Evizda

Ahead of his debut in the History Channel show “Vikings”, WWE Hall of Famer Adam “Edge” Copeland spoke with Rolling Stone, and below are some interview highlights:

Vikings has no shortage of strong female characters. Given your married to Beth Phoenix, was that a major draw toward the show?

In general, I liked that there was that counterbalance, and I think that’s changing in entertainment as a whole. But I think Vikings was one of the first shows that spearheaded that. Lagertha [Katheryn Winnick] – you don’t mess with her, and that’s proven throughout the seasons. And yeah, being married to a Glamazon [laughs], I know what strong women are all about. It’s one of those shows Beth and I did watch, and she always appreciated it because of that. I am with a woman who can bench 225, so she likes to watch strong female characters.

Wrestling is getting more mainstream coverage now than at any point since the Attitude Era. Are you surprised to suddenly see WWE on, say, ESPN?

Twenty years ago, outside of Hulk Hogan doing Santa With Muscles and things like that, it would have been difficult for someone like me to land a role on a dramatic, huge series. And now it’s happening because of guys like Dwayne [Johnson] and Dave [Bautista], who are helping legitimize what we do. And what it is we do is a lot of different balls to keep in the air, and I think people are really starting to appreciate that now.

You also left wrestling with a bit of mystique left to your persona. Now, between reality shows and social media, the lines get blurred. Could that be a handicap down the road?

I fought the social media thing kicking and screaming. It can demystify. But it’s a different world now, and that is part of what we as humans have developed: right, wrong, good, bad, I don’t know. Part of me has always been a private person. That’s still there. Just occasionally, I’ll tweet out that my daughter said I’m annoying. When I was talked into Twitter, I was like, “Eh, I feel like I’m losing part of what I built.” Putting yourself out there also adds. I’m sure it didn’t hurt for Vikings to see that I have six million Facebook followers and a million Twitter followers. Why not take control of it and let everybody know from the WWE fanbase that I haven’t forgotten about ya?