Adam Copeland has wrestled just about everywhere there is to wrestle, but one building was still bothering him. He now admits he didn’t think he could retire completely satisfied without finally stepping into the ring at Maple Leaf Gardens.
Speaking during the August 13 edition of MLP Mayhem, Copeland explained how his October 3 appearance for Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling came together. For a kid raised on Maple Leaf Wrestling, watching the promotion’s name and tradition return without being involved himself simply wasn’t an option.
“For me as a kid who grew up a Maple Leaf Wrestling, to see that Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling is back, yeah, it has to be something that I’m involved in. You know, how can I not be? It’s what I was raised on. I just remember CHCH-TV always, like, just waiting for it to come on. Channel 11. And then you’d get Channel 29 WUTV from Buffalo that would also, you know, air WWF Superstars.”
Copeland grew up surrounded by wrestling in Canada, and he has a pretty simple way of explaining just how deeply ingrained it was.
“There was just a lot of wrestling to be had. Canada’s just always been a hotbed for wrestling. Just always has been. I always said, you know, in Canada, you know, the lineup of importance is hockey, beer, wrestling.”
There was still one obvious hurdle. Copeland is contracted to AEW, meaning he couldn’t simply decide to show up for another promotion. That’s where Tony Khan came in. Copeland said Khan’s willingness to see wrestling succeed outside AEW helped make the appearance possible, particularly with AEW and Maple Leaf Pro already working together.
“In terms of doing this show, I’m contracted with AEW, but the beautiful part about Tony Khan and his outlook in terms of pro wrestling is that he wants pro wrestling to flourish. AEW and Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling are partners. It’s a partnership that can help wrestling thrive in a place that needs to have wrestling thrive.”
But this wasn’t simply another outside booking Copeland wanted permission to take. Khan knew what Maple Leaf Gardens meant to him, and Copeland admitted leaving wrestling without ever performing there would have left one final piece of his career unfinished.
“He also knew what it means to me and how special this place is to me. And I don’t think I was going to be able to retire without a bit of a bee in my bonnet unless I did this. I think this allows me to go, right.”
The whole thing actually started with Scott D’Amore paying attention. Copeland had previously spoken about Maple Leaf Gardens as his wrestling “hallowed ground”—the one building he needed to perform in before calling it a career. D’Amore heard him.
“The seeds for all of this coming to fruition started with Scott D’Amore seeing an interview that I did where I said, you know, my place, my hallowed ground that I have to perform in before I’m done is Maple Leaf Gardens. It’s a special place. It really, really was. You know, I’ve often—I thought, ‘Hey, maybe I’ll run a show one day in what is now Maple Leaf Gardens.’”
Then D’Amore sent him a text: “So, he sent me a text. He goes, ‘Hey, remember me? I think we can make this happen.’” And now it is. “Here we are however many years later and we’re making it happen.”
Copeland even joked that perhaps D’Amore’s entire Maple Leaf Pro revival has secretly been one elaborate way of getting him inside his dream building.
“Maybe Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling is all just so that I could wrestle in Maple Leaf Gardens.”
Scott D’Amore previously revealed how much this appearance means to Copeland, but now Copeland has made it clear himself. This isn’t another date squeezed onto his AEW schedule. It’s one of the final boxes he felt he needed to check before retirement. On October 3, he finally gets to check it.
Who should Adam Copeland face when he finally fulfills his Maple Leaf Gardens dream? Let us know in the comments below.
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