wrestling / News

Adam Cole Says He’s Not Aiming For WWE Right Now, Talks Winning ROH World Title & More

August 30, 2016 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas
Adam Cole

– Adam Cole spoke with CBS New York about his ROH World Title win and more. Some highlights are below:

On being the third multiple-time ROH World Champion: “The big question I get asked is does it feel any different the second time? And it definitely does. The first time I won the Ring of Honor World Championship I was a kid — I was 23 years old. Now I’ve matured and gotten to travel the world. I’ve wrestled main event matches as a main event guy for Ring of Honor. So holding this championship for a second time you can enjoy it a little bit more. My family was there… it was an awesome time for me.”

On what being a multiple-time champion means for him and ROH: “It’s huge. The number one factor is that it shows you the type of talent that are holding the Ring of Honor World Championship. If you go back and look at the lineage of the Ring of Honor World Championship… the guys that have held that belt are the who’s who of professional wrestling. And the guys who were able to win that belt are generally able to keep that belt for a very long time. It’s very rare that a repeat champion happens. So, it shows you how important and how much these guys fight for this championship. To be on that elite list of the guys who have held the title more than once… I’d certainly say it’s my number one accomplishment in pro wrestling so far.”

On if WWE’s picking up indy talent worries ROH or PWG: “Not at all. To me it just compliments what we’re doing here in ROH a lot more. And on top of that, a lot of these guys getting opportunities in WWE are my friends. So to get to see them travel the world and become the megastars that they are is really cool. Ring of Honor has always been a company that focuses on youths and being a true alternative. You can see more than ever with ROH associating itself with NJPW and CMLL down in Mexico — these other companies are top companies in the world of pro wrestling and have been for years. That’s a way for ROH to stay ahead of the curve. Not only are we always looking for new hungry young talent, but we’re taking the top talent from Japan and Mexico and we’re bringing them to American soil. So, even the most die-hard wrestling fans are going to be able to say, ‘God, I would love to see Tanahashi live. I would love to see Okada live. I want to see the stars of CMLL live.’ That’s a different way that I believe our company is always staying ahead of the curve and delivering and offering something that WWE doesn’t offer.”

on if he thinks he’ll end up in WWE: “I know this is going to be a rather generic answer, but it’s the truth and it’s really how I feel. Pretty early in my career I made the decision to focus on the task at hand. Very early on I used to obsess with, ‘Oh man I gotta get to WWE. I gotta do everything I can to get to WWE because they’re number one and they’re the best.’ It goes without saying that WWE is the largest professional wrestling company in the world. But there are a lot of other companies — a lot of other ways to make an impact. And I have the chance right now as a two-time ROH champion to make this title run as good as I can. I’m about to start my career in New Japan Pro Wrestling. I have a lot of roadblocks and a lot of things I have to accomplish that are set in front of me right now. If you were to ask me if I ever want a WrestleMania moment someday, I’d be lying to you if I said I didn’t want a WrestleMania moment. That is in my sight line and something that I’ve thought about quite a bit. But right now I’m focused on growing with Ring of Honor and making it as big as it can be. I’m focused on trying to become a star over in Japan. The coolest part of professional wrestling right now is that any one of your favorites… they can wind up wherever. You see guys in WWE who are leaving to come and work the independent schedule, the ROH schedule, the PWG schedule. And then you see all of your independent favorites ending up in WWE. This is the closest thing to me that we’ve had since the Attitude Era with guys popping up in different promotions. It’s an exciting time for the wrestlers, it’s an exciting time for the wrestling fan and I’m just going to enjoy the ride.”