Adam Cole has shared his thoughts on the impending Wednesday Night War between NXT and All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
The NXT Champion discussed the two brands competing during an interview with SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio. He spoke about the comparisons between the promotions, highlighting that it is an incredibly exciting time for pro wrestling and wrestling fans.
“I’m incredibly proud of our team,” Cole said. “I stand by the fact that I really do think, bell-to-bell, NXT puts on the best shows on the planet. I stand by that. To now get a chance to do that on such a huge stage weekly on USA Network, two hours live every week, it’s exciting.”
A lot has been made over the last few weeks of "who's counter-programming who" on Wednesday nights come October.
When asked by Mark Henry about the concept of competition and comparison between the two promotions, Cole was forthcoming with his response.
“There’s no question. Of course there’s going to be a lot of comparisons,” Cole stated. “Obviously, we’re going live at the same exact time. There’s these new Wednesday Night Wars that people are calling it, but NXT did get to the USA Network based on the work within NXT. I’ve been hearing for weeks and weeks and weeks that NXT is the third brand […] and now we have a chance to prove it on the USA Network.
He added: “For me, it creates such an exciting situation for wrestling fans. There are so many different options for people to watch and enjoy different types of wrestling or different promotions. So as a fan and a wrestler […], it’s never been a more exciting time.”
WWE NXT on USA Network debuts on September 18th. AEW’s first show on TNT will air a few weeks later on October 2nd.
Current NXT Champion Adam Cole recently defended his title against Johnny Gargano in a competitive Two-Out-Of-Three Falls matchup. The two competed for the gold at WWE’s recent NXT TakeOver: Toronto event over SummerSlam weekend.
In an interview with Lilian Garcia for her podcast, Chasing Glory, Adam Cole spoke about the matchup, and what the backstage reaction was once their bout had concluded.
“This Feud Started Like A Replacement To Tommaso Ciampa”
“I’m definitely incredibly sore from that one,” Cole admitted. “I don’t know how many of those I have in me. This trilogy with Johnny was so important to me and him. We’ve known each other for 10 years. So we had talked forever about getting the chance to maybe wrestle on a really big stage like NXT.”
“This kind of – this feud started, almost, like a replacement to Tomasso Ciampa, ‘cause Johnny and Tommaso were in the middle of their big feud,” he said. “So then, they needed a big main event for WrestleMania weekend, and were like, ‘Okay, let’s do Adam and Johnny.’ And then it turned into this crazy trilogy that had its punctuation mark last night and ended all in that wrestling street fight and crazy steel cage match. It was a lot of fun. Painful, but a lot of fun. And Toronto was great. I love wrestling in Toronto.”
When he came back behind the curtain, Cole described how “everyone was applauding”, and he was greeted with hugs and handshakes. Despite the praise, he shared that he still looks for flaws in his performance.
“I look for it, yeah,” he confessed. “I obsess on – to me, I’ve never had, I know everyone feels this way, but I’ve never had and will never have the perfect match. But I’m going to try so hard to get it. I’ll find 10 different things that I’m like, ‘Oh I didn’t like this, or this could’ve been a little bit better,’ I’m proud of it, for sure. And I’m happy with it. But I definitely don’t think I’ve ever had a match that, start to finish, it was exactly what I wanted. But sometimes that’s not necessarily a bad thing either.”
Adam Cole was the only member of Undisputed Era to leave NXT TakeOver: Toronto with a championship, as the stable continue their attempts to drape themselves with gold.
Current NXT Champion, Adam Cole, has opened up about the impact negative social media used to have on him as a performer.
Speaking with Lilian Garcia on her podcast, Chasing Glory, Cole described how he used to value what the internet thought about him and his matches, stating that “it really meant everything to me.” He explained that his mindset came from the fact that, at the time, the only buzz you could generate as an independent pro wrestler was online. Because of this, he allowed any sort of overt negativity to affect how he perceived himself and his work.
“At that point, wrestling on the Independents, your only real buzz was online,” Cole explained. “In the arena, you’d wrestle in front of 200 people tops, so it’s not like the world was talking about it. You would hope that word of mouth, people would speak highly of you.”
