AEW star Adam Copeland’s one-test rule for determining a good match 

Adam Copeland has spent a little more than three decades in pro wrestling, giving him plenty of time to develop his own criteria for what makes a match successful. And it all ultimately comes down to one thing – the crowd’s reaction. 

Copeland stated his measurement of a good match during an interview with Forbes. The simple process is fans’ reaction during the finish – whether they count along with the pin or boo at the conclusion. 

“I use one test for if it was a good match: Do the people count along with the finish, or do they boo at the finish? That’s the only thing that matters is the reaction that you get, and the reaction in the arena, not the people that are always just complaining because they’re always just going to complain,” said Copeland. “But what do the people who paid the money to be there, to sit in those seats – what are they doing? Those are the people I focus on, and that’s always how I gauge it. Whether moves were hit or this or that or any of that stuff, it’s like, what did the crowd do? That’s the most important thing.”

“And if they count along with that three and the babyface is going over, okay, mission accomplished. That was a good match. And if they boo because the heel went over, and that was the idea, then mission accomplished.”

“I’m not one of these people that will say Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant wasn’t a great match. Sure, it was, because it drew however many people and people couldn’t take their eyeballs off of it. And so, to me, that’s a great match. Technically? No. But who cares? It’s all in the eye of the beholder too. It’s all subjective, right?” 

The AEW star further explained that tactic developed during his extensive wrestling career. It was not something he was taught at the beginning of his journey. 

“Really, just through time. I always found that if I was having fun out there, chances were the audience would end up having fun too, in one way or another. Whether that was having fun watching me get tossed around by Batista or whether that was me spearing Alberto Del Rio.”

“I think more than anything, I learned that if I was having fun, chances are the people watching have fun too. And also, why do it if it’s not going to be fun? Again, there are going to be days, and there are going to be matches, and there are going to be times, or there’s going to be a bump where you go, ‘Whoa, okay, that sucked.’ But for the most part, the reason you got into this is so you didn’t really have to grow up. You can perform and be good. Those are the most important things to me now.”

After a nearly 27-year career with WWE, Copeland made his AEW debut at WrestleDream 2023. Before long he reunited with Christian Cage and the duo eventually won the AEW Tag Team Titles at Double or Nothing this year. 

At All In on August 30 in Wembley Stadium, Copeland and Cage put the titles on the line against The Young Bucks.