Gangrel Says Edge's WWE SummerSlam Entrance Cost Him AEW Appearance

On his Fangin' N' Bangin' podcast, former WWE star Gangrel talked about Edge using Gangrel's trademark blood bath last week on Friday Night Smackdown and the Brood entrance (and theme music) at SummerSlam for his match with Seth Rollins. Gangrel described finding out about it on the way to an independent show, the reaction to those around him and his surprisingly subdued reaction.

"I get on a plane Friday, go into Philadelphia, then I've got a three and a half hour drive into Scranton," Gangrel said. "So I'm in the car. Next thing I know here my phone go off. I don't know how to turn my Twitter notifications off. So I started looking at them and then I see the whole Edge on Smackdown with the blood thing. The music and the black blood, the PG blood. I'm riding with a guy and he's like 'oh that's so cool.' And I'm just quiet. He's like 'why are you so quiet?' I don't respond.

"So Saturday comes along and its SummerSlam. And Edge comes out with the bad ass Brood jacket, drinks from the cup, tribute to that. The Brood cross is in the back, the fire and the flames. And everybody's going 'oh it's so awesome! We wish you were there!' I was trending on Twitter on Friday night from Smackdown. I think I was trending in two categories or three, I don't even know. Saturday I think it did too, in some kind of way. But again people I was with at this show they're like 'you're quiet. Aren't you excited?' I'm like 'oh no I'm really cool, I was very happy.' But I'm holding this thing. I'm holding in something."

So what was Gangrel holding in? According to the vampire warrior himself, it was a booking with WWE's rival promotion AEW for Dynamite where he was supposed to do the Brood entrance. It would have been Gangrel's second AEW appearance, following a cameo at the Elite Deletion at AEW Fall Gear last November. After Edge's entrance, AEW decided to change plans, which Gangrel fully understood.

"I was supposed to be on a plane to Milwaukee," Gangrel revealed. "Yesterday, I get a return phone call saying 'oh man, we're so sorry, we're going in a different direction because WWE media stuff.' That entrance, everything Edge did was f*****g great. The reason I wasn't so excited about it is because I knew, I was offered another great opportunity and the timing sucked. The timing sucked. AEW contacted me and they wanted me to come in and do Dynamite today, tomorrow, Wednesday night. They were putting the entrance together, they were going to do the fire, they were putting the music together. They were getting it all together.

"The same time I was trending and really happy for Edge on the inside, I no selling because I was super worried like 'oh no! Please don't let this ruin things.' And it just kept blowing and getting bigger and bigger and bigger on Twitter. I called people that I know and they go 'I wouldn't worry about it. Your thing, it's different.' But when SummerSlam hit, I knew it was the final nail in the coffin. And it was cool because I was like 'wow.' I never knew hat Gangrel, which was my entrance originally and then became the Brood entrance, would look like in 2021. It was tremendously done. So when I got the phone call that they were going to go in a different direction, it's not their fault, it's just timing. I was so grateful and so happy to be a part of that. They even thought about, Tony Khan and everybody, I think it was Tony's (Khan) idea to bring me in and do all of that. I was so grateful and so happy, but I knew deep down inside, I know how things go. It was just that timing."

Gangrel also revealed that he had spoken to Edge on the phone afterwards, with Edge being apologetic over the case of bad timing. Overall though Gangrel was really excited over Edge's entrance, calling it awesome and putting over how much work Edge put into it.

"Yesterday after that happened, I called him (Edge)," Gangrel said. "He was like 'hey man, did you see it? I was getting ready to call you. Man I'm so happy and honored to pay tribute. You worked so hard and the Brood was a cool time in my life. I hope this helps you get more money out of bookings and move some merch.' I let him go and he was so happy, I didn't know what to say. Then I go 'yeah, it kind of cost me some work.' He goes 'what do you mean buddy?' I go 'well, that other company over there, AEW? They were getting ready to do a thing.' Whether it was a one off or a two off, I was getting ready to do my entrance again. I was going to get through the fire, not Edge, me. But I didn't tell him that.

"He got so quiet for what felt like an eternity. I was like 'hey, you still there?' He goes 'man, I'm so sorry. If you had told me.' I go 'I didn't know, I just got booked.' He was like 'I'm so, sorry.' It felt like he was gonna cry. I was like 'it's okay man. It's good. I work every weekend, I'm doing things.' He felt so bad. He sent me pictures of his daughter with the jacket. I was like 'no it's cool man. It was f*****g awesome man. I loved seeing you do that.' He felt so bad. It was a weird timing thing where it rains, it pours. But I understand. He told me he had been working on it for two and a a half months. He said 'you don't know how hard it was to get the blood bath thing because of the PG situation.' He wanted the red and the blood. It really came down to, 'if it's no black, it wasn't happening.' They weren't going to do it, so he went for the black. But I believe he fought for like, I think he said two and half, almost three months. He was trying to put this together. It wasn't an idea overnight for him. He planned it with Seth Rollins, they were going back seven years, over seven years in the making. So it was a big deal for him and he wanted to pay homage to me and The Brood. I truly believe that."

You can watch the full podcast below.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Fangin' N' Bangin' with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.