Cope says he didn’t understand AEW’s Death Riders angle at first, and he wanted to figure it out with the audience.
Jon Moxley has been leading the Death Riders for the past several months, and he has won the AEW World Championship. The storyline has changed at different points, and it has become somewhat polarizing among fans.
Speaking with Jon Alba for The Takedown on SI, Cope discussed being part of the storyline heading into his title match against Moxley at AEW Revolution.
“I think it felt like the right time to go, ‘Okay. If we’re going to, you know, do a title program, this is probably the time to do it,” Cope said. “Moxley seems like the right guy.’ I also feel like, you know, they’re a group that need a strong babyface, especially to establish what they are,” he said. “You go back to 30 years on television and people just kind of recognizing your face or like, ‘Hey, I think I know that guy,’ like that kind of thing. It felt like I was the right babyface right now to try and really help establish what they’re trying to get across.”
Cope: It Was Confusing At First
Cope then admitted that the Death Riders’ story was confusing at first, and he wanted tot try to figure it out along with the audience. He noted that he wanted to find what story they could tell.
“Well, for me, it was just, it was confusing at first. Like, I didn’t fully understand what was happening,” Cope said. “So I wanted to try and figure that out along with the audience, I think, and then go ‘Alright, what can be the story here? The story can be you take them out, because it’s always the numbers that they have the advantage with. Okay, let’s do something about that. Let’s tell a story there.’ And more than anything, the beginning of the thing is, ‘Okay, you attacked all of my friends on television, right? Okay. So, yeah, I’m coming back. Time to step in and give this a shot.
“Anything I’m involved in, I try to at least add some layers to it. And when putting the things together, going, ‘Okay, here’s the package for the match.’ You got to build in beats for that package to sum everything up, so if you watch that two minutes right before the match, you’re caught up. You got it, and know, ‘Alright, and now I’m looking forward to this thing.’ I think more than anything, that’s my mentality, is just trying to craft something or be a part of helping craft something where you get those beats, those tentpoles throughout that you can just insert in a package and get everybody caught up, before, you know, they watch the actual match. But still, that to me is what hooks me.”
Cope On The Death Riders Angle Changing
Cope went on to recall how it felt like the story had changed. He also stated that he has enjoyed collaborating with Tony Khan.
“They had other business to take care of first, so it kind of diluted things, right? But once we were able to bear down and say, ‘Okay, this is the program now, now let’s get to work, let’s get to business.’ And once we did that, I feel like it changed,” Cope said. “And I feel like that was just, it was going to happen. It just couldn’t happen until everything else was kind of fleshed out. But [Tony Khan]’s great to work with. He’s super collaborative. He listens, and he trusts people with experience, people who have been there, people who have been put in these positions before. So I’ve just, it’s been really fun to collaborate and create.”
WrestleZone will have coverage of AEW Revolution as it airs on March 9th.
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