Cope Defends Roman Reigns and Comments on WWE Return, Heyman Addresses Brock Lesnar's Retirement

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Adam Copeland Defends Roman Reigns

Amid more commentary that Roman Reigns is overrated, one of his former WWE rivals stepped up to explain why the discussion annoys him.

Appearing on The Ariel Helwani Show, Copeland dismissed criticism of Reigns as being "subjective" before praising how "easy" and "fun" it was to work with him when they were paired up in WWE.

The discussion of Reigns has taken off in recent weeks with Eric Bischoff recently joining in by saying he's gotten bored with the OTC because "I don't see anything new from" him.

While it is fair to criticize WWE going back to The Bloodline well, it certainly doesn't appear like it's going to stick around as long as the first iteration did since Reigns was attacked by Solo Sikoa on Monday's episode of Raw.

As far as Reigns being overrated, he's been the clear top guy in WWE for six years and unquestionably a huge drawing card. It's not his fault the creative team has struggled to come up with younger stars who it can push at the same level.

Copeland and Reigns only shared the ring four times, but one of them was a WrestleMania main event triple-threat match that also included Daniel Bryan.

Adam Copeland Intends to Retire in AEW

Sticking with Copeland and his career, the WWE Hall of Famer has no interest in going back to his old stomping grounds.

In the same Helwani interview (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), Copeland said in no uncertain terms he plans for AEW to be the final stop on his storied career.

"Yes. Yeah. That's where I want to. I know that may disappoint a lot of people, but I love it there. ... I love the company. I love the attitude, the exuberance. I love the drive. I love the excitement that I see from the locker room. Yeah, I don't wanna go anywhere else. I'm good. I did everything I could do there, and then some. And again, they got everything out of me that they could have. So it's for the better, which is all you can ask for in a partnership."

Copeland's contract is believed to expire at some point in 2027, though he admitted he's not even sure due to time added on for injuries and film projects.

Now at 52 years old, Copeland has had an incredible second act to his career after initially retiring in 2011 due to injuries. He returned to the ring at the 2020 Royal Rumble, spent three years in WWE before making the jump to AEW.

Copeland and Christian Cage won the AEW tag titles by defeating FTR in an I Quit match at Double or Nothing. They successfully defended their crown against the Dogs at Forbidden Door.

Next up for Cope and Cage is a showdown with the Young Bucks at All In from Wembley Stadium on Aug. 30.

Paul Heyman Talks Brock Lesnar's Retirement

Even though Brock Lesnar claimed to retire earlier this year with his first loss to Oba Femi at WrestleMania, it was his second declaration after SummerSlam that caught the attention of Paul Heyman.

Appearing on the Six Feet Under podcast with The Undertaker (h/t Mukherjee), Heyman explained why Lesnar's tone this time around made him believe the retirement announcement is for real.

"But I knew that this was it," Heyman said. "Because he knew that this was it. He wasn't just saying it because he felt it at the moment."

Heyman noted in the past he would have discussions with Lesnar that indicated he was leaning toward retirement, but his tone would change as his contract came closer to expiring.

"I would hear this every year from him. 'Nope. This is my last contract. This is it.' And he meant it when he said it. ... As we got closer, he would then change his mind, or it didn't take a lot to talk him into it," said Heyman.

Lesnar revealed on the Aug. 4 episode of The Pat McAfee Show that he is retired from wrestling "and everything else too."

The announcement came three days after Lesnar was defeated by Femi on the first night of SummerSlam. Lesnar then cut an in-ring promo after the match declaring The Ruler to be the future of WWE.

There was immediate skepticism that Lesnar won't wrestle again, including some WWE officials reportedly believing he will perform at WrestleMania 43 next year in Saudi Arabia for a huge sum of money.

It wouldn't be a surprise after Lesnar seemingly retired at WrestleMania by leaving his boots and gloves in the ring only to return a month later.