Cope discusses the backlash about Jon Moxley getting a spiked bat stuck in his back.
On the March 19th episode of AEW Dynamite, Jon Moxley defended the AEW World Championship against Cope. During the match, Cope got slammed onto a spiked bat, and it got stuck in his back. The spot sparked plenty of controversy, as many felt that it was too violent.
In an interview with Scott Fishman of TV Insider, Cope was asked to share his thoughts on the polarizing reaction.
“I look at wrestling as a variety show,” he said. “That means you bring a lot of different things to the table with that. There can be some comedy, straight up wrestling, hardcore matches. That has always been the case. It’s also not really out of the ballpark of what Moxley and I do every once in a while. Think about me and [Mick] Foley. I’m sure there are a lot of people that were disturbed by that too.
“There are also a lot of people who enjoy horror movies. There are people who enjoy romcoms. I think wrestling can bring that all to the table, I think that is what AEW does. I also feel like AEW is not afraid to take some risks. For a lack of a better analogy, we’re kind of a bit punk rock. It’s not always going to be pretty. It’s an alternative, it’s something different. I think if you look throughout the history of the company, it’s not something new. Darby Allin was falling off ladders and glass and thumbtacks. It has always been there to an extent. Let’s also face it. If you have two wrestlers coming out to wrestle a technical match every match, that can get pretty boring.”
Cope: AEW Is Starting To Get Back Into Our Lane
Cope was also asked to comment on what he thought it would take for AEW to get to that next level. He stated that they were starting to get back into their lane again.
“I think what we’ve started to do now is really start to get back into our lane again. The lane that I watched a couple of years ago. I feel that it is coming back around again. The locker room is a great place to be. I think you get that blizzard, and we have the ragtag group here. The Bad News Bears have to put on a show for these people because the people that showed up want to have fun, and we should give that to them.
“They showed up, so we want to give them an extra special show because they did. I feel like that’s the mentality. We are the little engine that could and keep plugging along. I think eventually you’ll start to see people understand that again and give it a shot because everyone is busting their ass. Everyone is busting their ass in wrestling, don’t get me wrong. I just know the locker room goal is to put on the best show we can.”
READ MORE: Backstage Reaction To Insane Jon Moxley Spot On AEW Dynamite
