years, and Finn is still in the Judgment Day, though this is a very different group to what it was back then, with Rhea Ripley and Damien Priest having departed the faction, and Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez, Carlito, and JD McDonagh now alongside Balor and Dominik Mysterio. That said, with Finn and Dirty Dom butting heads in recent weeks as Mysterio wants to add a new member to the Judgment Day, it could well be that the faction is set for another change-up in the near future.