AEW Star Adam Copeland Assesses Christian Cage's Work As A Heel

Fans of the famed WWE Attitude Era might be a little disappointed to see long-time partners Adam Copeland and Christian Cage at odds with each other rather than fighting side by side. Copeland has tried to get Cage to see the light since his AEW debut in October 2023, while the current TNT Champion has doubled down on his desire to be "father of the year." Despite this, Copeland can't help but praise his current rival for the character work he has been producing in AEW.

Copeland recently sat down with Sports Illustrated to talk about his former partner, where the WWE Hall of Famer admitted that Cage is doing a great job of being a detestable heel, rather than a cool one. "He does this so well because he wants to be one," Copeland said. "Somewhere along the way, that's got lost. Heels became cooler than the babyface. That's not how it should be. That's not how he sees it, either. I mean, the man wears a cut-off turtleneck. There's nothing cool about what he's doing. However, that doesn't mean that Copeland isn't enjoying himself being the thorn in Cage's side. "He's fully committed to it. He's a Bond villain and loving it. It's fun to be involved with."

Since the TNT Championship was snatched from him at Worlds End, Copeland has introduced the "Cope Open" to AEW. It has acted as a way for the WWE Hall of Famer to work his way up from the bottom of the pecking order and be the rightful number one contender to Cage's title. So far, he has defeated young stars like Lee Moriarty and Dante Martin, while also getting the chance to go toe-to-toe with NJPW legend Minoru Suzuki.

Please credit "Sports Illustrated" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.