Backstage News On Gangrel's AEW Double Or Nothing Appearance
The appearance was a surprise to people within AEW.
May 31, 2024
Gangrel made a surprise appearance at last weekend's AEW Double or Nothing pay-per-view, helping former Brood stablemate Adam Copeland (FKA Edge) fend off Malakai Black, Buddy Matthews and Brody King, allowing The Rated-R Superstar to defeat Black in a Barbed Wire Steel Cage match and retain his TNT Championship.
Copeland had hinted that his vampiric friend may show up in promos leading up to the bout.
During a recent appearance on Busted Open Radio, Gangrel discussed how the appearance came together, saying:
"Adam is hard-headed. Once he has a story or something in his mind, he's going to get it done one way or another. Eventually, it went over to AEW and he got it done. I'm appreciative for it. I'm 55 years old. I didn't know if I could crawl up through the bottom of the ring being under there for a while. My biggest fear was, 'Can I get up and move?'. My adrenaline kicked in. I was just blessed to be part of that moment.
"When I saw him do the interview, I already knew I was coming in. He just wanted to keep it quiet. When he did that interview, I was like, 'He's planting the seeds. He's going to make sure they do remember'. Smart man. They kept it hush-hush. I didn't tell anybody. They had me come in last minute. I stayed in his locker room the whole time. When I went to the ring, (Chris) Jericho was like, 'What are you doing here?'. They were able to keep it quiet as best they could and I was surprised by that. It's really hard to do in wrestling nowadays. I didn't get wheelchaired in and covered up or anything like that. Just came in early, went to the locker room and sat there all day. Right before the match, threw a black hoodie on, went out there with the ring crew, climbed under the deal, and that was that".
Regrettably for Copeland, he fractured his tibia during the match, an injury which will require surgery and a months-long layoff. There is said to be 'universal sadness' within AEW following the news of Copeland's injury, which also necessitated the TNT Championship being vacated.
H/T Fightful
