Christian Cage out to prove he’s one of the best ever in championship match vs. Copeland
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It has been just under three years since Christian Cage made his shocking return to the squared circle, arriving in All Elite Wrestling at the Revolution pay-per-view to sign his contract as an in-ring competitor.
Exactly 1,003 days later, Cage is performing at the highest level of his 28-year career in professional wrestling. He is the reigning TNT Champion, went toe-to-toe with industry legend, Sting, in front of over 72,000 people in London’s Wembley Stadium, and, by his own assessment, is the biggest star in AEW.
Cage will look to cap his banner 2023 as he defends his TNT Championship in the main event of the promotion’s Montreal debut.
Cage believes he was the natural choice to headline as AEW makes its first foray into another major Canadian market.
“Obviously with me being in the ring, defending the TNT Championship makes it a much bigger feel, a much bigger event,” Cage told TSN.ca “I think it’s pretty obvious that I have the most prestigious championship in the company at this point. I’ve said it before, people were ready to toss the TNT Championship to the side. I’ve taken it and turned it into the most prestigious championship in the company to the point where I’m headlining pay-per-views.
“Dynamite is going to have a pay-per-view feel. It’s going to have a big-match feel. I’m looking forward to getting there and retaining my championship.”
Cage’s opponent on Wednesday will be longtime friend turned foe, Adam Copeland. The two will forever be linked as they grew up together in Orangeville and competed as a tag team in WWE for many years, capturing the Tag Team Championships seven times.
Both men had been forced to retire from active competition due to injuries, Cage in 2014 and Copeland in 2011, and have since gained medical clearance to return.
They have faced off several times over the years but have not had a one-on-one encounter since 2010 at the then-Air Canada Centre in Toronto. Cage and Copeland did share the ring in 2021 for what many believed was the final time, which was followed shortly by Cage's signing with AEW.
Fate threw the pair another curveball, with Copeland leaving WWE and making his AEW debut on Oct. 1, 2023, giving them another chance to share the ring.
“We’re both different people at this stage of our lives and careers. I think we’re both looking to prove something,” said Cage. “We’re always going to be compared to each other no matter what. We’re both into this match with a chip on our shoulder with something to prove. I’m going to leave it all out there, I’m sure he is too and I plan on walking out of Montreal very quickly and I plan on walking out as the champion.”
After a successful three-year return in WWE, Copeland wanted to reunite with Cage as a tag team upon his arrival in AEW, explaining that his daughters encouraged him to "Go have fun with Uncle Jay.” The TNT Champion rejected Copeland’s offer with a simple "Go f--- yourself."
“I chose to come to AEW when I returned and Adam probably looked over and saw the success that I was having, the responses that I’m receiving, the flowers that I’m getting for my work and that doesn't sit well with him,” said Cage. “He doesn’t like the fact that I’m a bigger star than him at this point and so he came over here and he’s trying to steal my spotlight like he always has and I'm going to put a stop to it Wednesday night in Montreal.”
Cage’s initial retirement in 2014 was a result of multiple concussions. The 50-year-old was on the shelf for seven years making sporadic appearances in WWE and hosting a podcast and TV show alongside Copeland in 2016.
However, Cage sought his own return to the ring following Copeland’s clearance in 2020, sitting down with doctors and taking it upon himself to take back the years that were taken from him. As he told TSN following his return in 2021, Cage made it his mission to re-write the first ending to his career that left a bad taste in his mouth.
Cage returned to wrestling completely re-invigorated and is one of the most talked about stars in a company brimming with talent and says the gift of a second chance inspired him to do some of the best work of his career.
“My career was taken away from me, there’s no secret about that, and it was a gift to get it back. It wasn’t good enough for me just to get it back. I had seven years of lost time to make up for and I’m proving that age is just a number at this point,” said Cage.
“I feel like I’m in my prime and I just turned 50 years old. Nobody is doing it like I am at this age. I’m an anomaly and that’s just how it is.
“It’s a confidence thing,” Cage said when comparing this chapter of his career to his pre-injury work, where he was a multiple-time world champion. "There’s no time to waste now, whereas before at a younger age you take something for granted and now I realize how fast this can be gone. The window is only open for a short amount of time and I wanted to come back and prove that I am one of the best, if not the best, to ever do it.”
Along with Cage for this stage of his career are Killswitch and 18-year-old Nick Wayne, members of a faction he leads, called “The Patriarchy”. Cage began his WWE career alongside Copeland as part of the three-man group “The Brood” and felt it was his responsibility to lead his ‘children’ as they attempt to find their footing in professional wrestling.
“Of course [it’s my responsibility]. I mean, they’re my children, I take care of them, I look out for them and guide them,” said Cage. “They were a little lost before they met me and now I've shown them the light and given them direction.
“I see a ton of potential in Nick Wayne. I see Nick Wayne as a younger version of myself and I think he has a massive future in this business. He’s wise beyond his years and he’s talented beyond his years.
“You take a look a Killswitch at his sheer size and strength and the athleticism that a guy his size has no business having. I mean, the guy is 6-foot-8 and a gymnast. The guy can do standing backflips, he’s a freak. Why would you not want to have that standing by your side on a weekly basis?”
Cage’s work in and outside of the ring has earned him plenty of buzz. In particular, audiences have responded to controversial statements, such as his retort to Copeland’s tag offer, and his insults directed at the deceased fathers of his previous opponents, Jack Perry, Brian Pillman Jr., Wardlow, and current ally Wayne. Some have bristled at Cage’s crude insults but Cage believes that anyone who has a problem with his lack of filter can take it up with him in the ring.
“I just speak the truth. I don’t filter anything so if people have a hard time with the things I’m saying they can come and try to chop me up if they would like,” said Cage. “I’m not a hard guy to find. I’m the champion, I have a target [on my back] and until someone steps up and proves they can take it from me, I’ll just keep doing my thing.”
There aren't many heights Cage hasn’t reached as he approaches 30 years in wrestling. “The Patriarch” as he now refers to himself, is a two-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion, four-time Intercontinental Champion, and nine-time WWE Tag Team Champion. He has also won multiple World Championships across the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and Impact Wrestling.
Cage has already cemented himself as a must-see talent whether he’s speaking or in the ring. As anticipation builds for Wednesday’s championship match against Copeland, Cage says he wants to create this sense of buzz each and every time he walks through the curtain for the remainder of his career.
“I want to go out there and put on the best matches that I possibly can. Put on matches and segments that people want to see,” said Cage. “I feel like Dynamite is a perfect example of that. I feel like this is a match that people are anticipating and are really excited for and I just want to continue to have that type of feeling for all my matches going forward.