Backstage Report On WWE WrestleMania 39 Match Result Flipped By Vince McMahon In 2023

One of Adam "Cope" Copeland's final matches under the "Edge" moniker in WWE was against Finn Balor at WrestleMania 39. The Hell In A Cell Match, sponsored by the Russell Crowe film "The Pope's Exorcist," saw Cope victorious over Balor's "Demon" persona. According to a new report, the match's finish was much different until the afternoon of the show.

Fightful Select is reporting that Copeland was supposed to lose to Balor at the event, and had even championed the idea of Balor beating the former WWE Champion, as Copeland was soon to depart the company. Former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon changed the finish to the match that afternoon, deciding the former World Heavyweight Champion should beat Balor in the culmination of the two's feud. Balor had excised Copeland from the Judgment Day faction, leading to the bad blood between the two wrestlers. According to the report, McMahon didn't make any last-minute changes to the main event, as had been rumored.

The night after was infamous of the myriad changes McMahon made, back in power after leaving the company due to a scandal involving NDA payouts to former employees. McMahon left the company again at the start of 2024, following a lawsuit filed against him by former employee Janel Grant, and has yet to return. Copeland left WWE in September of that year, joining AEW in October 2023. Balor continues to helm the Judgment Day faction, though it has grown since 2023 to include the likes of Liv Morgan, Carlito, and JD McDonagh.