Adam Copeland Opens Up About ‘Dynasty,’ AEW Future & Sylvester Stallone Aspirations

Adam Copeland has been a part of some of the biggest matches for more than 25 years. However, the veteran pro wrestler looks at All Elite Wrestling’s Dynasty show on April 12 as a touchstone. He goes for the Tag Team Championship with his longtime partner Christian Cage against FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) in Vancouver. 

This brings a homefield advantage for the Canadian challengers, who were bitter rivals for much of their time together in AEW. They have since found common ground bringing an onscreen reunion many fans, many who grew up watching them, have wanted. At this stage of the game, Copeland appreciates every moment, not knowing when his in-ring days will end. Though looking at the shape he is in, you’d there was plenty of time left before hanging up the boots again.

Again because the 53-year-old was forced to call it quits in 2011 following neck injuries. He’d shockingly return to wrestle in 2020 at the Royal Rumble. The “Rated R Superstar” would have his WWE farewell before signing with AEW in 2023. These days the legendary performer is also staying busy besides being a dad and husband to fellow WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix. His acting credits continue to grow with high-profile roles like playing the God of War himself Ares on Disney+’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians. 

Here Copeland opens up about his career and what’s next. 

Adam Copeland and Christian Cage (Ricky Havlik/AEW)

It must mean a lot for you to have this match at Dynasty in Canada teaming with Christian Cage. 

Adam Copeland: And you throw in the fact FTR are opponents because we have a long history together. All of those elements definitely make it a special one. One that stands out, and one that over the years, if you put a gun to my head and asked me what would be a dream match…Well, Christian and I versus FTR would be on that list. We got to do it in Toronto in our hometown. Now we get to do it in Vancouver. That’s pretty tough to beat. 

What do you make of your dynamic now with Christian? We’ve seen different iterations between the two of you starting with Edge and Christian, but this one has a little twist to it. 

We don’t want to do the same thing. We’re totally different people and different characters compared to what we were then. This version of us is navigating from a different place. I think that is a good thing. You don’t want to just see guys coming out to do the greatest hits. To me, our character work is one of the most important aspects of this thing, which makes it different. Neither one of us wanted Christian to lose the element of what has made his character so popular. I think if you lose that and he becomes a rah-rah guy, that doesn’t make sense. We needed to do it this way. I think that makes it an interesting dynamic with the partnership because it’s almost completely fresh. 

We just have that history together that people know about. This is a different incarnation compared to where we were before. I think we’re also in a place where we’ve always looked at each other as equals, but this company does that. I think that’s important to our presentation too. We didn’t want to lose elements of our own solo work that has gotten us here. We still come out to separate music because people react to both. It was just a matter of getting it rolling really. One of the reasons I started using Cope is because I knew we’d get to this. C & C sounds a lot better than C & Adam Copeland and C & AC. There is always a method to madness. Now you get to see all these steps we put in place a while ago come into play. 

Do you find age in wrestling is looked at differently these days compared to say Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair in their later years? 

I was talking today about I think in 1995 when I wrestled Jimmy Valiant. I think he was the age I am now. It’s nothing new. It has always been there because the older talent has more equity. It’s the old litmus test where you walk someone through the airport and who gets the most attention. That’s the person you want to have on your show. When you’re been on TV for 30 years, that tends to happen. 

What do you make of AEW today compared to when you started with them? How do you feel Tony Khan has been adjusting to the ever-changing marketplace? 

I think the most important thing to understand with any form of entertainment is that it is cyclical. You’re going to have some years that don’t fire quite as well as other years. That’s normal. You look at any wrestling company. You look at any production company. You can look at MGM. Take your pick. There are going to be down years and up years. That’s the way it works. When you can get a healthy roster and some great creative ideas into that melting pot, that’s when good stuff starts to happen, and you hope it starts to happen across the entirety of the show. I think the important thing about that is the element of story. Wrestling matches are great. Everyone here can have some great wrestling matches, but when you can involve the story as well. That’s when you can tap emotional buttons that a plain wrestling match with wrestling moves won’t do. 

What is it like for you to see Chris Jericho back in the mix? Do you see working with him again? 

We kind of fill a little bit of the same lanes. So, I feel at this point putting us together you kind of lose what guys like us bring to the table. I think if we start working with new faces, that’s better. FTR is a new face to me. I’ve only wrestled them once. There is so much opportunity. It’s the same with Chris. He still hasn’t wrestled everyone here. There is new talent coming in all the time. Then I look at Christian and I, I look at FTR and the Young Bucks, and then you start going down the line of tag team names. We’re going to be busy for a while. 

Has recent retirements of John Cena and AJ Styles made you think more of how you wanted to go out one day? 

