Ahead of the 2022-23 NHL season, Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly didn’t know what to do with the gift he received from Adam Copeland at a wrestling event in Toronto.
Copeland, an Orangeville, Ont., native and lifelong fan of the team, handed Rielly a custom-made, blue wrestling championship belt, decked out with a Maple Leafs logo and the franchise motto — Honour, Pride, Courage. At first, Reilly tried to decline what he perceived to be too nice of a gift, but ended up hanging onto it at Copeland’s insistence.
He didn’t know it at the time, but the 30-plus year veteran of the pro wrestling industry had just kickstarted a new player-of-the-game tradition for the Maple Leafs, which has carried into this season.
Copeland returns home this week with All Elite Wrestling for an event at the Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto on Wednesday. Formerly known as Edge in WWE, Copeland will take on longtime friend Christian Cage in an I Quit Match for the TNT championship belt on Wednesday
Sportsnet had a chance to catch up with the “Rated R Superstar” to talk a little wrestling and a lot of hockey.
(This interview has been edited for length and clarity)
Sportsnet: As a huge fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs, how do you think the team has fared this season?
Adam Copeland: Pretty much as I thought it would go. I assumed they’d end up with less points (than last season), maybe be a little less of a juggernaut in the regular season but hoping that would (change) in the playoffs with guys like (Tyler) Bertuzzi and (Max) Domi. Now, I think those guys are finally fitting into the package which, to me, makes sense. You bring in a bunch of new players, it’s going to take time for all of that to start to be cohesive. A lot of times, I think sports fans, in general, are very impatient and they expect (results), like, now. For a guy like Bertuzzi, I think it just took him to find his way in the organization and find his confidence. This is a market where that can be a difficult thing to do because the type of toothbrush you use is going to be scrutinized. That’s the way it is, but you know that going in and it’s part of it.
SN: It sounds like we can draw a few parallels between players trying to gel with a new team, and wrestlers trying to gel in a new locker room. Are there any parallels there for yourself going from WWE to AEW?
AC: Where our (locker room) is different (from an NHL locker room) is it’s a highly athletic form of entertainment. I’m not going to get judged if I don’t score a goal. For over 30 years now, I’ve been doing wrestling, crafting stories and telling stories, so the letters don’t change that.
SN: You return to Toronto as a member of AEW where you’ll take on your old tag team partner and long-time friend, Christian, for the TNT championship. Has anything changed from your early years to now?
AC: This one’s fun, you know, because I’m going up against a guy that I’ve known since we were 10 (years old) and we’re 50 now, so do the math. We’ve known each other for a long time and we knew each other before all of this, so we have that bond before we ever became wrestlers. Some of the wrestlers you’ll see, unless they’re brothers, they met in the industry, got to know each other, and then became friends. Well, our story started way before that. To get to come back and do it here (in Toronto), especially the platform we have, that’s just super fun to me. And to have it be the cultivation now of what is a six-month long storyline … I’m proud of that.
SN: From the TNT belt to the Leafs Player of the Game belt that you gifted the team before last season, it continues to be used this season. Did it catch you by surprise that the Leafs continued to use the belt?
AC: Yeah, it kind of did, honestly. I figured, ‘Oh cool, they used it for a year and that’ll be it. Someone will hang it up in their house, awesome.’ I didn’t expect it was going to keep going, which is pretty cool. I had that thing made before the pandemic. I just hadn’t had a chance to (travel to Toronto). Then I saw Bruce Boudreau do it with the Canucks (in 2022) and I said, ‘No! No, Bruce! I was ahead of you! I swear!’ It was super fun, super cool. I met up with Morgan (Rielly) and I just said, ‘Hey man I had this made.’ I think he just assumed that I had it made for me just to show him. I said, ‘No it’s for you guys. Do with it whatever you want, but it’s yours, it’s the team’s (belt).’ When I saw what they started doing with it, I mean, come on. My first truly tangible memories are watching the Leafs vs. the Islanders in the ’78 quarterfinals and Lanny McDonald coming down on a breakaway, so to feel like even a little part of something that I had made for a team that I’ve grown up loving, that’s pretty cool.
SN: Do you keep in touch with any members of the team?
AC: I’ll always keep in touch with Morgan, but he’s the only guy on the team that I have any contact with, but I did get a birthday message on my 50th birthday from the team which was pretty funny … it was quite humorous. And very surreal, too. I’m getting messages from Bret Hart and Hulk Hogan and then there’s the Maple Leafs. Like, what is happening right now? How did all of this happen? But I’m not complaining.
SN: You and former Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas have been known to chat. Now that he’s in Pittsburgh, do you keep in touch?
AC: We haven’t since, but next time I go to Pittsburgh I’m sure I’ll run into him and we’ll get caught up. Just because it’s a different team doesn’t mean you don’t still talk to your friends and acquaintances, for sure. I can say I’ve never been a Penguins fan. They were one of those teams for me. Some years they were just too damn good. Like, you get (Mario) Lemieux, then you get (Jaromir) Jagr, to (Sidney) Crosby? Come on.
