Adam Cole Thinks It's An Outrage He's Not An NXT Champion, Discusses Halftime Heat
As seen in the video above, WWE NXT star Adam Cole sat down for an interview with TMZ Sports to discuss the upcoming WWE NXT special Halftime Heat. As previously noted, Halftime Heat will air live during the halftime of Super Bowl 53 this Sunday and the match advertised is NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa, NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole vs. Ricochet, Aleister Black and The Velveteen Dream. WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels will serve as a guest commentator for the event as well.
Cole told TMZ Sports and fans alike that they can look forward to a thrilling thirty minutes of action if they choose to tune in on Sunday. He also credits his fellow NXT superstars' innovative styles, their passion in the ring, and a similar passion from the NXT fan base for making NXT as exciting of a product as it has become.
"Truth be told, people turn in to the Super Bowl for excitement," Cole said. "That's why they watch the Super Bowl. Like me personally, I'm not a huge football guy but I do watch the Super Bowl every year and I get in to it because it's exciting. All I'll say on that is that, I think NXT brings more excitement than anything else in the world. I've said this before and I'll say this again, NXT is like a rock concert, roller coaster ride. This brand – the passion that the wrestlers have, the passion that the fans have, the style that we bring to the table, I standby the fact that you see some of the most innovative, hard-hitting, whatever you wanna call it – exciting is what I like to call it – pro wrestling, or sports entertainment on the planet. NXT is that.
"So to get the chance to do this on such a big platform, whether that be YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, WWE.com, the WWE Network," Cole continued, "there's a chance for more people that have ever seen NXT before to see it. So I can promise you this, if you decide to change that channel or turn on the Network, or go to WWE.com, that thirty minutes you spend will be the best thirty minutes you've spent because it's going to be a wild ride. I promise."
Cole is convinced that he should once again be holding championship gold in WWE NXT, even claiming that his lack thereof is an outrage. Cole firmly believes that he should be at the front of the line for championship opportunities, and Sunday's Halftime Heat will prove that even further.
"I'll tell you this much, the history between the six of us is a lot deeper than a lot of people think," Cole said. "But when it comes down to it, I'm a guy who feels like I should be a champion in NXT. I think it's an outrage that I am not. We have guys on the opposing team like Ricochet, Velveteen Dream, & Aleister Black who feel, for some reason, they're in the front of the line. I'm very aware that Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano have championships in NXT but when it comes to the front of the line, that's all Adam Cole. Adam Cole's not in the back of the line anywhere. So these three guys can sit there and say that they deserve to be champion but at halftime heat, I'm going to show them, along with Tomasso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano, who the real champions in NXT are. I can promise you that."
Cole would finish by sending out a message to Super Bowl 53 halftime performers, Maroon 5. Cole said, "Please, after your performance, please check out NXT Halftime Heat. I can promise you that you'll love the show, that you'll enjoy it. I'm sure you'll do great at the halftime show, but I'm telling ya', you're gonna love NXT. You're gonna become a fan as well. A lifelong fan."
The aforementioned NXT North American Champion, Johnny Gargano tweeted out a statement of his own regarding the upcoming Halftime Heat event. Gargano wrote, "I was 11 years old when [The Rock] took on [Mick Foley] in an Empty Arena Match during the first (and only) #HalftimeHeat.. it blew my mind..20 years later..We're going to pick up the torch and blow the roof off. Time to show the entire world how special @WWENXT truly is."
You can read the full tweet below:
I was 11 years old when @TheRock took on @RealMickFoley in an Empty Arena Match during the first (and only) #HalftimeHeat.. it blew my mind.
20 years later..
We're going to pick up the torch and blow the roof off. Time to show the entire world how special @WWENXT truly is. pic.twitter.com/cBHkBKhypu
? Johnny Gargano (@JohnnyGargano) February 1, 2019
You can listen to the full interview above. If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit TMZ Sports with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.