Adam Copeland recalls the various measures taken to keep his AEW debut a surprise.
Adam Copeland was warmly welcomed by wrestling fans upon his surprise debut at AEW WrestleDream — an appearance that the company and Copeland himself went to great lengths to keep secret. As previously mentioned during the post-PPV media scrum, Copeland was sequestered in a hotel outside of Seattle all weekend long, until it was time to make the getaway to the Climate Pledge Arena for WrestleDream.
Speaking with Sports Illustrated, Copeland revealed that he was escorted to a private dressing room upon his arrival, which occurred shortly after the start of WrestleDream. The mode of transport, though, consisted of Copeland being pushed around in a wheelchair while covered by an oversized blanket.
“They wheeled me in. I could see people’s feet, but nothing else,” Copeland said. “It was all so funny to me. I couldn’t control myself. I started cackling. People must have known that was me, right? ‘Oh look, there goes someone in a wheelchair, chuckling like he has emphysema, with a cover over their head.’ That’s pro wrestling for you.”
Before Copeland later emerged onto the AEW stage, he recalled feeling a rush of excitement. “I couldn’t wait any more,” Copeland said. “I came out of the chute, and I threw as much energy to the people as I could. That was real. That wasn’t acting. I was reacting to the moment. I hope people felt that energy, I hope it was contagious. We’re in this together. I’m still a fan. I still think pro wrestling is awesome. So these are experiences for all of us.”
Copeland’s Cover Almost Got Busted
In the days leading up to WrestleDream, Copeland was determined to keep his identity concealed. Copeland successfully fulfilled that goal until a fan spotted him at a food establishment in Redmond.
“Oh man, I was sequestered — I sequestered myself in a hotel room [laughs] I mean, we were in some sketchy neighborhoods. Darby took us to some sketchy places, like ‘ain’t nobody here gonna worry about Adam Copeland here’ kind of thing. So, nobody saw us,” Copeland explained. “And then I went to my hotel room and I would sneak out to get food.”
“This one kid, bless his heart, I’m at this burger joint and I just really wanted a cheeseburger because I hadn’t eaten for 14 hours. I was like, ‘I just want to get a cheeseburger.’ So I’m in there and I’m reading my book, because I bring a book everywhere when I eat,” Copeland said. “I looked up and he went [makes shocked face]. I went [makes shhhh noise and puts his finger to his mouth]. [And the kid says back] ‘OK! OK…’ And that was it! That was the only time I had that encounter because the rest of the time I was [wearing a hoodie] and all that. So that’s what happened. I was out in Redmond.”
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