WWE was seemingly caught a bit off guard with Adam Cole’s contract, and while they came to an agreement on an extension, it is only short-term. The extension allows Cole to finish off his current feud with Kyle O’Reilly at TakeOver 36, but then he’s a free agent. WWE has reportedly been attempting to re-sign him, and it culminated in a much-talked-about meeting with Vince McMahon ahead of last night’s SmackDown. Nothing has been confirmed by WWE or Cole regarding the meeting, but a new report from Fightful Select sheds a bit of light on the meeting, how it went, and what the future could look like if he decides to re-sign.
According to the report, Cole met with McMahon in his office a few hours ahead of SmackDown, and the meeting was said to have appeared to be a “high priority” to McMahon. A source high up in WWE said they heard the meeting went well overall, and that McMahon seemed to take a liking to Cole on a personal level as a result.
Videos by ComicBook.com
According to people backstage at SmackDown, Cole wasn’t backstage for the show itself. It was also learned that WWE had wanted to bring Cole in for a meeting the Friday before (during SmackDown’s visit to Minnesota), but had to switch it to the Tampa SmackDown for logistical reasons.
As for what’s next, there hasn’t been a confirmation of Cole’s decision, but Fightful says they have been told there have been pitches for Cole regarding both Raw and SmackDown if he were to re-sign, and a source said that it was communicated to Cole that they want him for the main roster.
So, it seems that if Cole does re-sign, he would be leaving NXT for either the red or blue brands, and that’s not all that surprising really if you look at Cole’s body of work over the past few years. After the O’Reilly program ends, it would be a natural place to switch gears to a different show, as he’s had a great run as Champion, assembled one of the most popular factions in NXT, who by the way were heels but then turned face which was followed by a Cole heel turn after he broke up the group, and that’s all in addition to his stellar matches with just about everyone in the company. If he was going to leave, now would be the time, but there’s always the chance he stays in NXT or heads elsewhere. We’ll just have to wait and see.
What do you want to see next for Cole? Let us know in the comments or as always you can talk all things NXT and WWE with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!
