Adam Cole officially joined All Elite Wrestling on Sunday, making his surprise debut at AEW All Out and joining the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega in The Elite.
Cole spent four years in NXT, ascending to the top of the mountain on the black and gold brand, but joining AEW was a bit of a homecoming for Cole.
"It felt like a full circle moment in a lot of ways," Cole said on Busted Open Radio. "I haven't gotten to share the ring with the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega in really long time. I was feeling very sentimental. Before I was about to come out, I was so overwhelmed with emotion that my legs were physically shaking. It wasn't even nerves. I was so excited for that moment and that's why I'm going to try and relive it constantly in my head. I had such an amazing time. It was so cool and felt like all 13 and a half years led to that moment."
Cole was then asked why he joined AEW instead of re-signing with WWE.
Cole replied, "There are so many factors and I could go on and on. A few off the top of my head, you mentioned Tony Khan. Tony is such an incredible person and has such a love and passion for pro wrestling that is contagious. You can tell he eats, sleeps, and breathes this stuff. That's great, especially when you're the one leading the charge for a company like AEW. On top of that, you have a locker room full of guys ready to do anything and everything to deliver the best match and segment possible. Maybe most important, you have rabid fans who so badly want AEW to succeed. When you have a company that is going up to the plate and hitting a home run every single time and you have fans that are satisfied and want you to hit that home run, that's that magical atmosphere that so many talk about. I've watched AEW from the very beginning and watching the product grow and turn into the excellent pro wrestling company that it is, I don't see how you couldn't want to be part of it."
Cole said he was thankful for his time in WWE and enjoyed making connections with the likes of Triple H and Shawn Michaels.
Cole is set to make his AEW in-ring debut on Wednesday's Dynamite when he faces Frankie Kazarian.
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