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Gangrel recently made a surprise appearance at AEW Double or Nothing 2024. New backstage details about this cameo have come to light.
The 55-year-old worked closely with Adam Copeland during the latter's early WWE career, as they were part of The Brood. The group also included Christian Cage. Several years later, Copeland formed his own stable called The Judgment Day. He pitched an idea to WWE to have Gangrel show up at WrestleMania 39. However, the proposal was rejected by the Stamford-based promotion.
When Adam Copeland joined AEW, he pitched the same idea to the Tony Khan-led creative team, and it was approved. At Double or Nothing last month, Gangrel appeared during Copeland's match against Malakai Black.
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During an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling Senior Editor Bill Apter, Gangrel said Copeland discussed the plan for his surprise appearance at Double or Nothing two months before the pay-per-view. The Attitude Era veteran disclosed that he immediately approved the pitch.
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"Once he went over and chose to start working with AEW, he still had that idea. About two months prior, he called me up and said, 'Hey, these guys think it will be cool. What do you think about coming up and finishing that idea by coming at Double or Nothing and help me out and have a little reunion?' I said, 'I would love to.'" (7:13 - 7:32)
Vince Russo recently spoke about Gangrel's lifestyle
During his days as leader of The Brood, Gangrel played the role of a vampire. He even got dental implants to enhance his on-screen presentation. While many thought the eerie gimmick was limited to WWE TV, Vince Russo revealed that the 55-year-old was always fascinated by theories about the mythical creature.
On a recent edition of Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws, Vince Russo mentioned that Gangrel's real-life interests allowed him to play his WWE gimmick to perfection.
"He really lived that lifestyle, obviously, bro. He has got his freaking teeth filed down, for crying out loud. So, he obviously lived that lifestyle, so it started with him. Back then, Edge and Christian had a totally different look, and the look was very cool, and vampires and the underground, that whole lifestyle was very, very cool back then. You match that with the dress, the ring entrance, and all that stuff, as well as the dropping of the blood, and you've got a faction that's pretty, pretty cool." [From 40:00 onwards]
It will be interesting to see whether the wrestling veteran will make more appearances for AEW amid Adam Copeland's absence.
If you use any quotes from the article's first half, please embed the YouTube video and credit Sportskeeda Wrestling.
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