Adam Copeland continues to make it clear that he’s enjoying every minute of his AEW run, and he’s not ruling out sticking around long after his in-ring career comes to an end.
At this Sunday’s AEW Double or Nothing pay-per-view, Copeland and Christian Cage are scheduled to challenge FTR for the AEW Tag Team Championships.
Ahead of the event, Copeland appeared on Westwood One Sports Night for an interview (see video below), and opened up about how much he loves being part of All Elite Wrestling.
According to the WWE Hall of Famer, he still isn’t sure exactly what life after wrestling will look like, but he would absolutely be open to discussing future opportunities with Tony Khan.
“That’s up to Tony and what he may need,” Copeland said. “And that’s stuff that I don’t know. Like, I don’t know, where would you need me? And then I think we’d just discuss it at that time and go, ‘Okay, that sounds like fun.’ Or, ‘I just want to sit on my deck or [go] jet skiing or kayaking or something.’ I don’t know.”
Copeland admitted that while retirement remains uncertain, he knows he’ll still need some type of creative outlet moving forward.
“But I’m a creative person, and I know that no matter what, I’ll need to scratch that creative itch, whether that’s just purely acting or maybe it’s helping with creative in AEW and still continuing in acting. I don’t know. But I do know, in terms of the workplace, I love going there. So it wouldn’t be like twist my arm to keep me around.”
He also reflected on how different retirement will feel this time around compared to when he was medically forced out of wrestling in 2011 during his WWE run. According to Copeland, the hardest part now won’t necessarily be leaving the ring, it’ll be stepping away from the AEW locker room atmosphere he’s grown to love.
Another topic discussed during the interview was Copeland’s willingness to mentor younger talent in AEW.
Copeland praised several younger stars for their attitude and dedication, specifically mentioning Darby Allin and Will Ospreay as examples of talent eager to improve and evolve.
“Man, I got all day for the Darby Allins and the Will Ospreays and the guys who really just want to crack this code. And there really is no fully cracking it, right? Just great attitudes, great work ethic, yeah, I got all day for people like that,” Copeland said. “And then also, take any advice for what it’s worth, but you have to put it in your spin cycle and make it you. And you have to feel comfortable with it. You’re probably going to get told 20 different things by 20 different people. So then it’s deciphering who do you want to listen to, who has the type of advice that you relate to.”
Copeland went on to describe AEW’s locker room as a unique blend of veterans and rising talent, something he clearly appreciates.
“The great thing is, it’s a really fun locker room in that you can look and there’s Dustin [Rhodes] and there’s Griff Garrison. Like, that is opposite ends of the experience spectrum, right? And that’s a good thing. It really, really is.”
