Gangrel was almost All Elite, but Edge’s epic SummerSlam entrance put those plans on pause.
On the most recent episode of his Fangin’ & Bangin’ podcast, Gangrel revealed that there were plans for him to appear on this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, but things ultimately got put on hold because of poor timing. Gangrel explained that AEW had called him last week to have him on Dynamite in Milwaukee. He did not initially give context as to what the appearance would have featured, but he was trending on Friday night after Edge brought back The Brood’s famed “Blood Bath” on SmackDown.
Gangrel explained that he was nervous because the attention over the weekend was growing and he didn’t want it to affect his booking, but once Edge did the famed Brood entrance at SummerSlam in Las Vegas he knew it might not be good for him in the end.
“Everything Edge did was f-ckin’ awesome, but the reason I wasn’t excited about it was because I was offered another great opportunity and the timing just sucked. AEW contacted me and they wanted me to come in and do Dynamite tomorrow, Wednesday night Dynamite. They were putting the entrance together, they’re going to do the fire and the pyro stuff, they were putting the music together and getting it all together… at the same time, that like I’m trending, really happy for Edge on the inside, but also, I’m super-worried going ‘oh no, please don’t let this ruin things [for me with AEW]’ and then it just kept blowing up and getting bigger and bigger and bigger on Twitter. I’m thinking ‘oh man…’ and I call a couple other people, they said ‘I wouldn’t worry about it, your thing is different’ but when SummerSlam hit,” he said, “I knew it was the final nail in the coffin.
“It was so cool because I was like, ‘Wow!’ I never thought—it was my entrance originally and then it became The Brood’s entrance—about what it would look like in 2021. It looked flippin’ awesome! It was cool, with his coat, he came up, then down and hit his music,” he explained, “it was just tremendously done. When I got the phone call that they were going to do a different direction — and it’s not their fault, it’s just timing — I was so grateful and so happy to be part of it, and they even thought about [using me]. I think it was Tony Khan’s idea to bring me in and do all of that, I believe it was. I was so grateful and happy, but deep down inside, I knew how things could go and it was about that timing.”
Gangrel says he ultimately called Edge, who was really excited to pay tribute to their time together, but it had the opposite effect that Edge thought it would have for his former stablemate.
“I called him and he goes, ‘Hey man, did you see it? I was getting ready to call you!’ And I go, ‘I saw it, man…’ and he goes, ‘Man, I was so happy and honored to pay tribute to you, and you worked so hard, The Brood was a cool time in my life’ and he goes, ‘I hope this helps you get some more money on some bookings and move some merch’ and this and that, and I let him go, he was so happy and I didn’t know what to say. Then I go, ‘Yeah, you kinda cost me some work too.’ He goes, ‘What do you mean, buddy?’ And I go, ‘Well… that little other company over there… AEW, they were getting ready to do another thing [with me],’” Gangrel noted, “and whether it was a one-off, or a two-off, whatever it was, I was going to be able to do my entrance again. I was going to go through the fire, not Edge, but me. But I didn’t tell him that, I didn’t sell that. He got quiet for what felt like an eternity and he goes, ‘Man, I’m so sorry! If you would have told me…’ and I go, ‘I just got booked,’” he explained. “I told him it was OK, it’s good and I work every weekend, I’m doing things. I didn’t tell him how pumped I was that they were giving me a chance to do my entrance, but he felt so, so bad.”
Gangrel says Edge sent him pictures of his daughter, Lyric, wearing the entrance coat and said the whole thing was awesome, then said it was just a weird timing thing in the end. Gangrel also said Edge told him he’d been working on the entrance for over two months, also revealing that the SmackDown “bloodbath” was extremely hard to get approved.
“He wanted the red, the blood, and it really came down to ‘if it’s not black, it’s not happening’ and they weren’t going to do it. So, he went with the black, and I believe he fought, he said two-and-a-half, almost three months, he was trying to put this together. It wasn’t like an idea overnight for him,” he noted, “he planted the seed with Seth Rollins, they’re going back seven years, right? So it was a big deal to him and he wanted to pay homage to The Brood, me, and I believe that. He’s such a great—I don’t know how many times I’ve said on here what an amazing human being he is.”
Gangrel says they ended up speaking for an hour, adding that AEW called him the week before with a great idea and he’s hopeful they could work together in the future. He said he can’t be mad at Edge because it was personal and a tribute to the group, as well as part of a storyline, but it was great to see how it came out on WWE TV.
Gangrel thanked AEW for the opportunity “that almost was” and thanked fans for showing him some love, then said his appearance might have still happened if it was just the bloodbath on SmackDown. Gangrel said the spot likely got scrapped because AEW didn’t want it to appear that they copied WWE, noting that AEW had plans to do the ring of fire entrance only.
Gangrel also closed the video talking about the black blood on SmackDown (versus red) by saying he didn’t think AEW would have shied away from it, noting how they have been open to using blood for effect. He also said that during his call with Edge they discussed how they explained the color change in storyline, confirming his line about “going to a darker place” than when he was in The Brood was intentional.
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Read More: AEW Dynamite Results (8/25/21)