SN: Do you have a favourite player outside of the Leafs that you always appreciated?
AC: Wherever Wendel Clark went, I was always going to support him. I was pretty bummed when he was traded but, at the same time, you get (Mats) Sundin. But I always really, really respected and appreciated the way Joe Sakic played. I just really liked the way he played, always did. And that’s a lot of the reason why I really enjoy this current crop of Leafs, because you get a guy like Morgan Reilly who, to me, is the quarterback of the team and he plays a tough game, but not a dirty game. Even with the slapshot in the empty net (vs. Ottawa), I appreciated (his response). He was showing something here, and he’s showing the rest of the team something. I’ve always liked that kind of player, like Jake Muzzin (who’s) dependable, solid and chances are things are going to be real good if they’re on the ice. I’ve had plenty of players (that I’ve liked) over the years. I met Jean Beliveau once and I mean, it’s Jean Beliveau, you know? Or (Guy) Lafleur, I got to meet all these guys, which is so crazy. I got to sit down and talk to Ted Lindsay for a while and meet him multiple times. By the third time, I said, ‘Hi Mr. Lindsay’ and he said, ‘Just call me Ted.’ So, ‘Yup, I’ll call you Ted, Ted.’
SN: Is Christian a Leafs fan?
AC: He is, yeah. He’s a Lightning fan, too, like how I also like the Devils, but he lives in Tampa. He lives literally right across the street from the arena so he just kind of walks across and they all know him and he just walks in and watches games. If there’s a Leafs game, we usually end up going to them. I was there last year to see Marner breaking the consecutive points streak (Maple Leafs franchise record 23-game streak set in 2022), I was there for both overtime playoff wins. Somehow, I’m able to get to Tampa more than I’m able to get to Toronto now, so I’ve caught most of my Leafs games in Tampa.
SN: Have you caught wind of the PWHL in Toronto and what that team is doing?
AC: Yeah! I watched the game against Montreal last week. I think it’s great. What was really cool about that was that I have two daughters and they went, ‘Wait, there’s a whole league, Dad?’ I went, ‘Yeah, pretty cool right?’ And to see that recognition kind of go off in their eyes like, ‘Wait, huh, technically I could become a pro hockey player?’ That was awesome, just to see those light bulbs go off for them because they sit and watch hockey with me. I’ve converted them and they dig it. At first, I think it was just to spend time with dad, but now it’s become a thing for us. It’s fun when you can have those experiences with your kids, and things that you can all talk about and relate to.
SN: Do your daughters want to skate and play hockey?
AC: They constantly tell me they want to skate but we live in Asheville, North Carolina, so there’s not a lot of skating to be done, sadly. If we lived (in Toronto) still, they would totally be playing, especially my youngest. She’s that kid. It was fun to watch (the PWHL) with them. What was great, too, was that it was great skill. It’s good hockey. It’s really, really good hockey, so for them to see that and go, ‘Wow they’re really good’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, they are.’ But also, what we love, too, when we tune in is whatever the broadcast is, there’s also really knowledgeable women talking about hockey and (my daughters) love that … I think it’s great. That’s been really fun to experience with them.
SN: Will we ever see a PWHL Toronto ceremonial belt?
AC: You never know. That might not be a bad idea. Yeah, we could get something going there. I’d have to figure out a design.
SN: Back to the Leafs. How far can this iteration of the team go this year, with a likely first-round matchup against the Bruins or Panthers looming?
AC: I feel like this year, because of the seven-game losing streak against Boston, I think that takes a lot of pressure off because a lot of people are expecting them to lose. In that case, just go in flipping birds and just kick the doors down. That’s what I’m kind of hoping for, is that maybe there’s a little bit less expectation. It’s just one of those deals where we didn’t add a whole bunch of different pieces, and (sometimes when) you add those pieces last minute, it might not gel. It might not gel until mid-season, which is what we’ve started to see with guys like Domi and Bertuzzi. And then you get those happy accidents like (Simon) Benoit and (Bobby) McMann — such a great story. But those are all guys with a different type of sandpaper to them than I think the Leafs have had before, too. So that’s really intriguing … but I’m excited. I wish it wasn’t Boston, but I’m excited for it.
SN: Adam Copeland seems like a man who can talk hockey all day long.
AC: Yeah, as you can tell. I don’t think I’ve even mentioned wrestling or the match (against Christian). By the way, I’m wrestling in a match (Wednesday in Toronto at the Coca-Cola Coliseum) against Christian Cage for the TNT Championship!
SN: What would to be better, winning the TNT title from Christian or the Maple Leafs winning the Stanley Cup?
AC: Oh my gosh. I mean, not for nothing, but if I win that TNT title, I think it will be my 33rd championship. The Leafs are only at 13 so I think I’d probably be a little bit more excited since it’s been my entire lifetime and then some … and I’m 50!
