The pro wrestling landscape changed significantly this past Sunday night when Adam Copeland, aka Edge, made his AEW debut at WrestleDream. Prior to his Metalingus theme song playing and the roof being blown off the arena, a brief vignette aired. In it, Copeland gets into a muscle car and takes off from a stadium exploding with fireworks. The road he is zipping down reads “Rated R”; at that point, it becomes clear that the WWE Hall of Fame inductee is on his way to the rescue. It was a beautiful tease for the big moment that was about to happen, but it seems the creation of it may have been more harrowing than one would think.
Twitter user @JaxBoz, who works with AEW as a chauffeur at events, shared a photo of Copeland holding AEW producer Giancarlo Dittamo by his ankles out the back of his car while filming. Haus of Wrestling has confirmed that Dittamo shot and edited the entire vignette.
“Here’s the proof that @EdgeRatedR was in fact, holding @yeahgiancarlo to make sure he doesn’t fall out of my trunk!” the tweet began. “Tune in tonight to #AEWDynamite at 8pm ET on @TBSNetwork to see what Rated R Superstar Adam Copeland has to say, along with some amazing matches on the card!”
Dittamo previously worked as a producer for WWE and was deeply involved in making the much-loved Liv Forever documentary about Liv Morgan. He was released by the company in 2021 and signed with AEW shortly after. Before his time with both major promotions, he worked with GCW, producing vignettes for talents like Joey Janela.
As mentioned in Boz’s tweet, Copeland will address the AEW fans for the first time on tonight’s episode of Dynamite. Next week, he will compete in his first AEW match on a special Title Tuesday episode of Dynamite, going head-to-head with WWE NXT. The bout will see him take on Luchasaurus, who has worked as Christian Cage’s on-screen muscle for months.
Haus of Wrestling has partnered with Inside The Ropes to present An Afternoon With Kevin Nash And Sean Waltman on November 25 at Joe’s Live in Rosemont, IL, ten minutes from the All-State Arena. Tickets are now available at JoesLiveRosemont.com.