AEW's Adam Copeland Explains The Idea Behind The Cope Open

For most of his first few months in AEW, Adam Copeland has been embroiled in a feud with former friend and tag team partner Christian Cage. But ever since their match at AEW Worlds End, where the two traded the AEW TNT Championship, Copeland has been embarking on "The Cope Open," an open challenge series where "The Rated R Superstar" is trying to fight his way back to TNT Title contention.

In an interview with "Sports Illustrated," Copeland talked about coming up with the idea for "The Cope Open," which he considers both a side quest to his story with Christian that also spotlights younger talent.

"While the story with Christian plays out, I thought, let's do this fascinating side story where no one knows what comes next," Copeland said. "The more I thought about it, we can use it as a vehicle for some young guys to get some different experience. And then I kept thinking about it, and it hit me: 'This means it could be anyone.' I've been tossing out all kinds of names and seeing who bites."

So far, Copeland has faced off against Griff Garrison, Lee Moriarty, and Dante Martin in the open challenge, with Japanese legend Minoru Suzuki set to be the first veteran to answer the call tonight on "AEW Dynamite."

"It's fun," said Copeland. "That's the word I keep coming back to. It fits. The audience has no idea who's next. Maybe that's young guys who don't get a lot of television time. I think that's really cool. As a young wrestler, I would have loved that. As a wrestling fan, I love that. It's a fun experiment. I don't even know what to expect. All I can tell you is it's going to be really, really fun."