5 Things You Didn't Know About Adam Cole

Adam Cole took the WWE Universe by storm when he made his debut with a vicious attack on then NXT Champion Drew McIntyre at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III. The heinous assault established Cole as one of wrestling's most nefarious heels, alongside his Undisputed Era stablemates Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly.

Since then, Cole's streak of dominance has continued, as he has risen to the very top of the NXT food chain. He most recently wrestled Johnny Gargano in a Match of the Year contender at NXT: TakeOver Toronto.

Cole, already established as one of wrestling's top heels, isn't at all like his unscrupulous character away from the wrestling ring. He is charming, hard working, and family oriented, yet relishes in being a heel. Find out why and so much more in 5 Things You Didn't Know About Adam Cole.

#5 He Is A Staunch Critic Of His Own Work

Adam Cole will likely never be satisfied with his work in professional wrestling. Even after a near flawless bout like the one he recently had against Johnny Gargano at NXT: TakeOver Toronto, Cole is left with doubts and an incessant desire for improvement.

The NXT Champion is meticulous and constantly dissecting his ring work in his quest for perfection. Cole isn't one to shy away from criticism. In fact, he often seeks it out.

He told Chasing Glory host Lilian Garcia,

"I've never had the perfect match, but I'm gonna try so hard to get it."

Cole had the following to say about his recent barn burner against Johnny Gargano,

"I'll find ten different things that I'm like, 'I didn't like this. This could have been a little better.' I'm proud of it for sure and I'm happy with it, but I don't think I've ever had a match where I'm like, 'From start to finish that is what I wanted.' Sometimes that's not necessarily a bad thing."

Cole hasn't watched his match with Gargano just yet, but is already critiquing the "knee story" the two told,

"We told a knee story in that match. We paid attention to it, for sure, but we also had certain aspects - it was very challenging to protect the pain I had in my knee with the things I had to do. I had to do some climbing and at the same time make that believable."

#4 Don't Expect Him To Transition To A Babyface Anytime Soon

Adam Cole is well-spoken, friendly and with movie-star good looks, that are straight out of central casting to play the role of wrestling hero. Still, don't expect him to make the transition to babyface just yet. Cole is having too much fun as a heel and flourishing as one of NXT's premier villains,

"The creative freedom as a heel - for me - is so much more valuable. Even a promo, for example, I feel like as a babyface, of course you can have great, amazing babyface promos, but as a heel there's just so much more you can say, so much more you can come up with. For me, it's so much more fun to get a room full of people to be angry at you or against you than it is for them to cheer you."

Cole has earned the respect and approval of wrestling fans, who often cheer him as if he already was a babyface.

That doesn't bother Cole, who revealed the following to Lilian Garcia,

"Lots of nights when I come out they will cheer me like a babyface because they respect what I've done and the journey it took me to get here and all that stuff, but my goal - as long as throughout the match they start cheering for the other guy more, then I feel like I've accomplished what I'm going after."

#3 Young Adam Cole Was Inspired By "Stone Cold" Steve Austin

Everyone has a hero, an idol that inspires them to pursue their dreams. For young Adam Cole that icon was none other than WWE Hall of Famer "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

Cole told Lilian Garcia about the first time he saw Austin come to the ring,

"I was taking karate lessons when I was younger....one day I got there early and my instructor was watching a taped Monday Night RAW and he was watching it in the background. I had no clue what it was."

Cole wanted to fit in with his karate instructor, so when he was asked if he watched wrestling, he fibbed and said he watched it all the time. The instructor offered to lend him WrestleMania XV on videotape, but only if Cole could get his mother's signature first. Cole went home and begged his mom to sign the permission slip.

She obliged and Cole took the video home to watch,

"I remember when Stone Cold's music would hit and he would come to the ring and 20,000 people would go insane at his every move, I would go, 'That's the coolest human being on the planet.' I thought he was the coolest."

Two years later Cole watched WrestleMania X-Seven and would go on to obsessively watch the event every single day,

"That was the first time I ever got goosebumps. In that moment, I decided I didn't just want to be a fan. I was like, 'I have to do this as a job.' When his music hit in the Astrodome and 67,000 people did what normally 20,000 people do - I didn't know what was going on being a young kid, I was like, 'Why do I feel this way? What is going on? That was my first goosebumps moment and in that moment I was like, 'I have to be a wrestler. I have to do it.'"

#2 His Father's Doubts Motivated Him

Adam Cole had a troubled childhood that included a father that drank too much and often doubted his professional wrestling dreams.

He confided in Chasing Glory host Lilian Garcia,

"He was always against wrestling, very much so. He thought it was a giant waste of time. There was no chance I was ever gonna make it.....he used to be like, 'You need to be realistic. I think it's absurd that you're not gonna pick some kind of college to go to.'"

Even in the face of his father's doubts, Cole was adamant, unwavering, and utterly convinced that he would become a professional wrestler.

The NXT Superstar admits to going through life always looking for his father's approval, but that only made him work even harder.

He told Garcia,

"When he was against me wanting to pursue wrestling - at first it really upset me, but I never had that, 'Oh, maybe I shouldn't do it.' Not once. As time went on and that was continuing to be said, I was so determined to prove him wrong."

Cole followed his dreams and began wrestling as a senior in high school, worked his way through the independents, and was signed by WWE in 2017.

#1 Cole Has Main Roster Plans For Him And Seth Rollins

Adam Cole is an NXT guy through and through, but like most Superstars of his caliber, his transition to the main roster is an inevitability. There is one competitor, in particular, that he'd like to wrestle, especially since the two have never met in the squared circle before.

Cole revealed,

"I normally say AJ Styles, but I've worked with AJ before, so I don't want to pick someone I've worked with. The guy I really want to wrestle, who I've never worked with before in my life is Seth Rollins, really bad."

The two just missed each other in Ring of Honor,

"He had his farewell match the day I got signed in Ring of Honor, so we just missed each other. He is a guy I was always a fan of. I think he's fantastic now. He's been fantastic for years. I love his mentality on wrestling. Twitter very much wants this match to happen. I get, 'We need Seth Rollins vs Adam Cole,' all the time."

Cole continued his high praise for Rollins,

"He is absolutely one of the best in the world at this job. He's a guy, especially because I haven't had a chance to work with him before, I'd love the chance to get in the ring with him."

(Transcription Credit: Michael McClead, Sportskeeda)

Readers may listen to Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia in its entirety below:

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