When Adam Copeland announced that he was going to officially debut an open challenge to help rack up wins to once again challenge Christian Cage for the TNT Championship, it felt like a perfect way to get a bunch of different opponents in the ring with the “Rated-R Superstar” during his final run around the professional wrestling world.

But when Copeland decided to bring the challenge back now that he's defeated Cage and earned the ultimate prize? Well, it opened up a world of different opportunities that have been as fun for the former WWE Champion as it's been for the fans watching along from home, as he noted in a special appearance on the AEW Unrestricted podcast.

“I think Jay (Christian Cage) really, really put some onus back on that championship and made it feel like it’s must see television. I want to continue that, but I thought I needed to continue it in a different way. So in between having my two title reigns, I thought the Cope Open would be cool to earn the shot back but also kind of opened the door to where it could be anybody,” Adam Copeland explained on AEW Unrestricted via PW Mania.

“That means it’s Suzuki one week. It’s Griff Garrison, it’s Lee Moriarty, it’s Dante Martin, it’s Daniel Garcia, it’s Matt Cardona. That’s really fun to me. It’s also fun as a performer to go, those are all completely different styles. Like there’s not one guy out of that that is similar. That’s really cool because I love trying to put on a different hat for each opponent. I’ve always tried to challenge myself to go okay, if I’m wrestling this guy, I can adapt. If I’m wrestling this guy, I can adapt. That’s a really fun challenge, though, because sometimes maybe you don’t adapt, but it’s fun to find out. It just so happens you find out on live television, so that can be a bit of a pressure cooker but it’s just a lot of fun. It really is. It feels like all bets are off, like anybody could show up. So look at a free agent. It’s a possibility. Trust me, I’m looking at them. I’ve already done all my homework. That’s really, really fun just to keep people on their toes, and if you see a Cope segment, who knows who’s gonna show up? I think that’s fun.”

Whoa, free agents, you say? Are we talking Trevor Lee? Mustafa Ali? Or maybe the former Jinder Mahal, a fellow former WWE Champion who was released earlier this month? Fans will find out soon enough.

Adam Copeland reveals how acting helped him in AEW.

Elsewhere in his appearance on AEW Restricted, Adam Copeland discussed how acting has impacted his professional wrestling career, with his on-screen experience providing some very interesting opportunities for a brand new style of storytelling.

“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,” Adam Copeland said via 411 Mania.

“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.”

Wait, so you're telling me Copeland actually did use #Cinema to become a better promo, a better storyteller, and even a better bell-to-bell wrestler? Wow, I guess social media has been right all along.