Adam Cole’s contract expired on July 6th after the Great American Bash. Cole re-signed a short term deal with the company in order to finish up his program with Kyle O’Reilly according to Wrestling Inc. WWE was upset with the news leaking out publicly and there was confusion over the expiration date of his contract.
According to talkSPORT, the understanding is that “Cole extended his deal in order to put over Kyle O’Reilly at TakeOver. It’s not common practice for their to be a non-compete with a contract’s expiry, but as part of the extension, Cole managed to kill the non-compete clause he would have to fulfill.”
Adam Cole made his debut at NXT TakeOver Brooklyn III on August 19th 2017. Aligning himself with Kyle O’Reilly, Bobby Fish and later Roderick Strong. The faction would call themselves The Undisputed Era and would go to be the greatest faction in NXT’s history.
Triple H and Shawn Michaels have not hidden the fact that Adam Cole is one of their favorites on NXT. While Cole has always made no secrets about Shawn Michaels being one of his favorite wrestlers of all-time and that working for WWE is his dream job. Wrestling fans have always made the comparisons between Shawn Michaels and Adam Cole. Cole’s relationship with Shawn and Hunter will definitely go a long way in his decision on re-signing with WWE.
Another factor in Adam Cole’s decision could be his role in Xavier Woods UpUpDownDown YouTube Channel. Cole is a gamer and has a strong presence on the show playing video and board games with other WWE Superstars. Tyler Breeze, who has already been released by the company still appears on the channel. Cole could continue his role on the show until he signs with another company.
Lastly, is the Britt Baker factor. Cole is known to be involved in a relationship with current AEW Women’s World Champion Britt Baker D.D.S. While Baker has attended NXT shows in support of her boyfriend, Cole has been backstage at several AEW events. There’s a familiarity with AEW, as Cole remains friends with many wrestlers in the company.
With AEW gaining more traction and momentum with the recent signings of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, Adam Cole will be holding all the cards in his upcoming negotiations with WWE for a new contract.
