Adam Copeland Reveals How Acting Helped In Pro Wrestling Return

Adam Copeland has been a mainstay of AEW television since debuting back at WrestleDream and he has been a babyface all this time. His pro wrestling return wasn’t even supposed to happen and now Copeland has revealed how acting has helped in his pro wrestling return.

Copeland has had an impressive resurgence in his career since returning to professional wrestling. After a nine-year hiatus due to a neck injury, Copeland made a surprise return at the 2020 Royal Rumble in WWE, marking a major comeback.

In an episode of the AEW Unrestricted podcast, Copeland shared his thoughts on how acting has influenced his professional wrestling career, particularly after his return to the ring in 2020. He admitted that he never planned on becoming an actor and never saw it as a career path. Wrestling was his passion, but when he was forced to retire due to injury, he had to find other outlets for his creativity.

An unexpected opportunity arose when an executive producer from the TV show “Haven” saw Copeland’s retirement speech and invited him to appear on the show. What started as a single episode soon turned into 41 episodes. During this time, Copeland discovered the creativity and depth of acting, which was different from wrestling’s instant feedback but still fulfilling in its own way.

Copeland grew to enjoy the process and started engaging with directors, cinematographers, and other actors to learn more about the craft. His curiosity and eagerness to understand the intricacies of the industry often led him to ask questions, reminiscent of his early days in wrestling.

When he returned to wrestling, Copeland found that his acting experience provided new insights into the art of promos and in-ring storytelling. He noted that while wrestling and acting are different, they share a common creative root with different branches. Through acting, he gained a better understanding of how to use movement, stillness, and facial expressions to enhance his performance in wrestling. Copeland acknowledged that he prefers to focus on these elements, which he feels can convey more than complex moves or sequences. Overall, his journey into acting helped him bring a fresh perspective to his wrestling career, allowing him to explore new ways to connect with audiences.

“I didn’t fully realize what it brought to me until I came back. Acting was a happy accident, I never had aspirations, I never wanted that to be my career. I was pro wrestler, that was it, that’s all I ever wanted to do. But, when you’re told you can’t do it, you gotta wrap your mind around stuff. Luckily, executive producer for a show called Haven, they saw my retirement speech and said, ‘Can we get that guy?’ I went out there and one episode turned into 41 episodes. In the process, I learned, wow, this is really awesome. This is a cool gig. It’s not wrestling, you don’t have that instant gratification to know if what you’re doing is working, but it’s still very creative and it’s tapping into that creative vein, and I need that. I think anybody that is involved in wrestling is a creative person. It became kind of my place to still get that out. I fell in love with it, started putting work towards it. I talked to the directors, talked to the DP, ‘Okay, why are we lighting this way, why are we doing this?’ Talking to other actors and saying, ‘Why’d you make that choice?’ Not questioning it, but wondering and learning to the point where it’s probably annoying people, but that’s what I did in wrestling. I just asked questions. If I was on a indie show and Bad News Brown was on it, I was going straight to him and going, ‘What do you got for me? My ears are wide open.’ I wanted to be the same way on the set.”

”Coming back to wrestling, I realized how many different things that I can use. As much as they’re different, they’re still the same tree, they’re just kind of different branches. It was fascinating to come back with a promo and realize how to use movement, how to use stillness to make it mean more, how to use your eyes. So often in wrestling, we get caught up in moves or spots or sequences, or whatever the term is these days. Give me those all day and I’m gonna get more across with those then I will by doing a shooting star. Plus, I can’t do one, so there’s that.”

Adam Copeland has also disclosed how long he will continue to wrestle. Adam Copeland also doesn’t think he can be heel anymore. Nonetheless, we will have to wait and see how he will continue to be booked as the TNT Champion, as fans want him to wrestle as much as possible till his retirement.

Are you happy to see that Adam Copeland is still an active in-ring competitor? Let us know in the comments section below!