“It mattered to me so much that I would have a match that I loved, the guy I was working with loved, and the boys loved. But if two or three people said, ‘that sucked,’ then the match sucked to me. I was like, ‘I gotta stop doing that.’ It was ruining my perception on what is fun and what I know is good.”
He continued, explaining that he barely checks his Twitter account anymore. Instead, he stays away from social media in general.
“People are entitled to their opinion. But it’s when people take hard and crazy, ‘I wish this person wasn’t alive’ type of stuff. I can’t imagine watching a movie and then going online and being like, ‘This movie sucked! Leonardo DiCaprio! Shutter Island! TRASH!’”
Adam Cole will stay at the top champion under the WWE NXT banner.
Cole successfully retained the NXT Title over Johnny Gargano in a 2 of 3 Falls Rubber Match in the main event of NXT TakeOver: Toronto II event in Toronto, Ontario at the Scotiabank Arena that aired on their streaming service.
Just last month on the July 24th episode of NXT’s weekly TV show, Gargano and Cole chose their stipulations. Gargano chose a Street Fight, while Cole chose a singles match. NXT General Manager William Regal ended up choosing the third fall, which was Steel Cage with weapons.
Cole beat Gargano to become the champion in the main event of WWE NXT TakeOver: XXV event in Bridgeport, CT on June 1st.
This was the third match between them as Gargano beat Cole in a 2 out of 3 falls match to win the vacant title during the NXT TakeOver: New York event on WrestleMania 35 weekend.
It will be interesting to see where Cole and Gargano go from here as this was likely the blowoff match for their program. Those answers will be revealed this coming Thursday when WWE tapes upcoming episodes of NXT TV.
What are your thoughts on Adam Cole beating Johnny Gargano to retain the NXT Title? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.
WWE NXT Champion Adam Cole has provided an update on Britt Baker after she suffered a serious concussion. The injury happened during her latest match as she teamed with Riho and lost to Bea Priestley and Shoko Nakajima at the AEW Fight for the Fallen event.
The belief is that the injury came once Baker was kicked in the head from Priestley. Cole, who has been in a relationship with Baker for a few years now, took to his official Twitter account on Thursday to share an update.
Cole wrote, “@RealBrittBaker is getting better already, and I couldn’t be happier. She’s one of the strongest people I know!”
As of this writing, there’s no word yet on when Baker will be back in action. AEW has yet to confirm whether or not she’ll be working the All Out pay-per-view. It should be noted that she has been announced to appear at the Starrcast III convention during Labor Day weekend in Chicago, which is the same weekend as All Out.
Baker is someone that AEW is reportedly looking to push at the top of the women’s division. All Elite Wrestling has not announced how they will reveal the Women’s Title.
Brandi Rhodes has stated that the title will be revealed at the pay-per-view. Whether the inaugural champion will be crowned at that show remains to be seen.
Former NXT champion Tommaso Ciampa is 4-months removed from neck surgery. Ciampa doesn’t want fans to send him any well-wishes, however, as he feels those should be reserved for current NXT champion Adam Cole.
Ciampa posted the following pictures and message to the NXT champion this weekend during the meet-and-greet from EVOLVE’s 10th Anniversary show.
Ciampa’s last match before going down with injury was in the semi-finals of the 2019 Dusty Rhodes Classic. Along with Johnny Gargano, Ciampa lost to Aleister Black and Ricochet on February 20th, 2019. He would officially vacate the NXT title on March 13th, 2019.
Johnny Gargano won the vacant NXT title at Takeover: New York in April. Gargano would then drop the belt to Adam Cole at Takeover: 25 less than two months later.
Ciampa’s NXT title reign lasted 238 days and included two title defenses on NXT programming. He defeated Johnny Gargano in a Last Man Standing match at Takeover: Brooklyn IV and Velveteen Dream at Takeover: WarGames II. Ciampa defended the title another 21x on NXT house shows.
Adam Cole may be the current NXT Champion, but his girlfriend, Dr. Britt Baker, is an active member of WWE’s competition, All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
Speaking with talkSPORT, Cole talked about Baker’s performance during AEW’s recent Double Or Nothing event. She competed in a Fatal 4 Way matchup against Kylie Ray, Nyla Rose, and surprise entrant, Awesome Kong.
