Well, it is undoubtedly official, and the rumors were in fact true. In essence it was a great surprise but anyone who remembers Christian singing the Golden Girls theme when he joined up with AEW, could definitely tell that something was up when Copeland appeared on a video in which he talked about his future, holding a mug featuring the very same TV show’s title and logo.
So debut he did and to a thunderous reaction and generally favorable comments following WrestleDream. There were the typical comments about the roster size in AEW and the fact that an older legend appeared yet again on the program, but we’ll get into all of that in a later installment.
-via AEW on YouTube
For now, the truth of the matter is, having a legend such as Adam Copeland in AEW is just what the doctor ordered—especially after the release of CM Punk from the company and the announcement that one of AEW’s biggest rookies, Jade Cargill, has now signed with WWE.
Mike Santana, a member of the AEW roster and legendary wrestler in his own right, commented recently on Copeland’s signing while speaking on the Brass Ring Media show on YouTube. Here’s what he had to say about potentially wrestling the WWE Hall of Famer:
“Who wouldn’t, it’s Adam Copeland. Anything that’s going to help the company progress and grow and at the same time help the younger guys learn more and grow from is always a good thing…
Are things crowded? Hell yeah. But as you see, I’m at a point where I’m like, yo, it is what it is. I’m not going to hold back, man. But I think it’s a great addition, honestly. I’ve heard nothing but great things…
I haven’t met him before, but everyone I associate with that knows him always has nice things to say and I’m sure he’s a great guy and I look forward to meeting him myself and hopefully working with him down the line. Yeah, man, it was a great surprise; let’s continue down that road, man.”
Santana himself just returned from injury and it looks as though he will be entering in to quite the feud with none other than his long-time tag team partner, Ortiz.
The two have had some issues over the recent months and not a lot is known about what went down between them, just that there are indeed real life issues.
While speaking to Nick Hausman, Konnan shed some light on what may have transpired between both men (he used to manage both men):
“Ortiz was definitely down to talk. Santana is kind of like me when I was young; he’s kind of a hothead, you know? And so he was really adamant that Ortiz didn’t kind of stand by him when he thought he should have, and that’s a lot of bad feelings. I’m like, bro; this is, you know, Ortiz is cool; he’s not a bad guy…
He’s kind of a go-with-the-flow type of guy, whereas Santana is very, like, ‘They’re not doing nothing with us. They need to do something with us,’ and Ortiz says, ‘Yeah, just chill.’ So, I think that was kind of the crux of their problem. I do believe that they’ll talk, and there’s a good chance they’ll put them together…
But Santana is of the mindset, and I agree with him 100%, where a lot of people are in AEW, it’s like, ‘Bro, even though you’re paying me, my stock is never gonna go up if you don’t use me,’ and you only have a small window of opportunity, as you know…
So, from what Santana told me, not getting too much into details, his whole thing was I’m going to talk with Tony, and if they’re not going to do anything with me, then I have a decision to make, you know what I’m saying? But we’re talking about half the roster feels that way.”
This here point calls to mind the rumors circulating about AEW, that the locker room is essentially in a bad way, especially since the issues with CM Punk, The Elite, and also now the added stress from the Jack Perry/CM Punk incident having come to light. Other circumstances have led to the rumors to circulate as well, and it can be said that having a legend, a level-minded one such as Copeland backstage, the dynamic back there might just change for the better overall.
This is yet another positive to having the legendary Rated R Superstar over in AEW, but of course that’s not all. Join me tomorrow as we take a look at the subject a tad closer.
