The best opportunities in life are often unexpected. For WWE and its fans, this was evident after much of the roster was stranded in Saudia Arabia, leaving NXT to come to the rescue. The result of NXT’s invasion of SmackDown produced what may have been the best month of WWE programming in recent months. What kicked off with a thrilling series of invasions and brawls, dream cross-brand matches, and NXT beating AEW in the ratings, finally culminated at Survivor Series, one of WWE’s best pay per views in recent memory.
Amidst the excitement, what has been made abundantly clear is that the future of WWE is in good hands with NXT. Keith Lee, Matt Riddle, and Tommaso Ciampa have been some of the standouts in WWE’s internal Civil War, but the man that stands above them all is the current NXT champion, Adam Cole.
Adam Cole arrived in NXT in August 2017 to a massive reaction from fans already familiar with the legacy he had built as part of The Elite. And with excellent matches in various indies, NJPW, and being the only three-time Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Champion. Bringing with him fellow ROH alums Kyle O Reilly and Bobby Fish (both excellent in their own rights), as The Undisputed Era, the already formidable stable added Roderick Strong to the mix, and quickly shot to the top of NXT. In short time, Adam Cole has proven himself to be a valuable addition to the roster. Reminiscent of HBK in the 90s as WWE’s workhorse, Adam Cole has been through the gauntlet this past month and has come out looking like gold.
From tearing the house down with Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins to a fantastic ladder match with Dominik Dijakovic on NXT, following it up with a hellacious WarGames match and then 24 hours later putting on a match of the night contender with Pete Dunne on a stacked card for Survivor Series that included Lesnar vs Mysterio for the WWE Title and Daniel Bryan vs The Fiend for the Universal Title. To look at what Cole has done not just in the past month for WWE, but in his entire run in the organization, it is clear how much faith WWE has in him.
He was the first-ever North American Champion, current NXT champion, Competed in the Royal Rumble and the first-ever Wargames in WWE. And now Cole leads The Undisputed Era, a stable that has all of the gold on NXT. In two years he has accomplished more than most do in their entire career, and he shows no signs of slowing down. In this crazy month of WWE television, Adam Cole has made a convincing case for being the ironman of the WWE, and it couldn’t be a better time than now for the superstar to make his case.
Seth Rollins, Daniel Bryan, and Roman Reigns have been fixtures on WWE television for nine years now. Wrestling is cyclical, and it’s time for WWE to begin building up the stars that will eventually replace them as the top dogs, once they settle into their elder statesmen roles as John Cena and HBK did before them. Adam Cole is the once in a generation wrestler that can fill the void.
Simply speaking, he can more than deliver in the ring. Cole routinely has high-level matches with opponents of various size. As evident with his bouts against Keith Lee, Dominik Dijakovic, Velveteen Dream, and Johnny Gargano when they broke Meltzer’s five-star scale with their Takeover matches, the only matches to do so in WWE. He can talk on the mic, has a picture-perfect move set, and has connected with the broader mainstream WWE crowd almost immediately with his innate charisma and infectious catchphrase, “Bay Bay!” Adam Cole is the actual representation of a pro wrestler Swiss Army knife that seldom comes along. What makes this all the more exciting is that his rise is not manufactured but genuine. He doesn’t need to say he’s the best, he goes out and proves it, and this is what WWE needs now to compete against AEW’s best bout machine in Kenny Omega. Adam Cole and his Undisputed Era stable with proper booking can be WWE’s antidote to The Elite, of which Adam Cole used to be a member. The storyline writes itself.
The greatest crime after Survivor Series would be for Adam Cole to disappear from Raw and Smackdown completely. As NXT Champion, it’s a straightforward story to book that he wants to prove he is the best champion in WWE, so every once in a while he pops up to have an open challenge with the likes of Kevin Owens, Kofi Kingston, or Shinsuke Nakamura. The program would be a win-win for all involved as it keeps him fresh and exciting in the minds of fans and safe from the poor main roster booking that tends to plague NXT call ups — see Aleister Black, Andrade, and War Raide–erm, The Viking Experience. One thing for sure is that, no matter what, Adam Cole is on his way to becoming the face of WWE. In Cole, WWE has a gift of a versatile and reliable wrestler that is the total package. He has proven time and time again that not only can he deliver, but he can be the franchise player. The biggest takeaway from Survivor Series and the war between Raw, Smackdown, and NXT is that it’s Adam Cole’s time…Bay Bay.
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