Unsurprisingly, he’s incredibly proud of what she has achieved.
“So proud of her. Britt, and she’s going to kill me, but I think she’s been wrestling close to four years now, and she works so incredibly hard. At anything she does – I mean she’s a doctor!” he exclaimed. “So she’s a dentist, then she wrestles on the weekends, so for her to get this cool opportunity and wrestle on a cool stage like that was really a lot of fun for me – I’m so proud of her.”
Baker is a legitimate doctor and is employed by private dental practice in Winter Park, Florida. She was one of the first wrestlers to be revealed as a part of AEW and is seemingly primed for a top spot within the company.
The promotion plans to unveil their AEW Women’s Title at their All Out pay-per-view, which takes place on August 31st.
Adam Cole recently defeated Johnny Gargano at NXT TakeOver XXV to become the new NXT Champion. For him, becoming champion was the only goal he had coming into WWE’s black-and-yellow brand.
In an interview withGuide Live, Cole described what it felt like to become NXT Champion. He also listed a few names he would love to have the opportunity to wrestle.
“Your Goal Is To Become The NXT Champion”
“For anyone who knows me, when I first came into NXT — really for anybody who comes into NXT, your goal is to become the NXT champion. For me, it took me about two years to achieve that goal, and getting to do it as a part of a brand that has just never been better, filled with countless top-to-bottom just world class pro wrestlers, it means even more that I’m the guy at the front of the line or the guy driving the car. I’ve been very busy, as a champion should be, traveling all over the globe defending this championship. But I wouldn’t have it any other way, man. It’s been great.”
When asked about opponents, in particular, main roster Superstars, the Undisputed Era leader feels as though he’d have excellent matches with the majority of talent from either RAW or SmackDown.
Two Superstars, however, came to the top of his list: Seth Rollins and AJ Styles.
“There’s so many guys on Raw and SmackDown that I feel like I would have great chemistry with … There’s guys that I’ve never wrestled before who I’d love to the chance to get in the ring with like a Seth Rollins. Again, same thing as A.J., I feel like we could be put in any environment, and I feel like it would be a really exciting match.”
Adam Cole proclaimed that Undisputed Era will soon be draped in gold. With him now holding the NXT Championship, and his stablemates in active contendership for the Tag Team Championship and NXT North American Championship, it may not long before his words become a reality.
While WWE’s main roster is famous for its scripted promos and heavily produced matches, a lot of people wonder how much creative freedom stars of NXT have.
During a recent interview with TalkSport, the current NXT Champion Adam Cole discussed a number of things and he also gave us a good insight into the creative process of developing matches in the development territory.
Cole revealed that they have a ton of creative liberties and
while there are input and advice given by the show runners, they still have a
lot of freedom:
“One of the coolest things about NXT is we have a ton
of creative liberties to come up with the story and the vision we have for the
match. Of course, there’s input and advice given and there’s suggestions or,
you know ‘we need something this way’ (but) we do have a lot of freedom, which
is great.”
Continuing on the topic, Adam revealed that he and Johnny Gargano were the ones who came up with their highly praised two out of three falls match at NXT Takeover: New York.
Apart from this, Adam Cole also talked about stars moving to main roster. He claimed that he doesn’t see a move to the main roster as an upgrade and to him it’s just another brand he is going to. You can check out his full interview at this link.
More NXT stars could be headed to the WWE main roster shortly.
According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, there continues to be talk of WWE NXT Champion Adam Cole and NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler coming up from the developmental system to the main roster.
Meltzer noted that Baszler is “supposed to be geared” for a call-up as it’s believed she has everything they’re looking for, from her age to her look and her character.
As of this writing, there’s no word yet on when the call-ups might happen or which brands that they would be placed on whether that’s Monday Night RAW or SmackDown Live.
At Saturday’s (June 1, 2019) WWE NXT TakeOver: XXV event in Bridgeport, CT at the Webster Bank Arena, both stars were in action. Baszler beat Io Shirai in her latest title defense as NXT Women’s Champion while Cole beat Johnny Gargano to win the NXT Title in the main event.
