Cope (Adam Copeland) addresses fan backlash over his hardcore match against Jon Moxley

As seen during the March 19th 2025 edition of AEW Dynamite, Jon Moxley defeated Cope (Adam Copeland) in a street fight (hardcore match) to retain his AEW world title. While speaking to TVInsider.com, Cope addressed fan backlash over the match…

“I look at wrestling as a variety show. That means you bring a lot of different things to the table with that. There can be some comedy, straight up wrestling, hardcore matches. That has always been the case. It’s also not really out of the ballpark of what Moxley and I do every once in a while. Think about me and [Mick] Foley. I’m sure there are a lot of people that were disturbed by that too. There are also a lot of people who enjoy horror movies. There are people who enjoy romcoms. I think wrestling can bring that all to the table. I think that is what AEW does. I also feel like AEW is not afraid to take some risks. For a lack of a better analogy, we’re kind of a bit punk rock. It’s not always going to be pretty. It’s an alternative. It’s something different. I think if you look throughout the history of the company, it’s not something new. Darby Allin was falling off ladders and glass and thumbtacks. It has always been there to an extent. Let’s also face it. If you have two wrestlers coming out to wrestle a technical match every match, that can get pretty boring.”

Cope also revealed who he wants to work with before he retires…

“I know I want to work the Swerve Strickland’s, Hangman Page’s, Jay White’s and the Kyle Fletcher’s and the Will Ospreay’s, Kenny Omega’s and the Samoa Joe’s. I haven’t worked with any of those people and would really like to do that before I hang them up.”