In a long post on social media, Adam Copeland explained why he decided to leave WWE and join AEW and urged fans to be just that, fans.
Copeland said that his new home is AEW and excited to work with some familiar faces and most importantly, new faces as well.
Addressing his 25 years with WWE, he said that he loves the company and appreciates everything that they did for him as they put him on the map, gave him a family, and provided him with a wonderful life.
“Sometimes relationships just grow apart and I feel the WWE and I have just outgrown each other,” he said. “I wanted to do more. They didn’t have much more for me to do. Simple as that. And that’s ok. I’ll still be watching and still be supporting all of my friends there.”
Copeland noted the divide between WWE and AEW fans and said that this is supposed to be fun and everyone in the business is grateful that there are more choices where to work.
“If you’re actually a fan of wrestling, and not acronyms, that should make you happy too,” he continued.
You can read the full statement below.
“From The Desk of… As some of you may now know, I’m no longer with WWE. My new home is AEW. I’m excited. Whole new roster. Some familiar faces that I wanted to work with again and a whole set of first ever matches. New challenges, and if you’ve followed my career, you know that’s what I’ve always been driven by.”
“But first and foremost I want to address my 25 years with WWE. I love WWE and appreciate everything the company did for me. Always have, always will. They put me on the map, gave me amazing opportunities and through hard work on both ends, I’ve been supplied with a wonderful life. Hell, WWE helped me meet the woman I’d start my family with. Sometimes relationships just grow apart and I feel the WWE and I have just outgrown each other. I wanted to do more. They didn’t have much more for me to do. Simple as that. And that’s ok. I’ll still be watching and still be supporting all of my friends there.”
“I don’t buy into this odd mentality of one company or the other. It’s weird. If you took offense to that, take a walk, get some fresh air and soak up some sunshine. It’s wrestling. An amazing gig. But still, it’s wrestling. Relax. It’s supposed to be fun. And it’s just a segment of the fans, not most fans, and definitely not the performers. Within the industry we all know that more choices is better for everyone and pushes us all to be better. As a wrestling fan, which I still am, it’s exciting that there’s viable companies providing wrestling on national and worldwide platforms. If you’re actually a fan of wrestling, and not acronyms, that should make you happy too.”
“I guess what I’m trying to say is this, if you’ve appreciated my work, you still can, no matter what the initials are. Because I’ll still be bustin my ass everytime I’m out there. This ride isn’t over just yet. Just try to have fun, like it should be. Because trust me I’ll be having fun everytime I’m out there in an AEW ring. Let’s go!”