The next pay-per-view event for the yellow brand that is titled, NXT TakeOver: Toronto, goes down on August 10, 2019 during SummerSlam weekend at the Scotiabank Arena.
Historically, WWE will call up NXT stars to the main roster after WrestleMania and SummerSlam.
NXT delivered another stellar Takeover event over the weekend from Bridgeport, CT. Check out our 5 Takeaways from NXT Takeover XXV for our full rundown.
The culmination of Takeover XXV saw Adam Cole defeat Johnny Gargano to capture the NXT Championship. Immediately after the crowning moment of his WWE career, Cole spoke with ESPN about the legacy of the NXT championship and the responsibility he feels to continue pushing NXT forward.
Cole says people around the world see NXT’s potential, but he feels the world ‘potential’ undersells what they have already accomplished. NXT is selling out arenas around the United States and is making headway overseas. He wants NXT to be bigger than it is and to reach new heights. He is the new face of NXT, which is a dream come true.
As NXT Champion, Adam Cole sees two main reasons why that distinction is so important. “Number one is the brand that it represents,” he said. “NXT has shown time and time again that we are the best. bell-to-bell sports entertainment/pro wrestling whatever you want to call it products on the planet.”
“The other reason is the men who have held this championship. Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens. The best of the best of all this championship. So this championship is looked at as one of the most prestigious, if not the most prestigious, in the entire world. The NXT Championship has shown bell-to-bell, you will get no more exciting match in the entire world than the NXT Championship match. So me being the guy, again, I’m more than ready to be the guy to carry the show. I’m more than ready to be the NXT Champion and like I said I will continue to take NXT the brand to places that it has never been.”
Below, you can check out another backstage interview with Adam Cole after winning the NXT Championship at Takeover XXV:
This past Saturday, Adam Cole defeated Johnny Gargano in the main event of TakeOver XXV. This victory would see Cole become crowned the new NXT Champion.
Post-TakeOver, Triple H took part in a Facebook Live discussion with Cathy Kelly to discuss the event itself, the bout between Cole and Gargano, and what Cole’s victory means for NXT.
“I think the crowd said it best when they were chanting, ‘fight forever.’ This is one of those things you could see them do this over and over and over again and never get bored with it, never feel like you’ve seen it,” Triple H said.
“They just [have] amazing chemistry. […] Then again, who does Gargano have bad chemistry with? In some ways, you can call him Johnny TakeOver. Almost every time you can make the argument that he’s match of the night. Amazing performance. He walks out of here without a championship, […] but I don’t necessarily think that he lost, I don’t think that he lost any respect from anybody. I think he earned even more tonight.”
“He Is One Of The Hardest Workers Here”
Turning the conversation to the new champion, Triple H said “It was an awesome moment, I’m happy for him. You can say what you want about Adam Cole, he is one of the hardest workers here, much like Gargano, much like so many people here, he puts his heart and soul into everything about this. I’m happy for him.”
Triple H then addressed Gargano’s status after the matchup, revealing that he was seen “hobbling” out of the arena before teasing a potential rubber match between the two NXT Superstars.
“[…] if my math is correct now they’re 2-2 in falls. We’ll see where this goes now. I saw Johnny hobbling out of here. I’m hoping he’s alright. But we will see where this goes, but for now there’s a new champ in town, and his name is Adam Cole.”
TakeOver
NXT isn’t slowing down, and WWE is making efforts to push NXT UK in a similar way.
The company recently announced their NXT UK TakeOver event, which will take place on August 31st from Cardiff, Wales. This date happens to coincide with NJPW’s Royal Quest event in London, as well as All Elite Wrestling’s show, All Out.
WWE has been teasing a break up for Undisputed Era on NXT TV
in recent weeks but the group’s leader Adam Cole believes in their brotherhood.
Cole was recently interviewed by WWE.com where he discussed
his upcoming Evolve appearances, the current Evolve World Champion Austin
Theory and more.
