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The AEW run of Adam Copeland has been a roller-coaster ride so far. Billed as just Cope since returning from his injury hiatus, the WWE Hall of Famer has battled Jon Moxley and The Death Riders as of late, but the high-profile feud is not sitting well with fans. Now major heat has come down over the latest viral happening.
The Purveyor of Violence has been a record-setting four-time AEW World Champion for just over four months, but fans have called for the end of The Death Riders' reign since around the beginning of the program. The current creative direction with Moxley and his crew seems to be dragging down related talents as Rated FTR and Cope's other allies have been on the receiving end of the criticism, as has the overall All Elite creative team.
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Moxley has kept the World Championship in a briefcase since dethroning Bryan Danielson at WrestleDream. Cope and Jay White ambushed Moxley on Dynamite, then used bolt cutters to free the briefcase from Marina Shafir's wrist. Cope later threatened to destroy the briefcase with his dreaded bat, Spike, but Moxley agreed to a Revolution title shot. Cope still smashed the briefcase until the heels attacked. The Grand Slam go-home Dynamite ended with Shafir saving the briefcase while Claudio Castagnoli took a Blade Runner, and Mox took a Spear.
The majority of feedback to the Cope-Moxley segment seems to be negative, which is on par with most of The Death Rider's storyline. Many fans did not approve of Cope's line about how he doesn't care about the AEW World Championship, with others sharing opinions on how Cope's run has felt flat after such a strong WWE career as Edge. Some fans shared the conspiracy that claims Cope is just there to hurt Tony Khan's company.
You can see a few related reactions below:
"he just made the world championship in the company meaningless with one line," wrote one fan.
AEW Grand Slam Australia updated lineup
AEW will debut in Australia tomorrow for its fifth Grand Slam event, from the Entertainment Centre in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Below is the updated card:
- Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay vs. Konosuke Takeshita and Kyle Fletcher
- Brisbane Brawl: Cope and Jay White vs. Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli
- Continental Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Buddy Matthews
- Women's World Championship: Mariah May (c) vs. Toni Storm
- TBS Championship: Mercedes Moné (c) vs. Harley Cameron
Grand Slam will air in place of the weekly Collision episode. The special will air on TNT and Max immediately after TNT's NBA All-Star coverage, on a tape delay of around 21 hours.
