Copeland speaks candidly.
On the bill for the January 6th episode of AEW Collision was an open challenge hosted by Adam Copeland. Answering the call was Griff Garrison and Copeland came out victorious in their six-minute bout.
While on Busted Open Radio with Dave LaGreca and Bully Ray, it was mentioned that there were was some ‘chatter’ about Copeland being in the ring with Garrison and why he would be doing that. Copeland went on to explain why:
Because long after I’m gone, Griff Garrison will be there (at AEW) and just like Bad News Brown showed me or just like Rick Martel showed me or just like Tom Prichard showed me or Pat Patterson showed me or Michael Hayes showed me or Bret Hart showed me. I’m in that stage of my career. So if I can get in there with Griff Garrison, what is a 30-second match gonna do for Griff Garrison? But suddenly now, you get a couple, ‘Woah! He almost took that thing.’ Alright, well now you add in the element of story of like, okay, Copeland took this kid maybe a little lightly and there’s something to him. It’s also an opportunity for him to get on a microphone. It’s an opportunity for reps in front of an audience that will have eyes actually watching because there’s a character in there that they know. That to me is all that needs to be said. If he can get in there and we have five minutes of time in there, I feel like he can learn more in that five minutes than he would in probably 200 matches with people of the same experience and I know that sounds kind of cocky and egotistical, but that’s the way it was for me when I was his age and that’s what this is… I believe it to be but that’s why. That’s why I wanna work a guy like Griff Garrison, that’s why put me in with Dante Martin or Lee Moriarty or Zak Zodiac… This is a part within the story that Christian (Cage) and I are telling where we can do this and add another layer in the final book that is this story. That’s so fun to me. I think nowadays, people are just so, ‘Well why isn’t it this? Why isn’t it this? Why isn’t it right now? Right now, right now, right now, right now,’ and if you give them right now, ‘Well they did it too quick.’ This is another chapter. While they continue to write more chapters on their end, I’m gonna write it over here on this end and there’s always a plan and sometimes, like my favorite stories when I was growing up and I know it’s a different time, but Steamboat-Savage, let ‘em wrestle for a year!
He is currently engaged in a program with TNT Champion Christian Cage. Storylines aside, Copeland does not think him and Cage should be compared to one another. He added that they’re very different talents and he’s proud of the success Christian has created for himself in AEW.
It’s amazing (to see Christian Cage’s success) and we never placed those shadows on top of each other. We never compared each other to each other. Why would we? We both want each other to succeed, you know? And split a part from each other… It’s strange because we teamed for probably two years on television, maybe three, and the other 21, 22, 23, whatever, have been as solo acts. I guess it speaks to the impact and the fact that we caught this lightning in a bottle that was you guys (Dudley Boys), The Hardys and us all at the same time. It resonated and it was at a time when wrestling was just everywhere but if you look at the totality of our careers, there’s no reason we should be compared. We’re different talents too. We’re very, very different. When we both don’t have long, blonde hair, we’re different characters and you’re starting to see that now. I’m coming out with more of a Death Proof-Grindhouse feel and he’s this turtleneck-wearing (James) Bond villain. Those are really polar opposite movies… All he needs is a hairless cat… He’s got Mother Wayne now, he’s got the big heavy, he’s got — it’s not a hard concept to grasp and you see these two characters that are polar opposite and that to me is really fun. I know I keep repeating ‘fun’ but, it is. I’m not gonna apologize for that. I’m having a blast.
Copeland is going to be part of an eight-man tag at the ‘Homecoming’ edition of Dynamite. He’ll be teaming with Orange Cassidy, Dustin Rhodes and Preston Vance to take on Brian Cage, Lance Archer, Toa Liona and Bishop Kaun in a Jon Huber (Brodie Lee) tribute match.
If the quotes in this article are used, please credit Busted Open Radio with an H/T to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.
