Adam Copeland Spooks Malakai Black With Callback To Notorious WCW Botch On AEW Dynamite

On the May 9, 2000 episode of "WCW Thunder," a torrent of fake blood descended from the ceiling and proceeded to completely miss Kevin Nash. On this week's episode of "AEW Dynamite," history repeated itself, as Adam Copeland unleashed the Brood's bloody floodgates onto Malakai Black.

Just moments before his bloody baptism, Black secured a victory over Kyle O'Reilly in an effort to gain momentum going into his Barbed Wire Steel Cage Match at Double Or Nothing for the TNT Championship. Before Black could rest on his laurels, red and black lights flashed in the ring. Then, gallons of gore spilled onto Black. As with Nash, the rush of viscera initially missed the challenger, landing slightly behind him, but unlike Nash, who simply stared in disbelief, Black — not one known for shying away from the disturbing — fell flat to roll in his crimson bath. Copeland then appeared on the video screen to taunt his opponent, telling Black he should be careful what he wished for.

Copeland's revenge follows last week's events, which saw the House of Black blindside, assault, and humiliate Copeland by removing his wedding band. It seems that Copeland intends to revive a version of his vampiric Brood-era persona to meet Black's levels of gothic depravity, and Black's bloodbath was the TNT Champion's way of simultaneously intimidating and humiliating his future opponent. Fans have also speculated that the segment could herald the involvement of former Brood leader Gangrel, an idea Copeland pitched before leaving WWE.

As of this writing, Copeland has held the TNT Championship for 63 days and counting. His Double or Nothing match with Black will mark Copeland's fifth televised title defense.