Adam Cole recently took some time to participate in an interview. Cole reveals his past training under John Dahmer, competing for PWG and working alongside Matt Hardy. He opens up about how grown since he’s continued to develop and his success as part of Mount Rushmore and more recently The Kingdom in Ring of Honor. Check out the complete interview below.
John Dahmer, Al Snow & Les Thatcher are all credited with helping train Adam Cole. Discuss what you gained from their training?
Adam Cole: “Well with all four of those guys they sound completely different. They helped me on completely different levels. My two main trainers were John Dahmer and Hyde. Hyde mainly taught me how to be tough. I mean the beatings that he used to give the students as far as wrestling initiations go were as tough as they come and I’m thankful for it. When I left his training, I wasn’t really afraid of anything, anymore.
It was a kind of networking from a very early stage in our career. Whereas John Dahmer taught us what the technique behind a lot of the wrestling and then the multiple seminars I did with Al Snow and Les Thatcher at the time. They really taught me the psychology of what we do. Understanding why and when you do certain things so I’m totally thankful for all four and they were all completely different styles of wrestling for me.”
Debuting and competing in some promotions for a number of years left Adam Cole with a number of experiences. What did you walk away with from your time there?
ROH’s Adam Cole: “The biggest thing for me there was learning how to work in front of the extremely hard to please south Philadelphia fans. I think mainly because those fans were not going to give you anything unless they were completely blown away. It’s like every crowd that I worked, for now, I feel spoiled because the fans there are just so receptive and so entertaining and really came there to enjoy pro wrestling. So as far as the fans go they are really hard to please and really hard to impress. But once you have their respect you have it forever. It’s a fun challenge when you start off with a company like some a lot of different guys I learned from there too.
Whether it be Sabian, Drew Gulak, Sami Callahan (aka Solomon Crowe in NXT). I got to work with a lot of really talented guys and that was kind of the catalyst for me again for not only learning training-wise how to be a quote-unquote worker but actually living it. With the crowd being so challenging, the biggest thing that guys fall into is failing in front a Philadelphia crowd is really a lack of internal confidence.
What you bring to the table many times guys will be doing something completely on the right path that unless the rabid crowd doesn’t buy it immediately they change it.
Fans are very smart and realize when a wrestler is changing who they are or what they feel they bring to the table strictly based on the reaction that the fan base is giving them. So then the fan base knows that they have control of that wrestler and that wrestler is no longer controlling them. So for me and my character direction, I did my very early stages as a heel in some promotions initially and the people could have cared less. But as I stayed true to my character.
What I felt was working and what I felt didn’t base strictly on the people I was working with and not based on the audience that’s all I had to base it off of. Over time fans, actually embraced who I was as a character because I stood tall as to who I was and who Adam Cole was going to be and therefore they respected me in the long run.”
Prior to coming to Ring of Honor in 2009, it was reported that you took part in a tryout with the WWE. Describe the experience & any feedback they left you with.
Adam Cole: “That particular try out I went down to Afa the Wild Samoan’s training school which at the time was located in I believe maybe Tampa, Florida but I may be incorrect on that but somewhere in Florida. We actually got to train for a week with Haku and Afa himself and it was awesome. It was such a good experience. I got my ring conditioning up and I learned little tricks of the trade. I learned how to be more intense in the ring because the Samoan’s are so intense. Then going into that tryout, again the harsh reality of that now looking back as to where I was in wrestling at that time, I was in way over my head.
I was a 19-year-old kid, I was 170 lbs soaking wet. I didn’t have an identity, look, gear and I was just a young guy trying to be a wrestler. So to be honest, WWE didn’t even give me a second look. I don’t even know if they looked me in the eyes based on my size, based on my experience. I literally looked like a child there. For me, it was more motivating as going forward and now I kind of have an idea of what I need to do.
A lot of that just comes with just time. When you’re an independent wrestler, committing a lot of time and effort into honing your craft as much as possible in as many different places as possible will catch the WWE’s interest as far as the independent level goes. It was definitely an eye-opening experience for me.”
Kyle O’Reilly is someone whose paths you’ve crossed both as an ally and adversary. How can you describe your interaction within the ring both against one another and as a team?
Adam Cole: “It’s very interesting. Kyle and I have become best friends outside of the ring just strictly based on the way that our paths have crossed. The first time I ever met Kyle was 20 minutes before I ever stepped into the ring with Kyle. It was at a Dragon Gate USA pre-show for Gabe Sapolsky in the ECW Arena in Philadelphia. Kyle and I had instant chemistry. I knew when I wrestled Kyle at that point this was a guy I clicked with more so than anyone else that I’ve ever clicked with before and then I thought ah, this is really cool.
Then when we fast forward a little bit and then we both signed to Ring of Honor contracts virtually at the same time. The truth of the matter is this Ring of Honor signed us. They knew they wanted to use us but they had no idea what they wanted to do with Kyle and I.
