Adam Cole Talks Ring of Honor's Move to Destination America, WWE NXT and More

Since 2008, Adam Cole has cemented himself as one of the top wrestlers on the independent scene, most notably for Ring of Honor. Starting Wednesday, June 3, fans will have an opportunity to see Ring of Honor stars on Destination America at 8 p.m. ET.  

Last week, Cole spoke with Ring Rust Radio (quotes courtesy of the News of Delaware County’s Joe Arcidiacono) to discuss his recovery from shoulder surgery, WWE NXT and more. Ring of Honor has been promoting Cole's journey to taking over the promotion and the conversation rightfully opened with Cole's reaction to Ring of Honor and Destination America's blockbuster television announcement:

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I was shocked and just as floored as everybody else was.  Ring of Honor offices kept everyone in the dark as far as what was going on but the excitement level through the talent is really high. With how everyone feels, how amped we are, and with how hard everyone has been working, this is a giant step forward for us. I think we are going to be in an additional 57 million homes and that’s huge for accessibility and viewership potential for Ring of Honor. This is something our entire team has worked very hard for, we feel that we deserve it, and we’re not going to give anyone any reason to believe that we should not be on a national television platform.  

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The television deal was a major moment not just for Ring of Honor and its stars but for wrestling fans in general.

Wednesday has become arguably the must-see night for fans. Ring of Honor will serve as a lead-in for TNA Impact Wrestling on Destination America, but Lucha Underground and NXT also air Wednesday nights. Ring of Honor and TNA airing on the same network was shocking to many fans who view the companies as direct competitors, but Cole quickly weighed in on whether this should or could be seen as competition or a partnership:

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I actually don’t look at it as either. Ring of Honor has gotten where it’s gotten by solely making itself better especially from 2014 to 2015... We try not to get too wrapped up in the entire competition thought process, but the entire thing is very exciting for pro-wrestling. The idea now is you have Ring of Honor on before TNA Impact and that’s three hours of wrestling potentially on cable television on Wednesday nights. Again, it’s not a partnership either though. We’re not affiliated with TNA whatsoever, we’re focused on us, and it just so happens we’re on right before TNA. As far as being a wrestling fan I think it’s an exciting time for them. As for us, we are so hyper focused on doing what we can so this is as successful as possible for us.

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Fans who may not be familiar with Cole's work in recent years are certainly in for a treat. He is easily one of the most well-rounded performers on the independent scene with several classics under his belt, most notably against Ring of Honor World Champion Jay Briscoe. At Final Battle last December, they squared off in a candidate for Match of the Year.

At Best in the World 2012, Cole battled Kyle O'Reilly in a bloody Hybrid Rules match, which was also a candidate for Match of the Year to many fans.

At 25 years old, Cole has been honing his craft inside the squared circle and on the microphone for years. He is often compared to Shawn Michaels, whom he grew up watching intently as a massive fan. Cole resembles Michaels in many ways, perhaps no trait more obvious than Cole's resilient nature. He's been in many battles, again most notably with Briscoe, but his most recent battle was his recovery from shoulder surgery, as he noted:

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This injury goes back to me wrestling with a fracture in my elbow and a partially torn triceps for probably a year and a half to two years... Long story short, I got a MRI and it was a torn labrum which is a vital tendon in the shoulder that can cause problems with your bicep, triceps, or even neck down the line... The rehab process was more mentally draining than it was physically and I thought the physical part was easy... When I wrestled [AJ Styles at War of the World on Night 1], that was the first time I was between the ropes at all in five months. I hadn’t done any wrestling training or anything like that in the meantime. It was really nerve wrecking, not so much if my shoulder was going to hold up but that I was going to be able to perform. Fortunately for me wrestling is like riding a bike. The second I got in there everything just clicked and came back fortunately.

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That night against AJ Styles, Cole came back to put on an impressive performance given the circumstances. Still, fans are anxious to see more of Cole. 

Cole has a veteran's mind for the business. He understands the importance of being able to work the mic in order to connect with the fans. That philosophy extends to his in-ring work, too. One of the reasons he's regarded as one of the top in-ring performers on the independent scene is because of his ability to sell his opponent's offense and his in-ring mannerisms.

It is difficult not to connect with Cole during his matches because he includes so many important intangibles to be a successful worker. He has the athleticism and the eye-opening offense, but he understands when to slow the pace of a match to allow fans to process the action.

It's these skills that have many fans salivating at the opportunity of seeing him on national television with WWE, mixing it up with former Ring of Honor studs such as Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn and Cesaro. Cole, who has previously participated in a tryout with WWE, discussed the importance of NXT and the desire to one day have his "WrestleMania moment," per the Ring Rust Radio interview:

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The entire game changed with NXT here, I feel like pro wrestlers are running the industry...  With NXT though, anyone who says they don’t want to have a WrestleMania moment someday is kidding themselves. Of course I have entertained the idea of working with WWE someday. NXT is indeed the epic catalyst or best shot to getting up to the main roster. With the way things are going with Ring of Honor and how good they have been to me since the injury from 2010, I am not even thinking about WWE right now. I am totally focused on what we got going on with Ring of Honor... Ring of Honor is the place I call home, but like they say in pro wrestling, never say never.

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At Best in the World June 19 in New York, Cole will participate in a six-man tag team match as part of The Kingdom (Matt Taven and Michael Bennett) against The Bullet Club's Styles and Young Bucks. Given the supreme athleticism of these performers and their high-risk tendencies, this match certainly has the potential to go down as one of the best matches in the first half of 2015. 

Before the event, however, it'll be exciting to see what Ring of Honor offers fans to kick off its partnership with Destination America. Given how many talented wrestlers are working with the company, it'll be difficult to get everybody involved in a one-hour show. However, one thing for certain is that Cole is a megastar in the making in professional wrestling and deserves to be promoted as such to attract new viewers.

For more wrestling talk, listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot topics, or catch the latest episode in the player above (Warning: some language NSFW).