AEW World Tag Team Champion and pro wrestling legend Adam Copeland spoke with Rob Wolkenbrod from Forbes about various topics, including his advice for talents transitioning from WWE to AEW.
Copeland said, “I’d say just don’t think too much. Just do your thing. That’s what I’ve always kind of leaned back on. It’s like, I’ve been doing this for a long time. I know what I’m doing. I’m not going to second-guess myself at this stage. If something doesn’t work, then it didn’t work. Worth a shot. And I’d rather be the guy taking chances than the guy talking about other people taking chances. More than anything, just do the thing that got you here and sort it out as you go, because there are different elements to the audience, for sure. I guess it’s a different audience, but at the same time, come out to Mexico and it’s just like, ‘Okay, clearly they watched my entire career.’”
On the biggest risk he ever took in his wrestling career:
“I guess leaving WWE and leaving what you know and what you’ve known for so long instead of staying in that comfortable, safe spot. But I had faith in myself and faith in what I saw with AEW, that they were doing something cool, and I wanted to be a part of that. I wanted to get in there with a lot of talent that I’d never been in there with and honestly still haven’t. I feel like we’ve only kind of scratched the surface on opponents, so I think that was probably, at least on paper, the biggest thing, making that jump.”
On the feeling of winning the titles:
“More than anything, just the idea of having Beth out there, Jay out there, against two of the best opponents we’ve ever had. New York City, a hot, amazing crowd. That’s just one of those where, okay, it’s good, and really just making sure to soak it in. That’s a really good memory. That was a really good night. So I just try not to look past it. But yeah, it was like all my favorite people are here, short of my kids, but within the wrestling industry. So those are fun experiences too. And then also to feel like, okay, we put a good product out that night. That thing looked like a demolition derby by the time the ring was cleared. It looked like a tornado went through a trailer park, so that’s always fun too. It was just a fun night. It was a hard night, but it was a fun one.”
On the crowd being one of the loudest he’s performed for:
“I’ll say yes, and then people who have been at other ones will get offended that I didn’t say theirs. I don’t know. I know that I can hear them, and I can always tell when it’s going to be a fun night. And I knew that night, I was like, okay, this is going to be a blast. Same thing with Arena Mexico. As soon as you hear that initial roar, you know that crowd came to have fun. They came to make noise. They came to do something. And as a performer, you hear that, you go, okay, right, we’re going to give them something.”
On if he and Christian Cage still have “pinch me” moments in the ring:
“Not really. I think we were the first ones to wrap our minds around the idea, so it’s kind of business as usual. It’s what you would expect.”
On the biggest challenge they faced when they came together:
“Really, our biggest challenge was trying to make sure that we didn’t rehash the same thing. So we wanted to bring in the current incarnations of our characters to make the team an entirely different team than it was back in 2000. I think that, more than anything, was our main goal, not the fact, ‘Hey, we’re doing this again.’ I think we probably had a moment after we won the titles. It’s like, it’s 25 years since we won these types of titles. So I guess there are moments like that, but I don’t really dwell on them.”
On whether they watched previous footage to avoid rehashing themselves:
“No, no. Honestly, I think we have some memory of what we did, and we just thought if we can take what we’re currently doing and put it in the dynamic of this team, it’s almost this begrudging acceptance. And now it’s, ‘Okay, they’re finding their way, and they’re curmudgeons, or one of them is a curmudgeon, and the other puts up with it,’ and really just to explore the dynamics. I play the straight man and try to set up the bowling pins, and then he knocks them down. That’s a fun element that we didn’t really have before because we were kind of playing the same role. Now we’re two entirely different characters, and that’s just fun.”
On his excitement levels for All In: London:
“Yeah, it’ll be fun just because of the fact that it’s Wembley as well. It’s always been on my list of places that I want to perform at, so it checks a couple boxes for me. I get my first All In performance-wise under my belt, and I get Wembley as well. And I’ve said before, at this stage of the game, to still be able to have some experiences that I haven’t had before is pretty special. And really, that’s what I wanted to try and accomplish in this second act.”
On when The Young Bucks first caught his attention:
“It was probably the Generation Me stuff with TNA, and I realized, ‘Okay, there are some cool ideas. And really, my wrestling viewing, especially when I was out [retired], didn’t take place too much. So it would have to be accidental, almost, if I stumbled across newer talents. But then I saw them by watching everything over the years and seeing clips here and there, and then talking to the guys, meeting the guys and just having an appreciation for what they bring to the table, because we’ve talked about it. It felt like there have been ideas to kind of keep the flame alive. I love watching them and FTR because they’re so opposite, and I like that. Back to the Brain Busters versus the Rockers, and I feel like maybe we’re the Hart Foundation of that equation, maybe. But yeah, it’s just one that we’re looking forward to. One that we truly thought, if that could ever happen, just imagine. And to be able to do it, especially in Wembley Stadium at the biggest show of the year.”
On why a stipulation doesn’t make sense for the upcoming match:
“I know some people are expecting stipulations, but it’s the first match between these two teams. You don’t need to start throwing stipulations and stuff and overbooking it. Just let us go. It’s the first time ever and a match that I assumed would never happen.”