When asked about his recent rifts with fellow Undisputed Era Member Roderick Strong, Cole revealed that he hasn’t been in touch with him since Strong walked out of the group during the May 1st episode of the show:
“Yeah, that’s a touchy subject for me. I don’t really
know where Roderick is at the moment; we haven’t really talked a ton. I’ll tell
you this much regarding people questioning the position of this group: In my
opinion — and I stand by this — without question, Adam Cole has been and will
always be the leader. “
Though continuing on the topic, Adam said that Undisputed Era is a brotherhood and if their brotherhood is as strong as he thinks, then they will pull through and come back stronger than ever.
Apart from this Adam Cole also talked about his classic 2 Out Of 3 falls NXT Championship match with Johnny Gargano at the last Takeover event.
He explained that he deserves a rematch for the Championship because he scored the first fall in the bout. You can check out his full interview at this link.
Adam Cole of The Undisputed Era and Kassius Ohno will be in action at EVOLVE events on May 10th in Livonia, MI and May 11th in Indianapolis, IN.
The two NXT stars have received their opponents at these shows. Cole will take on EVOLVE Champion Austin Theory in a non-title match that will serve as the main event of EVOLVE 127.
Also on tap for this show is AR Fox & Leon Ruff with Ayla & The Skulk vs. Ohno & Harlem Bravado. The following night at EVOLVE 128, Cole will team up with AR Fox to battle Ayla & The Skulk while Ohno will take on Josh Briggs.
Ohno will additionally be on hand as a special guest trainer at the WWN Seminar/Tryout in Indianapolis. The seminar is open to all wrestlers, referees and managers who have completed a training course.
Tickets for EVOLVE 127 and 128 are available now at WWNLive.com.
Updated Cards
EVOLVE 127 – Friday, May 10 at Monaghan Knights of Columbus Hall in Livonia, Mich.
EVOLVE Champion Austin Theory vs. Adam Cole – Non-Title Match
AR Fox & Leon Ruff with Ayla & The Skulk vs. Kassius Ohno & Harlem Bravado – Tag Team Challenge
EVOLVE 128 – Saturday, May 11 at Southside Turners in Indianapolis
Adam Cole vs. AR Fox with Ayla & The Skulk – Main Event
The working relationship between WWE and EVOLVE continues.
On Friday, it was announced in the latest newsletter issued by WWNLive, which is the parent company of EVOLVE, that two NXT stars would be working upcoming events.
Adam Cole of The Undisputed Era and Kassius Ohno will be in action at EVOLVE on May 10th in Livonia, MI and May 11th in Indianapolis, IN. It was added that their opponents would be announced next week.
The promotion returns this weekend with the EVOLVE 126 event on Saturday, April 13, at The Orpheum in Ybor City, Fla. In the main event, Austin Theory will attempt to prove his status as EVOLVE Champion when NXT star Raul Mendoza has risen to challenge him for the strap. Here is the updated card:
EVOLVE Champion Austin Theory vs. Raul Mendoza – Main Event
WWN Champion JD Drake vs. Shane Strickland
Falls Count Anywhere Match
Angelo Dawkins of The Street Profits vs. Eddie Kingston of The Unwanted
WWE might have spoiled the result of the NXT Title match at TakeOver: New York next month. It was recently confirmed that Johnny Gargano will face Adam Cole for the vacant title in a 2 of 3 Falls match. NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa was forced to vacate the title due to injury.
Local advertisements for NXT live events in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and St. Paul, Minnesota are advertising a Champion vs. Champion match between Adam Cole and The Velveteen Dream. The events are scheduled for Saturday, April 27 and Sunday, April 28, respectively. Dream is the current NXT North American Champion. As for Cole, he is without a title as of this writing. Perhaps Cole is the man slated to leave New York with the NXT Championship on WrestleMania weekend?
Cole defeated Ricochet, Aleister Black, Matt Riddle, and Dream in a Fatal Five-Way match to earn his way into the NXT Title bout at TakeOver: New York. Gargano was initially slated to face Ciampa, however, his neck injury forced those plans to change.
