Adam Cole’s WWE contract expired recently, and he agreed to a short extension to conclude his feud with Kyle O’Reilly at NXT TakeOver 36. The belief is that someone within WWE’s management team wasn’t paying close enough attention and allowed both Cole and Pete Dunne’s to run down, resulting in them being fired.
With Cole now being just weeks away from being able to sign with AEW, where he is well-known backstage due to his girlfriend Britt Baker working there, it’s understood that Vince McMahon personally spoke with him ahead of Friday’s episode of SmackDown. While the conversation was private, it’s assumed the meeting went well, as Dave Meltzer has stated on his Wrestling Observer Radio show that WWE’s writing teams have been told to begin pitching storylines for Cole’s main roster call-up.
I was under the impression that they promised him a main roster spot, and they told the writers that they want storylines for Adam Cole on the main roster on Raw or SmackDown. So, I think that was part of the meeting.
Cole debuted for WWE in 2017 at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III by attacking NXT Champion Drew McIntyre, and posing with the title, showing the company had big plans for him. Unfortunately for Cole, WWE would change their strategy to put the title on him, as according to Andrade, Cole was deemed too small to beat McIntyre. Therefore Andrade would instead be the man to defeat McIntrye.
Cole would have to wait almost two more years to finally win the NXT Championship when he defeated Johnny Gargano at TakeOver: New York. He would hold the title for 396 days, and ever since he dropped the title to Keith Lee, fans had been waiting for his call-up, feeling he was being overlooked.
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