
Adam Cole
BioEarly Life
Austin Jenkins was born on July 5, 1989, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. His parents separated when Austin was 10 years old. He competed in amateur wrestling when he was in high school, but quit during his senior year in order to get a job and fund his anticipated professional wrestling career.
Independent Wrestling Career
Austin adopted the ring name Adam Cole in 2008 when he made his wrestling debut for Combat Zone Wrestling. Once he got his feet under him, Cole began to branch out and compete across the independent circuit. He found particular success in the West Coast promotion PWG, a company known for its hardcore style and cult-like fan base. It was in PWG that Cole befriended Kevin Owens and the Young Bucks, wrestlers whom Cole remains friendly with to this day.
Where Adam Cole really began making a name for himself was Ring of Honor. During his tenure in ROH, Cole joined two notable factions: The Kingdom (with Mike Bennett, Maria Kanellis, and Matt Taven) and the infamous Bullet Club. He also crossed paths with notable rivals of his whom he’d reunite with a bit later in life: Kyle O’Reilly, Bobby Fish, and Roderick Strong.
Cole became a three-time ROH World Champion during his time with the company and remains one of the most successful stars to come out of ROH.
Time In WWE
On August 19, 2017, Adam Cole shocked the world when he made his WWE debut at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III. By his side were two old rivals and fellow indie darlings, Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish. The trio named themselves the Undisputed Era. A bit later on, Roderick Strong would join the group and the four of them would dominate the black-and-gold brand.
Adam Cole’s natural charm and athleticism quickly made him one of the most popular stars in NXT, regardless of whether he played a heel or babyface. On April 7, 2018, Adam Cole became the inaugural NXT North American Champion at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans.
On June 1, 2019, Cole defeated Johnny Gargano to win the NXT Championship. He became one of the most dominant champions in the brand’s history, defending his title against contenders like Pete Dunne and Tommaso Ciampa. He broke the record for the longest NXT Championship reign, holding the belt for a total of 403 days.
After losing the NXT Championship, Adam Cole turned babyface. He had a very comedic (if not bizarre) feud with NFL star-turned-WWE commentator Pat McAfee. Cole would then revert and turn heel on his Undisputed Era stablemates. His last match in NXT was a two out of three falls match against Kyle O’Reilly, which he lost.
Jumping Ship To AEW
On September 5, 2021, Adam Cole made his AEW debut at All Out. He aligned himself with his former Bullet Club stablemates, Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks. The reunited friends ran roughshod over AEW for several months until Cole betrayed the Young Bucks and reunited with Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly.
After Bobby Fish departed from AEW and Kyle O’Reilly was sidelined due to injury, Adam Cole formed an unlikely alliance with AEW World Champion MJF. At All In, Cole and MJF defeated Aussie Open to become the ROH World Tag Team Champions.
BirthnameAustin Kirk Jenkins Birthdate1989-07-05 BirthplaceLancaster, Pennsylvania, USA Notable AlliesArray Notable RivalsArray Current PromotionArray Height6 feet 0 inches Weight200 lbs Debut2008-04-26 Championships HeldNXT Championship, NXT North American Championship, NXT Tag Team Championship, ROH World Championship (x3), ROH World Television Championship, ROH World Tag Team Championship FinisherThe Boom Twitterhttps://twitter.com/AdamColePro Eye ColorBlue Hair ColorBrownQuick Links
While Adam Cole's jump from WWE to AEW felt like a major coup for Tony Khan's promotion at the time, the former NXT Champion hasn't been quite the same since making the move.
Cole was one of the key figures in WWE developmental over the course of his four years with the company, and since he arrived in AEW at All Out 2021, he just hasn't felt like quite as big a deal as he once was.
Whether it's through a lack of clear direction or the consequence of being among such a deep roster, Cole no longer stands out as one of the best talents on the show. He was once the most entertaining of NXT and was considered one of the best wrestlers in the world, but he's lost a lot of that star quality over the last 12 months.
His Lack of Clear Direction In AEW Has Hurt His Stock
One major issue with Cole's run in AEW so far is the lack of clear direction his character has had for the most part. Aside from his feud with former AEW World Champion Hangman Adam Page, the 32-year-old hasn't really had much going on in terms of storyline motive.
Instead, he's just spent a large portion of time spinning his wheels alongside the rest of the Elite. It seems clear the promotion is waiting on Kenny Omega's return to really push on with whatever plans they have for Cole, but as there's still no set date for the Cleaner to come back, it's time they give the former NXT Champion a meaningful feud to sink his teeth into.

Sure, he recently won the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament, but he still hasn't really got a rivalry to push on with coming out of it. A recent injury has left him on the shelf for the time being, but once he is back AEW needs to do a better job finding something for him to do.
Disappointing Feuds Haven't Helped
Even when AEW do find something for Cole to do, they haven't exactly given him much to work with. While Orange Cassidy is one of the most popular wrestlers in the promotion, his character had no business being in a rivalry with someone as highly regarded as Cole, let alone actually defeating him in a match.
Sure, it may have been an unsanctioned bout, but fans still saw the visual of the comedic character defeating the 32-year-old, something that would have seemed out of the realm of possibility in NXT. The rivalry with Hangman wasn't much better either. The match at Revolution was a superb contest, but the story around it just didn't live up to the potential it had.

The history between the two men should have given fans a deeply personal feud that tied into their days in the Bullet Club, but it was barely touched upon and a lack of important segments between them led to the story falling a little flat.
During his time in NXT, Cole had one of the best rivalries in the promotion's history with his bitter blood feud with former teammate Kyle O'Reilly. The two did a tremendous job building up the story, and it quickly became one of the most entertaining in all of WWE at the time, and he just hasn't been afforded the chance to do something similar in AEW.
His Matches Have Become A Bit By The Numbers
Another issue with Cole in AEW, is his matches have become very by the numbers at this point. Of course, as a heel, he should have to rely on cheating every once in a while to have his arm raised, but it seems like his matches end the exact same way every single week.
The 32-year-old would endure an entertaining back and forth battle with whoever his opponent is, and the two would have fans on the edge of their seats, but inevitably a run-in from members of the Elite would lead to Cole stealing the victory. It all just becomes very familiar and easy to predict.

In NXT, Cole had some of the best matches in the brand's history and a large portion of that was due to the unpredictable nature of them. Of course, he still relied on the help of his comrades every once in a while, but no two matches ever felt the same on the Black and Gold brand, something that cannot be said about his bouts in AEW.
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