Adam Copeland has opened up about why walking away from wrestling again may not hit as hard as his first retirement, while also admitting there is one major thing he knows he’ll miss when his AEW career eventually comes to an end.

Speaking with Westwood One Sports Night ahead of AEW Double or Nothing, where he and Christian Cage will challenge FTR in an “I Quit” match for the AEW World Tag Team Championships, Copeland reflected on how retirement changed his life and helped push him toward acting after WWE forced him to step away in 2011.

Copeland explained that being forced into retirement due to serious neck injuries made the experience far more difficult emotionally at the time. Now, years later, he feels more prepared for the reality of eventually stepping away from the ring again because he already experienced that life adjustment once before.

“For me, I already had to do it once. So, the second time it’s like, ‘Alright, I know how to navigate this. I know what to do.’ It was different then because I was forced, and I think that makes it more difficult,” Copeland said. “So, I think this retirement is going to be the easy one because it’s like, ‘I got no choice, man. My body’s just saying nah. It cracks way too much. Arthritis isn’t my best friend.’”

The former WWE Hall of Famer also discussed how acting became an unexpected second chapter in his career after his first retirement. According to Copeland, professional wrestling gave him the tools and confidence to transition naturally into the entertainment world outside the ring.

“For me personally, I never introduce myself as Edge. Edge was a character that I played on television. Adam Copeland, this version of Adam Copeland is closer to me, still a character. Like, I don’t go around bashing people with a spiked 2×4 with me. I don’t do that, right?” he explained. “So, to me, the retirement thing isn’t that, I don’t want to say not that big a deal, but I already did it once, and when that happened, acting was the happy accident that fell in my lap.”

“Then I realized, ‘Wait, I actually really enjoy this.’ Pro wrestling was amazing training for this because I don’t feel like I’m starting from scratch. I feel like I’m at least starting halfway or maybe a quarter. So knowing that too and knowing that there’s acting going forward, that makes things a little more easy to chew on.”

Copeland went on to compare his return to wrestling to Rocky Balboa’s desire for “one more fight,” saying he felt there was unfinished business left in him before returning to the ring. He added that teaming with Christian Cage again in AEW has allowed them to reinvent themselves in a completely new way compared to their legendary WWE run.

“And I think too like this is that Rocky Balboa movie where he goes in and he wants the fight, and he’s talking to, I guess, the commissioners, and he has to get the stuff out of the basement. You still got to get that stuff out of the basement, and I feel like I have,” Copeland stated. “Now this is all just like, man. Getting with Christian, we’ve completely recreated the tag team, and it’s an entirely different thing than it was before, and we’re both really proud of that.”

While Copeland feels mentally ready for retirement whenever the time comes, he admitted the hardest part will be leaving behind the atmosphere and enjoyment he currently feels in AEW.

“So it’s going to be easier this time for sure. I think the difficult thing will be that I really enjoy working at AEW. I have so much fun going to work, I will miss that. It’s like, man, I get there, and I feel like getting in a candy store,” he concluded.