NXT TakeOver: New York takes place from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on Friday, April 5, 2019. Check out the updated TakeOver: New York card below:
Two Of Three Falls match for vacant NXT Championship: Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole
WWE NXT UK Championship: (C) Pete Dunne vs. WALTER
NXT North American Championship: (C) The Velveteen Dream vs. Matt Riddle
Fatal Four-Way for NXT Women’s Championship: (C) Shayna Baszler vs. Io Shirai vs. Bianca Belair vs. Kairi Sane
NXT Tag Team Championship: (C) War Raiders vs. Aleister Black and Ricochet
Do you think Cole will leave TakeOver as NXT Champion?
WWE Halftime Heat took place on February 3 on the night of the Super Bowl LIII at the WWE’s Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. The event was brought back in commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of WWE’s inaugural Super Bowl counterprogramming.
The card included a six-man tag team match between the team of Aleister Black, Ricochet and Velveteen Dream against the team of Adam Cole, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa.
The show was available everywhere, from WWE.com to YouTube to Facebook and Twitter.
Shawn Michaels was also the guest commentator for the show.
The match went back and forth but the villainous team looked strong with the upper hand, with giving Meet in the Middle finishers and what-not.
Gargano and Cole both ate the Black Mass from Aleister Black after a series of superkicks being given out to each other from all the wrestlers.
In the end, Adam Cole took a Dream Valley Driver and a 450 splash from Ricochet, and the match ended when Dream pinned Cole after using the Purple Rainmaker.
WINNERS: Velveteen Dream, Ricochet, and Aleister Black
You can check out the highlight clips from the show below:
War Raiders, Ricochet & Pete Dunne beat The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly, Adam Cole, Bobby Fish & Roderick Strong) in a WarGames match at Saturday’s (November 17, 2018) NXT TakeOver: WarGames II event in Los Angeles, California at the Staples Center on the WWE Network.
This wasn’t the first time that members of the group have competed in this type of match as Cole, Fish & O’Reilly battled Authors Of Pain & Strong in the headliner of last year’s event at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. Cole took to Twitter to comment on losing the match by writing the following:
“Yes we are sore. Yes we didn’t win #WarGames. Yes we are still the best thing that has ever graced @WWENXT. #UndisputedERA forever.”
Several dates for WWE NXT TV tapings in 2019 have been revealed. The first WWE NXT TV tapings of the new year are scheduled for Thursday, January 3. Other tapings are scheduled for Wednesday, January 30, 2019 at Full Sail and Wednesday, February 20, 2019.
WWE holds NXT TV tapings on Wednesday, November 28th in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University where WWE will have the fallout from this event. This will be the final TV tapings of 2018.
– Not only did Ricochet celebrate his 30th birthday at last night’s NXT live event in Saint Charles, Missouri, he also debuted new ring gear. Instead of wearing long tights, the NXT North American Champion competed in traditional wrestling trunks.
– Nia Jax is wrestling at a house show tonight for the first time since her return from a reported leg injury on Raw on September 17. The former Raw Women’s Champion revealed on social media that she’s working this weekend’s tour starting with tonight’s show in Syracuse, New York.
Oh heyyyyyy….guess who is back at it this weekend ???
Fri 10/12 Syracuse, NY Sat 10/13 Binghamton, NY Sun 10/14 Allentown, PA RAW IS WAR 10/15 Philadelphia, PA Who’s coming? ????? pic.twitter.com/sDDUQydT9D
Jax last wrestled at a house show on July 22 in Pikeville, Kentucky, losing to then-Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss in a Triple Threat Match that also included Natalya.
The WWE Network will present 3 previously unaired shows tonight. 205 Live, NXT, and the Mae Young Classic will all air tonight beginning at 7 PM EST.
NXT Preview 10/10
NXT North American Championship Ricochet (c) vs Adam Cole vs Pete Dunne
The NXT North American Championship is on the line tonight in a triple threat match. Arguably 3 of the top wrestlers on the roster will compete in this match.
This match was scheduled by William Regal after a title vs title match between Dunne and Ricochet was interrupted by the Undisputed Era.
Keith Lee vs Kona Reeves
Kona Reeves only enjoys the finest things in life. Keith Lee tried to introduce himself to Reeves a few weeks back but the Hawaiian Superstar took offense to Lee approaching him. Lee then made fun of Reeves’ win/loss record leading to this match tonight.
