Adam Copeland is one of the most beloved and successful professional wrestlers of all time.
After debuting under the moniker of Edge, Copeland went on to win more WWE titles than any other wrestler in company history, including four WWE Championships, seven World Heavyweight Championships, and 14 tag team titles.
However, it all came to a screeching halt when Copeland was forced to retire due to a neck injury. Less than a year later, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
While this seemed to be the end of Edge, the Rated R Superstar had other plans. After years of hard work and training, Copeland made his WWE return at the 2020 Royal Rumble, winning the prestigious match.
Three years later, Copeland made his All Elite Wrestling (AEW) debut under his real name and quickly won the AEW TNT Championship.
During his second reign with the title, tragedy struck again when Copeland leaped off the top of a steel cage, fracturing his tibia. While he won the match, he had to vacate the title in order to recover once again.
Now, almost four months later, Copeland is ready to return once again.
A major part of Copeland’s recovery has been planking, which has become a bit of a passion for the former Rated R Superstar ever since he first retired from professional wrestling.
“The great thing about planking is that even with one leg I can do it,” Copeland said. “As a matter of fact, it kind of made it harder. Now, everything’s really having to engage to stay straight.”
“But that was also a wonderful thing about having the Pure Plank is having those handles to make sure that I didn’t start getting off kilter or anything. It really kept me locked in. So that’s been really nice.”
The Pure Plank is a plank board created by Copeland and Christian Cage, a longtime friend and wrestling partner of Copeland. Together, they operated as one of the most successful tag teams in the history of professional wrestling.
Together, after realizing they were getting out of shape after retirement, Copeland and Cage came up with the Pure Plank to help stabilize the body and keep it comfortable as you held the plank.
According to Copeland, this has been fantastic for keeping him in “TV shape.”
“I was doing it the next day,” Copeland said, referring to his leg surgery. “It’s been nice because I don’t feel like I got out of ‘TV shape.’ Like, I wouldn’t be embarrassed to take my shirt off on TV tomorrow.”
For those nervous about having never been in “TV shape,” don’t worry! It’s perfect for beginners as well.
“It’s one of those deals where I say, ‘Listen. If you’ve got five minutes in your day, just do it for five minutes. Not straight, because you won’t be able to, you really won’t. But let’s say you do four rounds of 30 seconds.”
“The Pure Plank will help with that, in terms of the balancing, in terms of, you know, there’s a little bit of padding now for elbows. … It doesn’t take much. It really, really doesn’t.”
“Because, eventually, that 30 seconds will turn into a minute. Then that will turn into, ‘Wait, I can do five one-minute rounds.’ And before you know it, those love handles are gonna be gone.”
Copeland’s wrestling journey has been a long one, filled with plenty of highs and lows. Now, 32 years after his professional wrestling debut, he’s ready to hit new heights.
If you’re at all interested in the Pure Plank, there will be a pop-up event inside Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, NY on Wednesday, Sept. 25, ahead of AEW Dynamite Grand Slam and AEW Collision Grand Slam.
Here, fans can try out the board for themselves, win a free Pure Plank board signed by Copeland and Cage, and even participate in a “Grand Slam Pure Plank Challenge” where the winner gets custom Pure Plank Championship Belt.