No, because I already beat them to the punch about 15 years ago. I already had one. My dream scenario would be as a heel and to get dragged out of the building kicking and screaming. 

I liken it to a rock show where you think the concert is over, but then you come back for the encore. Do you consider this your encore? 

I honestly don’t put that much though in it [laughs]. I just show up and have fun. I don’t put any parameters and pressures on it. It’s the job I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid. It’s the type of thing that if I can feel I can still do it, I’ll do it. Is the end closer than the beginning? Absolutely. Of course, but I can’t  say I think about it a lot. Honestly, when I’m home away from wrestling I don’t think about wrestling. 

AEW/Lee South

I think that’s a healthy mentality from what I hear. 

Yeah, that’s the mentality I learned over time over being massively obsessed with this thing. I do think you need to go through a period of that in your career. I think in order to get to the place you want to go you probably have to be that everything is about the job. That’s pre-family, pre-kids, pre all of those things. Coming back after being retired for nine years, it’s all gravy. If I was only to get one match back, it’s  success. Everything here on out is me just checking boxes that weren’t even on the list. 

You’re in one of your biggest roles to date on Percy Jackson. With such a big fanbase, that has to open the door for new audiences to know you. 

What I have noticed now is a lot more kids are coming up to me, and it’s not for wrestling. When they ask, “Are you Ares?” I’m thinking, “Wow, okay I wasn’t expecting that.” I take it as a compliment when they do assume hey, he is an actor. Then when they find out I’m a wrestler think, “Really?” That’s kind of what you want. 

I would say that’s probably a big compliment from an acting perspective when they go, “Hey, it’s Dwight from Haven?” Or, “Look, it’s the guy from Vikings.” What’s it like to now have this Children’s & Family Emmy-nominated part? Even when we don’t see you as much on Percy Jackson, you remain an important part of the story in the outset. 

When the gods come in, it’s with an impact. It’s one of those deals where if you saw the characters too much it would lose some of their uniqueness maybe. It’s a blast. It really is. From top to bottom, the cast and crew is great. The producers, the directors I’ve worked with. The kids are just really great human beings. That’s kind of what permeates throughout the whole set. It’s fun and relaxed, but you can tell we’re doing good work even though it’s relaxed. That’s a great creative foundation to come from. If you feel comfortable and are able to make choices and things like that. With Ares, I have to make some big choices. Depending on the set, the crew, the director, people may not like that. From my very first scene on Percy Jackson, I went big and never got pulled back. That’s a fun place to create from. 

Disney+

What can you say about the upcoming Season 3? 

Season 3 is already in the books. We have it filmed. Past seasons all aired in December, so we’ll see it this year I’d think. By that point, we’d already hopefully be shooting Season 4. In terms of what to fill you in on, I know my episodes. Then I watch them with my girls when they come on…Those who read the books know what’s coming, but they do go away from the books a lot. So, you never know. For instance, that whole first season in the diner didn’t take place in the books. That was my favorite Ares scene to date. What they have cooked up for us this season, the last episode is very interesting. I’ll leave it at that. 

It’s great now we’re in a time where wrestlers are being looked at more than a wrestler trying to be an actor thanks to yourself, John Cena, Dave Bautista, etc. Is there a role you haven’t been able to play you haven’t gotten the chance to? 

I think it’s more people I’ve liked to work with. I’d love to work with Vince Gilligan because I just feel like his writing is so good. I think you know you’re going to be on a really quality product if he is writing. I look at it in terms of that. I’d love to work with Sylvester Stallone. I would love to pick his brain. Growing up it was a very formidable age for me. It was Sylvester Stallone, Kiss, and Hulk Hogan. Just to be able to share screen time with him would be very cool. If I had one wish, that would be one. More than anything, it’s just having good, fun, projects. 

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Will we see your wife Beth Copeland again in AEW? Perhaps this weekend? 

I don’t know. Yes, she’ll be here this weekend…Like I’ll say that [laughs]. Nice try though. Really, for us, she is going to be in Portugal. So it will be difficult for her to make it. She is pretty busy. It’s weird. Once you step away from this and walk past it, it’s tough to take the steps back. For me, the first time being forced to it was easier to walk back to it if that makes sense. She willingly walked away from all of it. She left WWE. She didn’t want to renew and wanted to be done there. She is living life, being a mom. She is starting a company. She is pretty busy. 

You have the follow-up to your first autobiography in the works. Where are we with that? 

It’s a work in progress. I realized now my life is a lot busier compared to the first time I wrote one. I was out with a neck injury and had no family. This time around I’ve found it much more difficult to get to it. Between working on productions, wrestling, and life, but it’s getting there. I think it will be fun. I want to make sure it’s not something where it’s just regurgitating what I did in the wrestling ring. 

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