Cope (Adam Copeland) has responded to fan backlash surrounding his brutal street fight against Jon Moxley on the March 19th, 2025 edition of AEW Dynamite, where he came up short in his bid for the AEW World Championship.
In an interview with TVInsider.com, Cope defended the hardcore nature of the match and emphasized that wrestling, like entertainment, thrives on variety:
“I look at wrestling as a variety show. That means you bring a lot of different things to the table with that. There can be some comedy, straight-up wrestling, hardcore matches. That has always been the case.”
He also pointed to his past work with Mick Foley as precedent:
“Think about me and Foley. I’m sure there are a lot of people that were disturbed by that too. There are also a lot of people who enjoy horror movies. There are people who enjoy romcoms. I think wrestling can bring that all to the table. I think that is what AEW does.”
Cope acknowledged that AEW isn’t afraid to push boundaries:
“AEW is not afraid to take some risks. For a lack of a better analogy, we’re kind of a bit punk rock. It’s not always going to be pretty. It’s an alternative. It’s something different… If you have two wrestlers coming out to wrestle a technical match every match, that can get pretty boring.”
In addition to addressing criticism, Cope also shared his wishlist of AEW opponents he’d like to face before calling it a career:
“I know I want to work the Swerve Strickland’s, Hangman Page’s, Jay White’s, Kyle Fletcher’s, Will Ospreay’s, Kenny Omega’s, and the Samoa Joe’s. I haven’t worked with any of those people and would really like to do that before I hang them up.”
As one of AEW’s top veteran signings, Cope’s mix of experience and passion for working with new talent continues to shape his legacy—and he clearly has no plans to slow down until he checks those dream matches off his list.
