WWE legend Gangrel returned to AEW at Double or Nothing.

‘The Vampire Warrior’ emerged from beneath the ring during the evening’s Barbed Wire Steel Cage showdown between Malakai Black and defending TNT Champion, Adam Copeland. He would fend off Malakai’s House of Black partners Brody King and Buddy Matthews, Impaler DDT’ing both before ‘The Rated R Superstar’ finished off Malakai. Gangrel and Copeland would embrace post-match, doing so on-screen for the first time in years.

Veteran WWE viewers will remember Gangrel and Adam Copeland - then known as Edge - from their time together in the Attitude Era as The Brood. Alongside Christian, the trio was one of the era’s most iconic, making history with their feud against The Dudley Boyz and The Hardy Boyz, who were regularly backed by Spike Dudley and Lita, respectively. At Double or Nothing, Adam Copeland used the group’s cherished entrance, rising from under the stage surrounded by fire; The Brood’s name would then be displayed across the video screens.

WWE Shot Down Idea For The Brood’s Reunion

The Brood officially split in the summer of 1999 when Gangrel deserted Edge and Christian to manage The Hardy Boyz. Despite this, the group has remained a fan favourite of the Attitude Era, so much so that any rumblings of a potential return create a buzz amongst fans.

Per Adam Copeland in an interview with Chris Van Vliet, he had attempted to get Gangrel involved in his WrestleMania 39 Hell in a Cell match vs. Finn Balor. Unfortunately, WWE didn’t move forward with the return as they didn’t believe anyone would remember Gangrel or The Brood:

“I tried and I just got shut down. Every person shut it down. So this isn’t a knock on WWE, but I’d always get the, ‘Well, nobody remembers’. People remember, wrestling fans remember, and I think wrestling fans want to be rewarded for remembering. And that’s a way to reward them. That’s what I’ve always felt. I think, you know, you fast forward to me and Matt Cardona doing a Cope Open, and his music hits and he comes out. I mean, they remembered. And so I’ve always been a fan of pulling in things from the past and kind of integrating them into current things. But yeah, that was one [where] I just kept getting shut down. I realised, ‘Okay, that was not a hill to die on because it didn’t get to happen’. It’s not my sandbox. I got to do with what I’ve been given.”

At WrestleMania 39, Edge would defeat Finn Balor in his final WWE Premium Live Event appearance after executing a Conchairto - another tidbit from his past.

H/T to Inside The Ropes.