I got put through a ladder by Jeff Hardy at WrestleMania 23, had bruises from the ladder rungs across my back, but I was back the next night. I did the hardcore match with Mick Foley at WrestleMania 22, went through a flaming table, and had thumbtacks in my back, but I was out there the next night. That mentality does get ingrained in you.
Edge
Being at Wrestlemania 6, I remember being completely in shock and dumbfounded when Hulk Hogan missed the leg drop and Warrior hit the splash and got the 1-2-3. I was devastated.
You can put me in a cage, on a ladder, in any kind of match, and I will persevere. I will find a way.
I liked The Trickster because he was The Flash's Joker. I liked Solomon Grundy, too.
I've always just introduced myself as Adam Copeland. I never really thought too much about it.
Two friends and I decided to get tattoos of different animals. My one friend got a bulldog. My other friend got a bull, I think, and then I got a shark. Two years later, there was a cartoon called 'Street Sharks,' and by happenstance, it looked eerily reminiscent of my tattoo. Actually, it was identical.
I did those two TV matches in WCW against Kevin Sullivan and Meng, and within five minutes of walking into that locker room, I was like, 'I don't want to be here.' I could tell this is not the place for me. And the dream was still WWF and getting there.
I wrestled my guys growing up. I've wrestled with Hulk Hogan. I've wrestled against Shawn Michaels. I've wrestled against Ric Flair.
It was never my intention to be an actor, and I don't know if I'll ever call myself an actor because I've always said that would be a slap in the face to proper actors, but it's fun, and thankfully, I've had the luxury in my adult life that anything I've done has been fun.
In Canada, it's beer, hockey, and then everything else.
There's not too much Edge in Adam Copeland, but there's a little bit of my sarcasm and my sense of humor, I guess, but I'm not a sleazy, raving maniac like the character of Edge could be.
I am not a video game guy at all. Once it got past Super Mario Bros. and past two buttons, they lost me. I was like, 'I do not have the abilities to be able to do this. It doesn't work.'
Obviously, being WWE Champion was my main goal in life, but when I started acting, the main thing I wanted to do was play a superhero or supervillain.
I saved everything, all my gear over the years: my trench coats and stuff that I have saved. It is all packed away nicely and neatly in vacuum-sealed bags and all that stuff.
It's interesting: I never got stressed before wrestling matches. I always felt completely confident that I had done everything I could do, all my mental preparations when I sat down and envisioned the match, so I never felt stressed.
I always looked at it as, the character of Edge gives me complete free reign with no borders, where you can get away with anything, just a complete... no social qualities, no redeeming qualities whatsoever.
That's one of the things I always tried to do as champ. If you saw me at house shows, I was going to make you think I was going down. If I was wrestling Kane, I could lose. I'm wrestling Batista, I could lose. I'm wrestling Big Show, Undertaker, you name it, I could lose.
I was one of the innovators of the TLC Match; some would arguably say that I am the master of the Ladder Match.
The Rated-R Superstar was usually a vile and horrible human being who had some moments of being a good guy.
I can excel in any situation, and like I've said, I'm not pro-WWE or anti-ECW - I'm pro-Edge. I don't care about promotions; I care about myself, plain and simple.
I am the man that everyone is compared to in this business.
The way I look at it is I had to retire as world champion with my last match at WrestleMania.
I was never stupid with my money, because I grew up without it. So when I started to make some, I was like, 'Okay, first rule of thumb, I'm not buying it unless I've got the money to buy it,' so I have no debt.
The only time I have exchanged gear with someone was with The Undertaker at WrestleMania 24. I gave him my kick-pads and my tights from that, and I got his gloves. It is pretty cool. I am glad I got that memory.
AJ Styles, he is very well established, very well known. He had a name that was very well known. I would think, outside of WWE, his might be the most outside-recognized wrestling name in the world. Samoa Joe as well. He could have debuted straight to Raw or SmackDown, absolutely.
Generally, there's a lot of ad-lib involved with live TV and things like that, whereas with acting in front of the camera, it was, if you screwed up a line, well, you've got another take, and you also had a script to be able to study, so it wasn't all ad-lib and flying by the seat of your pants, which I like both aspects, actually.
I greatly appreciate that people would like to see me have one more match or comeback or, 'Daniel Bryan got cleared, so why can't you?' I will never be cleared. Mine is a completely different injury. He had neck issues, but it wasn't his neck issues that retired him, actually. It was the concussion issues.
Hulk Hogan was my reason for getting into the business. He was this larger-than-life entity.
I had no aspirations after wrestling. I truly just assumed I would retire, grow a big beard, sit on my deck, and figure out what was next. If it was nothing, I was OK with that.
'Vikings' has been so many different challenges, and some of that is, at times, you have to be big and imposing and violent and vicious, and then you have be pulled back and withdrawn and just more layers and more time to portray those layers, too.
My whole idea, to me, is if you're a heel in wrestling, you should not having a band playing for when you come out and people will react in a positive way.
In no way are King Booker and Queen Sharmell the power couple in WWE.
I always hated that 'You Think You Know Me' music because it never fit me and what I actually listen to.
Do I know A.J. Styles and I could have an amazing match? Seth Rollins and I could tear it down and have a classic? Yeah, if it were me at 35, not me at 45. And not me at 45 not having stepped in a ring for eight years.
One thing about wrestling, it keeps you humble.
I did two matches for WCW, for 'Saturday Night' and for 'WorldWide.' Scott D'Amore was booking the extra talent. I remember I was really torn about it. I was like, 'Hmm... I don't want to do that. I don't want to just be an extra guy. I want so much more than that,' but I was flat broke, and it was 500 bucks.
As glamorous as WWE may seem, you're probably eating at a Waffle House at 1 in the morning, and you're probably going to see the Ring of Honor guys there, too.
With WWE, it's a massive machine, and you will air in 120 countries and have action figures and towels.
Once the second season of 'Haven' rolled around, I really started to attack this acting thing and finally admitted, 'OK, I'm an actor now. This is what I'm doing. This is my new career.'
Part of me has always been a private person.
I read The Flash. I read Green Lantern. I loved Batman.
I'm 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, which is average size in WWE, but in the world of television and movies, it's huge.
Being the Rated-R Superstar, I have to live up to the reputation.
Wrestling is just a different beast. There is no off-season in WWE. It's week in and week out.
Sometimes, taking a break and going somewhere else and, almost, for both parties, absence makes the heart grow fonder.
I don't consider myself this amazing thespian.
I did what I always wanted to do. Wrestling. - conquered that. Can't physically do it anymore. So now what? Maybe I'll paint. Maybe I'll write another book. Yeah, I'll try this acting thing and now actually concentrate on it and try and get better at it and take classes and get coaching and give it a shot.
For me, body art is all about expression; it's a lifestyle and can serve as a reminder that when my career is done, I'll have a story to tell on my body. And it will be my story of my life on my body.
Whatever Paul Giamatti plays, Paul Heyman could also read for it.
It was a no-brainer for me to go on 'Mind of Mencia,' I think. And actually, it was a lot of fun. It was a really good time.