So they decided to put Kyle and I together as a team and that was such a cool thing.
Kyle and I’s big goals in wrestling was to wrestle for Ring of Honor so we kind of got to share that experience together the excitement together and the nervousness together. So we not only grew together as wrestlers we taught each other different valuable things such as; helping Kyle with promos and he would help me with in-ring stuff. We really balanced each other out.
Then I went on to have what I thought was myself and Kyle’s breakout performance not only in Ring of Honor but in pro wrestling we had hybrid fighting rules match in New York City where I think Kyle punched me in the face and my face exploded. There was blood everywhere it was a total battle for the ages. In many ways, Kyle and I compare it to a lesser extent of like a Stone Cold vs Bret Hart with the blood being so vital to that match. Ever since then our careers have just skyrocketed. So Kyle O’Reilly and I have shared a lot of memories in the past and I’m sure we will for many years to come and continue to do so.”
Where did the idea for the ‘Mount Rushmore of Wrestling’ faction come from? Was there any idea of making it a cross-promotional faction?
Adam Cole: “There was never a notion whatsoever of Mount Rushmore becoming a cross-promotional thing. As far as how Mount Rushmore really began was PWG being notoriously known for being for anyone who works there being the most fun wrestling organization that we’ve ever worked for? At the time, I and the Young Bucks we had become good friends and myself and Kevin Steen we had become good friends. All of us, all of the four of us had become good friends and really tight. The Young Bucks and I started having some really fun and exciting six-man tag matches together.
We saw and felt the chemistry that we had and the four of us kind of came up with this idea of how crazy would it be if the ultimate hero Kevin Steen turned evil and joined Adam Cole and the Young Bucks and we form this group and we call ourselves Mount Rushmore.
Fortunately, PWG went for it and we went with the angle and the fans went crazy and it was shocking and t-shirts sold like crazy.
It was just a really fun thing and I think the big reason why Mount Rushmore succeeded as well as it did is because the partnership and the friendship that we played on screen was very real behind the scenes. The four of us will talk practically every day to this day. So Mount Rushmore is a very real thing inside and outside of the ring and that’s why I think it was probably some of the most fun and the most exciting times in my career to work with those guys.
We thought of the idea being that obviously with Kevin being Canadian and in America, the Mount Rushmore being the four most important Presidents or in the WWE often times they say who is the Mount Rushmore of the WWE? Who are the top four guys ever? So we decided to go with Mount Rushmore because that monument in our minds we thought okay we’re the Mount Rushmore of pro wrestling or most specifically PWG. We are the four most important guys in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, so that is where the name came from.”
In May, I had a chance to speak with Steve Corino and he was able to compare you to Tully Blanchard. What can you say about those compliments and who would you compare yourself to?
“Well first of all, as far as getting a compliment like that that’s a double-edged sword or double whammy as far a compliment goes because not only am I being compared to one of the all-time greats but I’m being compared by one of the all-time greats himself that being Steve Corino. So that’s really cool considering that Steve is one of my idols in pro wrestling and a guy that really helped me out along the way.
As far as who I would compare myself to, I mean I don’t necessarily compare myself to people but I certainly have influences like for example I’ve studied a lot of Shawn Michaels. He is a guy that just every time I watch him there is something new that I pick up and something new that I see that just fascinates me of his work and as far as someone who I try to patent myself after in some way shape or form I would think just subconsciously is like a Ring of Honor CM Punk. CM Punk was a guy in Ring of Honor at the time who not only really got me into Ring of Honor.
He got me into independent wrestling just with his promo ability.
So I think that because of how it impacted I was as a fan of him I have focused so much on character development and having articulate and interesting promos and creating really exciting angles. Like the angle I did with Jay Briscoe, I watched a lot of CM Punk’s Ring of Honor stuff and come up with different things to say and add cadence in your promos and kind of like a general attitude to have. So he is a guy I definitely try to patent myself after as well”.
After defeating Micheal Elgin at Death Before Dishonor XI, you cemented a heel turn. Where did this idea come from and how have you been able to navigate it to maintain the Adam Cole character’s ability to captivate?
“The idea was being entertained or being thrown around I think 3 or 4 months prior. We knew that the idea of a heel turn may becoming. Something just to be different. Something to be a little shocking. The reality was, I was working as a heel virtually everywhere else but Ring of Honor. Ring of Honor still claims that their decision to turn me heel had nothing to do with the fact that I was working as a heel everywhere else. To say the least.
I was ecstatic at the idea of finally getting to turn heel. When I knew that time was coming, knowing that I was going to win the Ring of Honor World Championship in Philadelphia in the National Guard Armory which is the very same building that I went to my first Ring of Honor show as a fan was just so cool.
I knew this was going to be a really big moment for me.
