Gangrel Opens Up About Appearing At AEW Double Or Nothing 2024

While AEW Double or Nothing had plenty of wild moments, including some involving ice water, giant trucks, fire, and a man being hung upside down, somehow one of the most shocking involved the appearance of Gangrel. The former WWE star made his presence felt during the Barbed Wire Steel Cage match, popping out of the ring at the right moment to assist Adam Copeland in fighting off the House of Black, leading to Copeland defeating Malakai Black to retain the TNT Championship.

Appearing on "Busted Open Radio" on Wednesday, Gangrel credited Copeland, who unfortunately suffered a fractured tibia during the match, with securing Gangrel's involvement. He also suggested this was an idea Copeland had planned even prior to his AEW run.

"Adam, Edge, he's hard headed," Gangrel said. "Once he has a story or something in his mind, he's going to get it done, somehow, one way or another. Eventually it chilled over into AEW, and he had to get it done. And I'm appreciative for it...I'm 55 years old, I didn't know if I could crawl up from the bottom of the ring [after] being under there for a while. My biggest fear was 'Can I get up and move?' But the adrenaline kicked in. I was just blessed to be part of that moment. It was fun to be out there and to be a part of something."

As for whether or not anyone was aware of his cameo appearance, Gangrel noted that the whole deal was kept on the down low by himself, Copeland, and AEW. He also revealed how the promotion was able to, largely, keep him hidden throughout the day, and even just prior to him sneaking under the ring.

"They kept it hush hush," Gangrel said. "I didn't tell anybody. They had me come in last minute. I stayed in his locker room the whole time. When I went to go to the ring, people like Jericho were like 'What are you doing here?!' They were able to keep it quiet as best they could. I was surprised by that, because it's really hard to do in wrestling nowadays. That was really cool.

"I didn't get wheelchaired in, covered up, or anything like that. I just came in early, before everybody, then I went to the locker room, Adam's room, and just sat there, just sat there all day. And then right before the match, I threw a black hoodie on, and went out with the ring crew. Kind of climbed under the deal, and that was that."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription