“Aw Dude!” Ricky Saints & Adam Copeland AEW Meme, Explained

The professional wrestling world, particularly when it comes to social media, can generate many memes and bits, seemingly at random. Over the past couple of weeks, you might have seen the words, “Aw dude!” uttered in response to hot takes, arguments, and more on social media in relation to pro wrestling discussions. You’d be more than forgiven if you had absolutely no idea that this all stemmed from a promo on AEW Collision involving Adam Copeland (also known as Edge) and Ricky Starks (now known as Ricky Saints in WWE) all the way back in 2023! So how exactly did this meme and joke begin, and why has it resurfaced?

• AEW Collision featured an-ring segment.
• Adam Copeland & Ricky Starks had a heated exchange.
• Fans felt like the segment on AEW Collision went off-script.

On an episode of AEW Collision at the back end of 2023, Adam Copeland, TNT Champion Christian Cage, Bryan Danielson and Ricky Starks went to battle on the mic. During the back-and-forth, things looked to go a little off-script in a fiery exchange between Starks and Copeland. Their war of words saw Starks state that Copeland was “bug-eyed”, prompting Copeland to poke fun at Starks’ silk slacks, and Starks retorting that it was a good thing that Copeland didn’t take style from “the other place”. Copeland fired back by claiming Starks took his style from The Rock and was a “vanilla midget version” of the multi-time WWE World Champion. Starks came back saying that Copeland’s comments had sent him over the edge, in reference to Copeland’s WWE ring name.

In response to Starks’ jibes, Copeland leant back on the ropes and said, “Aw dude,” seemingly exasperated and tired with Starks’ words. The whole thing was painfully awkward and hard-to-watch, but at the same time it was must-see television that you couldn’t take your eyes from.

• Copeland reflected on the promo with Starks.
• He claimed it was no different to WWE Attitude Era promos.
• There was no heat backstage in AEW between the two.

Although the memes and jokes surrounding this promo have taken on a life of their own in recent weeks, fans have been talking about this shoot promo exchange ever since it happened back in October of 2023. However, while fans speculated that this battle on the mic could have caused issues backstage, Copeland noted that it was taken seriously in AEW. Speaking with Shakiel Mahjouri of SHAK Wrestling, Copeland was asked about any fallout that took place after everyone returned backstage (h/t Fightful).

• Fans looked back on this awkward promo exchange between Copeland & Starks.
• The “Aw dude!” promo caught fire on social media.
• The promo on AEW programming is both equally awkward and hilarious.

All it took was one reshare of the Copeland/Starks promo to spark brand new life for the “Aw dude!” meme, with it now being used widely as a way to throw shade on someone, as a retort to a bad or questionable take, or simply to just make fun of someone. On social media, fans have taken more of a deep dive into the promo, providing new angles and footage, assessing the expressions of everyone in the ring, and more – and it is highly comical!

It won’t be long until professional wrestling fans move onto the next meme and joke, but there is a good chance that this small, two-word phrase sticks and stands the test of time, cropping up here and there forever. Even Starks, now known as Ricky Saints in WWE, made reference to the meme on his own social media, showing just how widespread the talk surrounding this now infamous segment has become. Ever since his interview, Copeland has remained quiet on the subject, and it is likely that he won’t be drawn into talking about it without simply dishing out the same answers he’s given previously. This is a fun bit and joke on social media, but don’t expect to see the phrase be used and stated on AEW or WWE programming all too often, if ever.