The Brood is one of the most beloved factions of the Attitude Era, and their leader, Gangrel, made a shocking and memorable appearance at AEW’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view for a one-off appearance. In a new interview, Adam Copeland has revealed that he had been trying to get Gangrel involved in his storylines for years, including a pitch for him to be a part of his match at WrestleMania 39 that was ultimately shot down by “the powers that be” in WWE.
The return of Gangrel, who came up through the ring to help Copeland in his steel cage match against Malakai Black, was a perfect full-circle moment that rewarded longtime fans. It was a moment that Copeland had been pushing for, and one that he knew would connect with the AEW audience.
Speaking with Scott Campbell of The Score, Copeland discussed wanting to work with his former mentor again. He explained that he always felt it was a “no-brainer” to involve Gangrel whenever he brought back his “Brood” persona.
“So I’ve just been trying to figure out a way to work Gangrel in. Since I was doing it, I would pop back into The Brood character. So it felt like a no-brainer to me. You know, you got the demon, you got Brood, and, let’s have Gangrel involved. You know, no one else saw it well. The powers that be didn’t see it that way. So okay, well, it’s not my sandbox, but I knew if we ever got there again. I also knew with AEW, Tony would be wide open to it, because more than anything, Tony is a wrestling fan. He understands that wrestling fans remember, because he remembers, and that was the argument I’d always get, was, ‘Ah, nobody’s gonna remember. Nobody’s gonna remember.’ And I thought, well, that’s what our production team is for, is to put a package together to remind everyone, if they don’t, but also they remember.”
The moment at Double or Nothing was particularly special for Copeland because it was a chance to give Gangrel a proper spotlight, something he felt was missing after their original run as The Brood ended abruptly. The fact that it happened in a match against The House of Black, a faction that shares a similar dark aesthetic, made it all the more fitting.
“So it was nice to be able to do that. And truly, like, I broke my leg probably about 10 minutes before the finish. So I was like, I gotta get through this, because Dave’s coming up, and I really want to see him in this ring and and and just have that moment with him, because I don’t feel like, after The Brood, we ever got that kind of moment, it was just one day, hey, we’re gonna split you guys up, and we’re like, what? Oh, okay, to do what… So to be able to get to do that with Gangrel, that far, you know, with, also with the House of Black, which was characters that totally fit that dynamic, and allowed me to be able to bring The Brood character back, so that that was, that was fun.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit The Score with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
