Adam Cole has discussed the rebranding of NXT to NXT 2.0 and says he thinks AEW dominating the Wednesday Night Wars had to play a part.
Cole was synonymous with the black and gold brand of WWE since he shocked the system in 2017 when he made his debut attacking Drew McIntyre at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III. As part of The Undisputed Era, Adam Cole became a Grand Slam champion in NXT and was the first-ever NXT North American Champion.
Another shock was in store for the wrestling business at AEW All Out when Adam Cole made his AEW debut, immediately reuniting with Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks in The Elite.
Speaking to his AEW colleague Chris Jericho on Talk is Jericho Cole gave his thought on the NXT rebrand and the effect AEW had on NXT:
“This is all just me guessing. I think, for sure, (AEW beating NXT) played a part (in the rebrand). I also understand the thought process of…there were so many guys in NXT who were presented a certain way and then they’d go to Raw or SmackDown and it was a complete 180. I see the standpoint of if I am Vince McMahon, him looking at NXT as this breeding ground for guys on Raw and SmackDown, he wants his hands in it a little bit more and he wants bigger guys. Not saying everyone is going to be big, but more guys who are geared to be ready to go for Raw and SmackDown. I understand that.”
“When I was there at NXT, it was treated as a third brand. We got on television because of it, we had the big Survivor Series month, which was really cool. It was the more athletic pro wrestling storytelling and style. Them going back to this, certainly, AEW has to play a factor in my mind. It just has to. More important, I do think it’s so they don’t have to change a thing about guys when they are in NXT now.”
On AEW Dynamite from Rochester, New York, Adam Cole took to the ring in singles competition defeating Junge Boy.