Eric Bischoff Shares What Surprised Him About Adam Copeland’s AEW Debut

On the latest episode of Strictly Business, Eric Bischoff talked about Adam Copeland leaving WWE when his contract expired, signing with AEW and debuting at WrestleDream. You can check out some highlights below:

On Adam Copeland signing with AEW: “I’m happy for him. I like him a lot and I congratulated him after his last appearance in Toronto. He’s an amazingly talented guy. And you and I talked about his options. And I think I said if indeed he chose to go, it was likely because he wanted to end his career with Christian. And I think that probably, if I had to guess, had a lot to do with it, that is the fact that he’s not ready to hang it up yet and I think here’s the thing I really respect about Adam, the fact that he can recognize that. The character Edge and the backstory in the history. Had run its course because it does. And you hate to see people hanging on to the point where. They’re just not what they used to be. And when you can see that coming, when you can feel that and you can look around you and say, I’ve worked with that. Oh, yeah. But I could, oh, I’ve worked with him too. Well, how about. Oh, we’ve already done that. You know, you get to a point where you’re just bouncing into walls and or off of walls. So the fact that he can go to work with very close friends, perhaps have some great matches and stories that we haven’t seen before is a different character. Good for him. Good for him. I hope that it ends well. The track record for WWE Talent going to AEW has not necessarily been. Exciting. I think it’s been disappointing for a lot of the characters that have come from WWE, too. But we’ll see. That doesn’t mean that things won’t change.”

On Copeland using Rated-R Superstar nickname: “Surprised me that that really surprised me because it was in use prior. Look, I’m not, you know, Mike Dockins, the gimmick attorney. I’m not a trademark expert, but, when I read that, I was shocked, not shocked, but I was surprised. And I want to follow through with that because it was really, you know, to have the Rated-R Superstar, which is only we only recognize because it was a part of his character in WWE. And then to be able to take that with him, I found that to be interesting. That’s the best way to say it. And I think the fact that he brought his music with him is going to help substantially because he’s no longer an edge. He’s creating a new character, which is exciting. Don’t get me wrong, it can be a fun challenge, but it can also be a little bit of an uphill, uphill climb because you’re re-establishing a character to be able to bring back some of that IP, some of the things that people recognize you for, whether it’s rated R superstar or his music or whatever, is helpful. Very, very much so.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Strictly Business with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.