As fans in Kansas City eagerly waited to see Adam Copeland work his first-ever match as a member of AEW, his former tag team partner, Christian Cage, decided to hold up the proceedings ever so slightly with a promo of his own, addressing the claims the “Rated-R Superstar” made six days before during his Dynamite debut.

After being levied with the accusation that Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne would leave him behind once they'd learned everything they could from “Captain Charisma,” something Copeland knows all too well from his days as Edge, Cage fired back, but not without sending a few shots at Rhea Ripley, Damian Priest, and the rest of Judgment Day.

“Kansas City, keep the noise down while I conduct my business. Kansas City, you should be happy that you have a champion that you can be proud of in your midst, because, unlike your Kansas City Chiefs, I don't need any extra help to get my wins. Now, it was apparent last week that I left a lot of people's jaws on the floor with the three words that I said to the ‘Rated-R Superstar.' I know I left him in shock in the middle of this ring when I left him standing here with his junk in his hands and that stupid look on his face that I've seen a million times before,” Christian Cage said as the crowd booed him.

“And I found it interesting that he said that Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne were going to turn on me when they got all of the information that they needed based on his experience in the past. Well, the difference is, Adam, I didn't take some rag-tag group, dress them up like it's Halloween, and convince them they're tough guys. You tried to be their leader. I am not their leader, I am their father; that's the difference.

“And it also made me laugh, you actually almost made me crack a smile when you came out and gave the big rah rah speech of ‘Hey, ‘let's get the team back together. Let's have all of these dream matches. Let's finish our careers together.' And it's funny that that same sentiment wasn't there a few years ago, Adam, it's funny that same sentiment wasn't there a few years ago when I was deliberately being held back even though I was clearly the more talented of the two while you were being pushed to the moon! Why didn't you want to get back together then, Adam? Where were your tag team aspirations then I ask?”

Dang, while reaching back to Copeland's Edge days shouldn't be too surprising, as what else are heels going to talk about, Percy Jackson, going head-on against one of WWE's hottest factions is certainly a choice, one that some lesser performers may not. Fortunately, Cage isn't a lesser performer, and before his promo time came to an end, he decided to take an even lower blow on his long-time friend.

Beth Pheonix caught a stray from Christian Cage, too.

Continuing on with his promo, Christian Cage turned his attention to Adam Copeland's homelife and specifically the girls in his life, Lyric, Ruby, and Beth Phoenix, who he offered to be father along if Edge isn't getting the job done at home too.

“And my how times have changed because as your career is on a downward slope, my career keeps rising to new heights. Because I am without a doubt the hottest star in this industry, I am the most talked about star in this business, and you've come out here under the guise that you want to get the tag team back together when the fact is, you need me, I don't need you,” Cage said.

“But I can't say I blame you for being a fan, Adam; I have a lot of fans around the world. In fact, I know your wife Beth is a huge fan. And you know what? I'm already getting bored of this, so I think I'm going to go ahead and have my ‘Right Hand of Destruction' end you right here once and for all. But take solace in the fact that your little girls, Lyric and Ruby, will be well taken care of. Hey Beth, I know you're out there listening, put some clean sheets on the bed, cause your new father is coming home, girls.”

Is it a bit too on the nose to take shots at a wrestler's family, especially when they are a big reason why said performer jumped ship to AEW in the first place? Eh, maybe a little bit, but if you've followed the career of Cage, there isn't a fruit low enough for the TNT Champion to ignore, as he's proven over and over again.