In 2011, WWE world champion Adam “Edge” Copeland retired from in-ring competition.
Then only 39 years old, the Canadian native was forced to hang up his boots after being diagnosed as cervical spinal stenosis.
Doctors wouldn’t clear Edge to compete, for risk of neck-down paralysis or even death caused by a hard fall.
Copeland moved on to other career endeavors, most notably a show on the WWE Network with former partner Christian, a successful podcast, and several acting roles including Atom-Smasher in the second season of “The Flash.”
Edge even recently made an appearance in a WWE ring, spearing the hell out of WWE star Elias during the kickoff to Summerslam 2019.
It was evident during this appearance that Copeland is still in tremendous shape but who knew the “Rated R Superstar” was jacked as hell?
In an Instagram post over the weekend, Edge revealed that he’s in possibly the best shape of his life, both mentally and physically, and explained how tragedy forced him to take a long look at himself in the mirror.
Copeland explains:
“Ok, so here goes. Looks like I’m diving headfirst into the ocean of cheesey gym selfies. No toe dipping here. Yikes. However, I decided to do this to best explain this past year, and maybe help give someone some incentive. Last fall we lost my Mom and my father in law John within a two month span. I didn’t fully grasp the emotional fallout until I looked in the mirror one day and I didn’t like what I saw. At all. I’d stopped training. I stopped dieting, to a huge degree. I just stopped…living like me. Living in the present. Stuck in that past. I was obviously in mourning. But I came to the conclusion my Mom and John wouldn’t want this, and I’d look at my girls and realize that if I want to be around for them, I needed to get off my rapidly expanding butt and get to work getting healthy.
I reached out to @nutritionsolutionsand got my diet dialed in. I can’t say enough about this company, they’re amazing, and this isn’t a paid endorsement. Then I started putting in the sweat equity. Slowly but surely, I started coming out of the funk. Less lethargic. I started feeling vibrant. Vital. Happy. Like me. Which makes me a better dad and partner. A better person period. I used every excuse I could to stay stuck. Injuries and everything else I already outlined. But the only way I got unstuck, was to JUST. GET. MOVING. So if this reaches even one person out there who may feel stuck, just know, you’re not alone and you can change it.”
Edge is one of the most decorated professional wrestlers of all-time, having won 31 championships in WWE overall
If 55-year-old Ken Shamrock can make a return to the ring, and Daniel Bryan coming back to full-time action after numerous concussions, there might still be hope that the 45-year-old “Rated R Superstar” can put the tights back on one more time and compete.
NEXT: WWE Star ‘The Big Show’ Got Jacked Thanks To Conversation With John Cena That ‘Lit A Fire Under His Fat Ass’
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Chris Illuminati is a 5-time published author and recovering a**hole who writes about success, fitness, parenting and professional wrestling. Reach out to him on Instagram & Twitter or email chris@brobible.com.
