By Matthew Guyett,The Sportster

Copyright yardbarker

Cope appeared on AEW in a backstage segment this week and told Christian Cage that he needed to leave for his family and wasn’t sure he’d be back. This inevitably got tongues wagging about a possible WWE return to close the book on his storied feud with John Cena.

Fans have seemingly got too carried away, though, as a report from Mike Johnson of PWInsider suggests the 51-year-old has other plans. It’s claimed that rumours of being written off AEW TV to make a one-time appearance as Cena’s final opponent are “not even remotely true”.

Cope is said to have been written off TV due to his acting career, as he is likely filming the latest season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. It’s not the news fans will want to hear, given how eager they have been to see him become Cena’s very last opponent.

The WWE Hall of Famer has been with AEW since October 2023, when his WWE contract expired, and he has since been one of the promotion’s top stars. It would be almost inconceivable to see WWE’s chief content officer, Triple H, and AEW President Tony Khan do business, but you can never say never in pro wrestling.

Khan allowed WWE-linked Chris Jericho to appear on Stone Cold Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions podcast on the WWE Network back in 2021. That was the only time a contracted AEW talent has appeared on WWE TV, and he doesn’t seem open to allowing his employees to wrestle for a rival promotion.