ROH TV Champion Adam Cole Discusses Joey Ryan Leaving PWG, Matt Hardy, CZW Tonight, Defeating Steen

Ring of Honor World TV Champion and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla World Champion Adam Cole joined Kayfabe Wrestling Radio this past week. In a nearly 30 minute interview, he talked about his victory at Pro Wrestling Guerrilla's "Battle of Los Angeles", facing Kevin Steen and beating him for the PWG World Title, the environment around Joey Ryan's last PWG match, the confrontation with Matt Hardy at "Death before Dishonor X" and their upcoming match and more. Here are some highlights:

Facing and defeating Kevin Steen for the PWG World Championship: "It's funny, I think the match up, last minute, which was made into a "Guerrilla Warfare" match, which means there's no rules whatsoever; weapons are into the mix as well. So the interesting part about that is although many people look at that and say 'Oh, that really benefits Kevin Steen', the reality is that it's such an unpredictable situation, where I can take advantage of something; he can obviously take advantage of something and I think that's exactly what happened. You know, the match was very barbaric; I'm not going to spoil anything for the ones who want to check it out on DVD as far as what actually happened, but it was one of the most brutal matches I've been in in my entire life. So, I feel like I definitely earned my keep that night as far as being able to walk away as PWG World Champion, because it was an absolute war. So I think the unpredictability had a lot to do with that and Kevin Steen is an animal; he's a savage. So, he was right in his environment but I think even though I hadn't been tested too much in those situations, I think when I am put in those situations, I've proven I can hang and obviously that was the case this past weekend."

The scene after Joey Ryan's last PWG Match this past weekend: "It was a sad moment, man. You know, Joey not only has given so much to specifically PWG, but he's a staple on the independent wrestling scene and he's been for so long. Specifically in PWG, you know, that's his home; that's where he's made his name and was and always will be such a big part of that company. The draw that night was unbelievable, you know, the amount of people that were there and I think all credit can be given to Joey Ryan. A lot of the fans wanted to go and wanted to say goodbye; Joey wanted to say goodbye as well and the match was fantastic. And yeah, it's cool to see one of us move on to a bigger stage and I know he'll do everyone proud. I know the fans feel that way and I know the wrestlers feel that way also so ever though it was a sad moment, it was really cool to be a part of it."

Talking about Matt Hardy and his comments towards Cole after "Death Before Dishonor X": "It's a tough situation. I think, mainly, what was going on in my mind was kind of what was shown on my face that night in Chicago, which was shock. You know, Matt Hardy, even though based on the comments that he said, and I still feel that way; He's a guy I really respect. All of the stuff he said about what how much he's given to pro wrestling and about how people will always remember the name 'Hardy', that is very true. Matt has definitely given his fair share to professional wrestling and he'll be remembered forever; however, I feel this is certainly a case of him not trying to convince the wrestling fans, him not trying to convince me or the other guys in the Ring of Honor roster; he's still trying to convince himself that he's still just as good as he was then and he feels like that he wants to prove that against me. Based on the comments he had said, obviously I retaliated. I'm a very proud athlete, I'm proud to be in Ring of Honor and I'm proud to be the Ring of Honor Television Champion and I'm certainly not going to stand for something like that. So, the last thing that I am is a second-rate Matt Hardy. I'm the first Adam Cole and I'm going to show Matt Hardy exactly what I'm talking about when we go in and do battle in New York."

The history of the feud between himself and Sami Callihan in Combat Zone Wrestling: "Well, actually, what had happened was me and Sami, when we both came into CZW at relatively at the same time, we were both labeled as future World Champions of the company. So our careers, even though we never met in the ring, were always on a very similar path whether it be in CZW or in other wrestling promotions. We both were kind of moving up the ladder at the same time, so there was always a comparison there and there was a competitive nature there as well until finally, at "Best of the Best 10" me and him met in the finals and I won, in the finals of the tournament. And, in turn, it created this rivalry that's just continued to go on and on and on. Sami was the guy; I was CZW Junior World Heavyweight Champion for 553 days; I was the longest reigning CZW Junior Heavyweight Champion there ever was; I defended the title all over the world and Sami was the guy that took that away from me. At the time, that was the most important thing to me, so obviously, I had a lot to say about that as well. And even though Sami and I have had battle after battle and match after match, there's still always that comparison of who really is the best. And what it's come down to (at CZW Cage of Death on iPPV), I've decided, because I issued the challenge out to Sami, that me and him face off in a match that I feel he excels the most, which is No Holds Barred. We've had wrestling match after wrestling match; it's been proved time and time again that it's 50-50. It's one of those times where I if go in there, maybe I'll win and if he goes in there, maybe he'll win. But this is just the ultimate test of two men going into the ring and fighting and seeing who is the absolute best. So, this match is everything to me and I know it's everything to Sami so this is definitely going to be the one that settles the score for us and I certainly intend of being the guy to walk away the winner."

The biggest accomplishment for his year: "For me, it's got to be winning the Ring of Honor World TV Championship and, for me, the reason is, you know, Ring of Honor being the #3 company in the United States and being a company that I wanted to be a part of for so long; just for them to sit back and say we want to invest stock in you; we want you to be a guy we believe in; we want you to be a guy to help carry the company, is (pun-intended) a huge honor. So, for me to be given that opportunity and given that chance to have, hopefully, a very successful and memorable ROH World TV Title reign is awesome for me and it's definitely something that I'm very, very proud of and intend to keep for a long time."

Source: Kayfabe Wrestling Radio