Adam Cole Discusses The Pressures Of Being World Champion And Potentially Leading AEW

Wherever he has gone across wrestling, Adam Cole has found himself a champion in the main event. And while he's taken his best shot on two occasions at AEW's top prize — the AEW World Championship — since joining the company in 2021, he has yet to ascend to such a position in AEW. He lost to then-champ "Hangman" Adam Page at Revolution in 2022 and recently wrestled current titleholder MJF to a 30-minute time limit draw in a Title Eliminator on "AEW Dynamite."  

That hasn't stopped Cole from striving to wear gold, much as he did in Ring of Honor and "NXT." Speaking to BBC Sounds, Cole admitted the potential to become a world champion once again was a challenge he was ready to face head-on.

"It's always daunting — maybe daunting isn't the right word, but incredibly stressful maybe, but along those lines," Cole explained. "That's just because of the responsibility, and then also the importance that you put on in a situation like that. Any time I was Ring of Honor Champion, it was something that I cherished, something that I loved, something that I took pride in –- but there is a stress level to being put in that situation. You're the guy who is kind of leading the charge," he continued, "and it was the same thing with 'NXT' ... I approached that the exact same way. Being put in a situation to be the AEW World Champion and getting to carry the brand is something that I would treat with the exact same respect and focus of importance on being put in that role. At the same time, it certainly does help that I've been in that situation before." 

But Cole welcomes such an opportunity in his future. "I hope that someday I get the chance to be that guy in AEW."