"Wrestlers are so weird" - WWE veteran stunned over recent Adam Copeland decision in AEW (Exclusive)

AEW drew major buzz after signing Adam Copeland almost 16 months ago. Cope was fresh off his 25th anniversary with WWE and had much momentum. But it wasn't long before Tony Khan started to receive criticism over how he was using the wrestling legend. Now another major name has weighed in on a recent controversial decision. The name in question is Vince Russo.

The former Edge of WWE debuted in AEW as Adam Copeland, The Rated-R Superstar. After making a surprise return from an injury hiatus in late December, the Canadian grappler felt like the use of his real name with a nickname was "very wordy." Hence, he began using just Cope as his official moniker. The decision shocked many fans and analysts, and several WWE legends spoke about it.

Vince Russo actually gave Copeland the Edge name years ago when both were with WWE in the Attitude Era. Speaking to Dr. Chris Featherstone on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Writing with Russo, the wrestling legend shook his head upon first hearing of the Cope name change. Russo then opined on why he thought the decision was made.

"Bro, wrestlers are so weird, man. They're just so, so, so weird. I think a lot of it comes from, bro, them putting just so much importance on it. Like, I really think that's where it comes from. It's like, guys (...) [sigh]," Vince Russo said. [From 2:55 to 3:18]

Rated FTR (Cope & FTR) has worked three multi-man matches since returning together at Worlds End 2024. Cope won his first singles bout since returning on January 11, defeating Big Bill via referee's decision on Collision. He then defeated PAC on last week's Dynamite. Both were first-time-ever matches.

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Updated AEW Dynamite lineup for tonight

All Elite Wrestling will air tonight's Dynamite live from VBC Propst Arena in Huntsville, Alabama. Below is the updated lineup for the show.

• MJF will speak
• Jay White vs. Wheeler Yuta
• Will Ospreay vs. Brian Cage
• AEW TBS Championship Match: Mercedes Moné (c) vs. Yuka Sakazaki
• Jeff Jarrett vs. Claudio Castagnoli (if he wins, Jarrett will become number one contender to World Champion Jon Moxley)

This week's AEW Dynamite will also feature a rare Collision taping on the same night. Saturday's episode will air via tape delay on TNT and Max, head-to-head with WWE Royal Rumble.

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