Velveteen Dream Responds To Tommaso Ciampa
Velveteen Dream indicated to William Regal a few weeks back that Tommaso Ciampa is likely who attacked Aleister Black. Ciampa took offense to this and cut a promo on Velveteen last week. This week, Dream will respond to Ciampa’s promo from last week.
Does Nikki Cross Know Who Attacked Aleister Black?
Nikki Cross has been claiming she knows who attacked Aleister Black. William Regal doesn’t believe her, however. Cross has been angling for a rematch with Bianca Belair as well. WWE is advertising we will find out just what Cross knows regarding the attack tonight.
205 Live Preview 10/10
Lio Rush Open Challenge
Lio Rush is on fire these days. Not only is he the new hype man for Bobby Lashley, but he is also undefeated on 205 Live. Tonight, he plans on issuing an open challenge to anyone in the back.
Buddy Murphy is the new WWE Cruiserweight Champion and his reign begins tonight on 205 Live. After winning the title from Cedric Alexander in front of his hometown Melbourne fans, what does the champ have in store for tonight?
The inaugural NXT North American Champion, Adam Cole, recently appeared on Edge & Christian’s show, E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness. During the course of the show, Cole discussed his stable – a group comprised of indie darlings, the Undisputed Era – as well as his real life friendships and relationships with the wrestlers that comprise the rest of the faction.
He also mentioned that Bobby Fish is ready to return to action, and highlighted that fellow former ROH-alumni Roderick Strong was a natural fit for the group when he eventually joined.
One subject in particular struck a chord with Cole: the positive crowd reaction to Undisputed Era.
Cheering The Bad Guys
Cole and co. play bad guys within a heel faction. Despite this, they have been receiving major fan adoration from those in attendance, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed by those in Undisputed Era.
“We have come to terms with the fact that when we walk through the curtain, we’re probably going to get a positive response,” Cole admitted. “[…] we used to think, okay, what can we do on television or how can we walk out, how can we get the people to hate us, kind of from the gate?’”
The resolution is surprising, as he confessed that, “[…] we’ve kind of embraced the idea, ‘okay, they’re going to be excited to see us, but once the match starts, we’re going to really get them over time to root for our babyface opponents’ and we do run into that, which is good.”
Cole added, “It’s more focusing on what story we can tell or how we can present it. Once the bell rings and over time getting people to really, really want our babyface opponents to win throughout the match almost. And on television, obviously, we talk a big game, we ruin a bunch of matches, which helps us get a bunch of heat.”
You can hear the entire interview with Adam Cole (BAY BAY!) below:
Former NXT North American Champion, Adam Cole, was a guest on the most recent edition of Edge and Christian’s podcast. He mentioned he plans on being NXT Champion within the next 3 months and spoke about why it was the right time for him to sign with WWE.
“When I started coming in for dark matches, they told me I was doing a good job but nothing was really materializing,” Cole said on his beginnings in ROH. “I said, ‘Okay, this isn’t working.'”
Cole realized he wasn’t going to be able to rely on good in-ring work alone. He continued to say it was his promos which got him hired by Ring of Honor.
“I sent Adam Pierce, who at the time was booking ROH, a promo and he really liked it,” he continued. “He booked me for a pre-show promo in the ring as opposed to a match. Jim Cornette happened to be walking by and he really liked the promo. That’s how I ended up getting hired.”
Adam Cole On Signing With WWE
When Cole signed with WWE in 2017, he was a key member of Bullet Club and wrestling in ROH main events. Still, WWE is where Cole has always wanted to go.
“Obviously breaking into wrestling my goal was always to work for WWE,” Cole continued. “I grew up a giant fan and when I broke in I fell in love with wrestling as a whole. I loved my time on the independents but the end game for sure was ending at WWE. It was a good time for me to go, I was hitting a stride in Ring Of Honor so I thought this is a good chance. I had known there was some interest so when my contract expired we came to an agreement for me to start at NXT.”
The show will go down from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Ricochet was recently a guest on Edge and Christian’s podcast, E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness. He was able to share some of his thoughts on his NXT TakeOver opponent during the show.
