AEW's Willow Nightingale Reveals Familial Percy Jackson Connection to Adam Copeland

Willow's sister's friends are fans of Copeland's work as Ares.

By Liam Crowley

Willow Nightingale has been on a tear. The 2023 Owen Hart Cup winner headlined AEW Dynamite: Big Business this past March, defeating inaugural AEW Women's Champion Riho in front of over 9,000 fans in Boston's TD Garden. Willow surged that momentum forward over the subsequent weeks, eventually becoming No.1 Contender to the AEW TBS Championship. Days prior to her AEW TBS Title match at AEW Dynasty, Willow teamed with Adam Copeland on AEW Dynamite to take on House of Black's Brody King and then-AEW TBS Champion Julia Hart. 

WILLOW-NIGHTINGALE-AEW-ADAM-COPELAND
(Photo: AEW)

"On a personal level for me, I've been a fan of him since I was a kid. I was like, 'Oh, just don't mess up. You don't want to disappoint him,'" Willow told ComicBook.com. "He was so kind and gracious about everything before the match, the week before when everything was being put together, and even after the match.

"I think there's always this thing from people who are less experienced looking at the people they admire, being like, 'Is there anything I could do better?' He was just so positive," Willow added. "'You heard the people when you came out there! You got the stuff, kid!' Oh man, you're hyping me up. This is crazy. Of course he gave me a little bit of advice and I'll keep that with me and move forward."

That match with Copeland got the attention of Willow's sister's friends, as they immediately recognized her new tag partner as Aresfrom Disney+'s Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

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"Obviously people who watch wrestling and have a knowledge of wrestling are like, 'Wow, that's really cool that you're teaming with him,' But my little sister and her friends, they weren't wrestling people," Willow shared. "Her friend messages her when she sees it on my Instagram Story and she's like, 'Your sister's going to be tagging with this guy from Percy Jackson?!' That's so funny that there's this mainstream crossover outside of wrestling that people can still get excited about."

Willow went on to win the AEW TBS Championship at AEW Dynasty, the sister title to Copeland's AEW TNT Championship. She was confronted by Mercedes Moné after picking up the gold, setting the stage for the two to renew their rivalry next month at AEW Double or Nothing.

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