But as far as turning heel and like you said committing to the actual character, it was really important that for me to emphasize that the word heel as it was heel turn because previously when I was in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, for example, I put so much effort into being as entertaining as possible to get the Adam Cole character talked about. Whether that being me being funny. That be me being crazy or doing different moves in the ring. Whether that be anything of the nature to get people to talk about who Adam Cole was. Generally speaking, I didn’t care if I was getting a boo or a cheer, I just wanted to get noticed.
In Ring of Honor, I wanted to have the platform of being noticed.
So I was really committed to the idea of being a heel that each and every time I defended the championship against the babyface I genuinely wanted the audience to go, I really hope Adam Cole loses the Ring of Honor World Championship title tonight. I do think I accomplished that. There was certainly a point where as my title reign went on that people were really hoping that I was going to lose the title.
So I was excited and that was fun. Again that takes a lot of confidence in who you are to be able to accept the fact of people saying oh God, I hope he loses the belt and I’m sick of him being champion! You just have to believe and understand that is your role at that time when you’re a villain on top.”
Discuss your time working with Matt Hardy in ROH and what you’ve gained from your time working alongside one another.
Adam Cole: “Matt was great. Considering the fact that Matt has worked on national television for years and years and was a guy that I grew up watching. Matt had a very good understanding of the value of being a real heel. When Matt Hardy worked in Ring of Honor, I think it was safe to say that he was the most hated guy in ROH. It was great. It was perfect and it was by design that Matt Hardy was associated with me trying to get my villainous act sent even more so through the roof. Just because I was associated with Matt Hardy, he tremendously helped me with as far as getting the fans to further hate my guts.
Also working with Matt and understanding less is more sometimes and the importance of facial expressions and the importance of building matches a certain way. Each and every time I step into the ring with Matt whether it was wrestling him which was early on when he first came in Ring of Honor or when it was was champion and he was alongside me there was always a new thing that I picked up from him and that I learned from him and I’m so glad to work with him”.
The chemistry within the Kingdom is unmistakable. To what does Adam Cole owe the success of the faction and what can you foresee for them in the future?
“Again this is a classic scenario of why I think the Kingdom has worked so well is myself, Maria Kanellis, Mike Bennett, and Matt Taven are all very close friends. I think the initial idea again, I, Michael Bennett, Maria and Matt Hardy were all together as the Kingdom and then when Matt Hardy left we got Matt Taven and that’s just made the group even more exciting.
The matches that we’ve gotten to have, more importantly when I sat on the shelf for 5 months and watched how Mike Bennett and Matt Taven developed as a team becoming the IWGP Heavyweight tag team champions and having the matches they’ve had with the Briscoe’s and with the others in Ring of Honor, it was really cool to see them do their own thing. Now that I’m back it’s great and we get to have a lot of really exciting trios’ matches and I see nothing but success with us in the future. I think it’s going to work because we want it to work. It’s something that I really believe in and something that I know they do too.”
With a number of ROH talent departing for either TNA or WWE, what does that say about the promotion and its influence on the industry as a whole?
“I think it’s just a testament over the years. People really started to take notice when guys like Daniel Bryan and CM Punk left for the WWE and the success that they had within the WWE. I think at that point the casual fan kind of realized what wrestler they prefer, what kind of wrestler they enjoy and what kind of match they enjoy watching. A lot of those guys; Seth Rollins, Cesaro, a lot of these guys can be found coming from Ring of Honor.
So really it’s just cool that from the casual fans standpoint these fans being able to see what Ring of Honor has been doing for years and that’s producing the best in-ring wrestling that you can find anywhere in the world. That’s what we really pride ourselves on. I think it’s cool that just finally some of these Ring of Honor guys that are getting the chance to go to the WWE is really exposing and really showing a lot of the fans what a true pro wrestler really is. So it’s really cool the influence that we’ve had and I only think it’s going to continue to grow for us.”
I had that chance to speak with Moose and Roderick Strong and they attributed their early success with the help of Gabe Sapolsky. Would the same apply to Adam Cole?
Adam Cole: “I never got to work for Gabe in Ring of Honor. However, for the little bit of time that I worked for Gabe Sapolsky in Dragon Gate USA, it was only a very brief period, I do a lot to him for this reason. After I had my match with Kyle O’Reilly which was my first match for Gabe, I came to the back and he was ecstatic and he gave me a big hug and said that was excellent that was great we’re definitely going to working together in the future oh my God that was awesome.
Honest to God at that point in my career, I never had a promoter be that excited about a match that I had just had. I remember feeling so confident in myself and saying from this point forward when I go out and have this match, I want to do good for Gabe. So Gabe was very good at motivating talent and making talent believe in themselves, exposing their strengths and hiding their weaknesses very similar to Paul Heyman. I really do owe a lot to Gabe because he really kind of channeled that confidence that I needed at the time in my career for myself at that point in time. So Gabe definitely helped me a lot.”