Intimidation On The Mic
Ricoceht divulged that he is a bit intimidated by Cole’s skills on the microphone. “The One And Only” said working with those better than him on the mic has helped him improve in that department of the game himself:
“Oh man, [Cole] is so good on the mic. It’s crazy. It’s intimidating,” Ricochet said. “Even with [Velveteen] Dream because Dream is very comfortable on the mic as well, so like both of those situations I felt like this was, like, good for me because, again, it’s either make it or break it.
“Do you know what I mean? So I had this pressure on me and I was like, ‘I’m going to go out there and do my best I can to kill it.’ I guess, especially because I’ve known Adam for so long and we’ve become pretty good friends or whatever, like, I’m comfortable in there.
“There’s not like the weird awkwardness where I’m uncomfortable speaking to him, I guess. I don’t know. So yeah, especially with him being so good on the mic, I definitely have to step up and show them that I might not beat him verbally, but, like, I can for sure keep up with him.”
Listen to Ricochet on E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness by clicking this link here.
Discussion: What do you make of Ricochet’s comments? Do you think he’ll best Cole tomorrow night? Let us know in the comments!
Tonight’s episode of NXT from Full Sail University features a main event with championship implications.
Former NXT Champion, Aleister Black, goes one-on-one with Johnny Gargano. The winner of tonight’s main event could determine the next NXT title challenger.
NXT 8/8 Preview
Aleister Black vs Johnny Gargano
Two weeks ago, Johnny Gargano hit Aleister Black in the head with the NXT Championship belt. The move resulted in Ciampa defeating Black and winning the NXT title.
Black let it be known he blames Gargano for the loss of his title last week. He’ll be looking for both revenge and to qualify for a rematch with Ciampa tonight.
Keith Lee In-Ring NXT Debut
Bask in his glory! Keith Lee debuts on NXT television tonight. The former PWG and WWN Champion appeared in the crowd at Takeover: Chicago but will appear in the ring tonight.
The tag WWE is putting beside Keith Lee’s name is “Limitless”. They released the above promotional video for Lee earlier this week.
Ricochet In Single’s Action
Ricochet will also be in single’s action on NXT tonight. As with Keith Lee, Ricochet’s opponent his yet to be named and is likely enhancement talent.
Ricochet will challenge Adam Cole for the NXT North American Championship at Takeover: Brooklyn IV. You can bet the champion will be watching this match closely. The Undisputed Era might even want to soften Ricochet up before Takeover.
Mae Young Classic II Qualifier
Vanessa Borne vs Taynara Conti
The second edition of the Mae Young Classic gets going today in Winter Park, Florida. Tayanari Conti and Vanessa Borne will clash tonight with the winner entering the tournament proper.
The second edition of the Mae Young Classic films today and tomorrow in Full Sail University and is expected to air in early September.
Last week’s results:
Heavy Machinery defeated The Mighty
Moustache Mountain defeated Matt Knox and Bradley Taylor
NXT North American Champion Adam Cole was recently interviewed on the So Catch by Hal YouTube channel to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Cole first discussed having been a part of two of the most famous factions in professional wrestling today – The Undisputed Era and The Bullet Club:
“I’ve been in a lot of different factions my whole career and all the guys who made up those factions are different performers. For example, if you look at the Undisputed Era as a whole I’m very different than Roderick Strong who’s very different from Kyle O’Reilly who’s very different from Bobby Fish.
“Bullet Club was the exact same way. Everyone was different but together collectively that’s what made The Bullet Club what it was. Of course you’re gonna see people who compare the groups especially when someone jumps from group to group.
“Undisputed Era has the same cocky, no-nonsense, do whatever we want attitude that Bullet Club does so you get the comparisons, but at the same time I do think the group that we have now in the Undisputed Era is different in that sense. I definitely have noticed differences, yeah.”
Cole then talked about being NXT’s North American Champion and getting to defend that strap in EVOLVE:
“It’s exciting, I made a comment before when I won the North American Championship I said I was gonna make it the most important title in NXT and one of the ways for me to do that is to go out and defend the title in other companies like Evolve. I think it makes it cool. I think it adds to the coolness of pro wrestling in 2018 where NXT champions are showing up elsewhere.”