Adam Cole arrived in AEW at the All Out 2021 pay-per-view after having one of the most decorated runs in NXT history. Cole left the WWE brand having led one of its most dominant factions in the Undisputed Era, becoming the company’s second triple crown champion and setting the record for the longest reign as NXT Champion at 403 days. In a new interview on Busted Open Radio this week, Cole was asked to compare the creative processes between AEW now and NXT back when he was with the company.ย
“I’d say, by far the biggest difference is NXT had a very hands-on approach, which is wonderful,” Cole said (h/t Wrestling Inc.). “It’s a great learning experience when you look at guys like Shawn Michaels and Triple H, who have an exact vision of where they wanted it to go, how they wanted the promos to sound, what they wanted us to say. Then as time went on, I got more freedom, I guess you can call it. Whether it be with promos and matches, because they started to trust me.
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“With AEW, it was from the beginning. No one has ever handed me a script for a promo,” he continued. “No one has ever told me directly how they want my match to go. You get that creative process and that freedom to do as you please. Especially if you’re someone who’s trusted, fortunately, but with AEW from the beginning, I’ve been trusted. I’d say, they definitely give you a lot more stuff to play with and using your own creative process to go about things how you want to.”
Cole arrival in AEW was immediately followed by him realigning with The Elite. With Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish eventually making the jump as well, the group is now goes by The Undisputed Elite. Two of its members, Cole and O’Reilly, are set to compete in the Owen Hart Cup Tournament in the coming weeks leading up to Double or Nothing on May 29. Cole will kick off the tournament on this week’s Dynamite with a match against Dax Harwood.
