Adam Cole Addresses His NXT Run, Possible Regrets, AEW’s Growth

Adam Cole is now eight months into his run with All Elite Wrestling, but when he sits down for interviews, questions are still asked about his time with WWE NXT. That’s for good reason — Cole was one of the most decorated stars in the history of the brand.

That being said, Cole never had a run on the WWE main roster despite many clamoring for it over the years. Undoubtedly one of the most talented wrestlers in the world, Cole took his talents to AEW and feuded with “Hangman” Adam Page for the AEW World Championship earlier this year.

Speaking this week with Stephanie Chase, Cole addressed his past with NXT and whether he has any regrets.

“I cherished my time in NXT, and I would not change a thing about the way my career has gone,” Cole said. “I think in a lot of ways, my time in NXT made me a better performer. It put me in a position where I got to learn under guys that I idolized. Like Triple H was a guy that I really looked up to, and I formed a great relationship with him and he helped me a lot.

“Shawn Michaels is my favorite wrestler of all time, in my opinion, just the greatest ever. We still have a wonderful relationship, again, we still keep in touch, and we still talk and stuff like that. He helped me more than anybody, he was just so, so helpful on so many different levels. So, definitely do not regret at all my time in NXT, I loved my time there.”

Adam Cole
(via AEW)

Cole also discussed his career in general and how he believes he has been in the right place at the right time, joining promotions that were either hot or just starting to gain momentum. That has definitely been the case when you look at his runs with the Bullet Club in ROH and Japan, NXT, and now AEW.

“My whole career, I don’t know how this has happened. But I feel like whether it be Ring Of Honor, or CZW where I started, or New Japan, I feel like I’ve gotten so lucky in so many different ways as far as the timing of stuff that has happened. So, to me, NXT was peaking as I was coming in. And then I got to work with all these guys that I have known for years, and years, and years, and ended up on television, which was really cool. Now with AEW, same thing. I feel like I am at a point where AEW is just doing this (growing) right now, and I feel like they will for years,” Cole said.

Make sure to check out the Top Rope Nation wrestling podcast for your weekly dose of pro wrestling talk featuring interviews, analysis and exclusive news: Apple – Spotify – YouTube. 

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcript.

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