By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

Retired WWE wrestler Adam Copeland (Edge) says he was not offered another WWE contract when he appeared at a Smackdown TV taping in Philadelphia last month.

In an interview with the Kingston Whig-Standard publication, Copeland called his WWE appearance "another day at the office," dispelling the rumor that WWE tried to get him to sign a Legends deal. Copeland added that he has not experienced bad feelings from WWE, contrary to rumors. "Nobody has said anything to me," Copeland said.

The post-WWE change from "Edge" to his real name of Adam Copeland is the product of how Copeland always introduced himself and WWE owning the "Edge" moniker.

“For me, Edge was just a character," Copeland said. “I never introduced myself as (Edge). I never really worried about what people can advertise me as. It doesn’t really matter to me. I’ve always just introduced myself as Adam Copeland."

Copeland's next challenge is neck surgery, which Copeland says he pushed back from October to November in order to appear on Tommy Dreamer's first "House of Hardcore" show Saturday night at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

“It’s strange in a way, because it’s my first non-WWE thing I’ve done since, like ’97,” Copeland said about the appearance. "When (Dreamer) was talking about doing the show and everything, I was like, 'Well, I’m supposed to get neck surgery, we’re trying to do it sometime in October, but maybe if we push it back till November, I can get the show in, do that and then I can enjoy my October and then go under the knife.'"

Copeland noted this will be his fourth neck surgery, but this time he won't feel like he has to rush back to wrestling. What he does after recovering from surgery remains to be seen, but Copeland knows it will be on his timetable, not someone else's.

"This is the first time where I can go, 'Okay, I can just take my time, recuperate, not kill myself in the gym with rehab and therapy to get back. It’s my neck, so there’s not a lot of therapy I can do anyway. I just kind of have to sit there and let it heal. It’s a nice place to be - to kind of have the reins on my future."

Link: Edge's full interview with Jan Murphy of the Kingston Whig-Standard discussing his relationship with Dreamer, road stories, and only remaining close to a handful of wrestlers can be read at TheWhig.com - http://bit.ly/QCXZ7v

[Torch photo credit Mike Lano (c) PWTorch.com]

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