As it stands, Edge will go down on the WWE honors list for his 11 world title reigns, putting him in esteemed company below just Hulk Hogan, Triple H, Randy Orton, Ric Flair, and the “Greatest of All Time” John Cena.

It’s hard to say if he had stayed then he would have been able to make a push at the names at the top of that list, but given that he could easily have won the World Heavyweight Championship, he would have at least one more, tying him with his childhood idol and former tag partner, Hogan. It would have required him to win three world titles to match Orton and Triple H, and that is where this fantasy would get a little delusional. But the very fact that he would be in the conversation for chasing the record — and present to do something about it — would have surely led to a confrontation that’s being clamored for as this is written.

After they threw nods to one another in their matches, there was a widespread expectation that Copeland could return to WWE and face Cena on his retirement tour. Triple H even directly addressed the notion, appearing to throw cold water on the idea, but if Copeland had never left, it seems very likely that Cena vs. Edge would have taken place one last time in 2025. Edge himself might also have considered a WWE retirement tour of his own — though it remains to be seen how AEW will send him off into the sunset, should he remain with Tony Khan’s promotion until the end of his storied career.