Adam Copeland (Cope in AEW) spent the majority of his career working as Edge in WWE, reaching the top of the mountain as WWE Champion multiple times throughout his career.
Being a top guy in WWE meant working closely with Vince McMahon, the owner and head booker of the promotion.
Speaking to Stephen Brunt on Up Close, Cope was asked about his relationship with Vince McMahon during their time together.
"It was fascinating to eventually sit down with him and ask him the reasoning for certain things on the show. 'Why are we doing this?' I liken it to being able to sit down with [PT] Barnam, 'How? Why? How was all of this created? Why did you do it this way?' I just thought, I have this opportunity to sit down with this really interesting man and try to understand how he got where he got to, the choices he made to get to where he got to, the chances he took, the risks he took, because there are a lot of them, and then just having chats with him about how the mob....a lot of really crazy stuff. That, to me, was always fascinating. To try and peak into what a billionaire's brain looks like. I also realize that, I think I'm good not being a billionaire. You see how much comes with that. Fascinating man. Fascinating man. Intelligent man," said Cope.
When Brunt mentioned that there was a dark side to McMahon, alluding to the allegations of sexual assault and sexual trafficking, Cope replied, "Absolutely. After the fact, you learn some of that stuff, and it's like, 'What?' I was never close enough to know that. It was still business. I love talking business with him. It was fascinating. The Dana Whites of the world have taken their cues from Vince and what he created. If you think about what he created and turned it into, he created an industry. Wrestling was there, but it was regional, it was pockets and these tiny things and a code, and you didn't break that code. Vince went, 'I'm taking over. I'm going to make this worldwide.' Even to the extent of not calling wrestlers 'wrestlers,' they are Superstars, that's bigger than 'wrestlers.' I get a lot of what he was trying to accomplish. I didn't always agree with it at the time, I'd sometimes fight it kicking and screaming, and sometimes I'd be like, 'Ah, but he was right. Interesting. I didn't see that coming.' Fascinating, just from the wrestling and business perspective, to dive into how and why he made the decisions he made. I always found it fascinating."
Elsewhere during the interview, Cope commented on how much longer he wants to wrestle. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
Janel Grant, a former WWE employee, filed a lawsuit in January against Vince McMahon, WWE, and John Laurinaitis. The lawsuit accuses McMahon of sexual assault and sex trafficking. On May 30, Grant agreed to pause the lawsuit for six months while the federal investigation continued against McMahon, who resigned from TKO/WWE following the lawsuit being filed.
Victim Resources:
National Sexual Assault Hotline
Hours: Available 24 hours
1-800-656-4673
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