Adam Cole On The Pressure Of His NXT Debut, Who He Wants To Face On The Main Roster, Undisputed Era
While NXT was in the UK for the UK Championship Tournament, NXT North American Champion Adam Cole spoke with WFF on AJ Styles, sticking around in NXT or heading to the main roster, and his NXT debut. Here are some of the highlights:
His thoughts leading up to his NXT debut at TakeOver: Brooklyn III:
"Very nervous. So, it's exciting when you think, 'Okay, I'm going to make my WWE debut in NXT,' but in my brain, I was a successful independent wrestler for ten years and I had gotten to wrestle all over the world. But WWE is a whole different animal and in my mind I'm thinking, 'I really, really hope these people care and they know who I am. I hope they react and make noise when I come out.' Finally when it did happen and they reacted the way they did, I had such a sense of relief and was just so happy they responded the way they did. It was a big combination of emotions: excitement, nerves, fear, pressure, and all that stuff, but it ended up being one of the best nights of my life."
If he had his choice for a WrestleMania opponent, who would he pick:
"AJ Styles would be my number one pick. The reason being I wrestled him twice before and I didn't beat him, either time. On top of that, I think AJ is the best pro wrestler that I've ever been in the ring with. I think he's absolutely number one. His ability is just second to none, so to get the chance to wrestle him on that stage would be really cool and on top of that I can beat him. [Laughs]"
If he would drop the title and the Undisputed Era to go to the main roster:
"I'm very happy where I am, I think anyone who says they don't want to end up on Raw or SmackDown is kidding themselves. I think eventually that's the goal, but for right now I'm one-hundred percent focused ? Let me put it to you this way. If I had the choice right now and they said, 'Okay, you lose the North American Championship, you're done with Undisputed Era, you go right to SmackDown, or, do you wanna stay longer in NXT with the North American Title?' I would stay, for sure. I really believe in what our group is doing. I think we have something special. I take a lot of pride in being the first North American Champion that's a very special position to be in as the first champion of anything. And I really believe in this brand too, so I definitely believe in what we're doing and plan on sticking around for awhile."
You can check out Cole's full comments in the video above.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit WFF with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.