10 Weirdest WWE Tryout Stories
7. WWE Offered Adam Cole A Tryout Thinking He Was Xavier Woods
Adam Cole had quite an eventful career in NXT for four years, but the rumoured prospect of cutting his long hair and becoming Keith Lee's manager/mouthpiece on the main roster drove him away to AEW in 2021. Cole signed his first contract with WWE in 2017, but his first interaction with the company took place during the early days of his career when WWE offered him a tryout at FCW. However, he wasn't the person the company had in mind, as the invitation was supposed to go out to another wrestler who shared a first name with Cole.
Adam Cole - real name Austin Kirk Jenkins - got the tryout invitation intended for Austin Watson, AKA Xavier Woods. Adam Cole recalled the incident during an interview with The Wrap, stating that he received email and phone confirmations from WWE and was sold on the idea that he was getting hired.
However, he noticed the name was wrong when he received the travel itinerary, and when he checked back with the WWE executive, both parties realized there had been a mix-up. Adam Cole ended up getting booked as an extra on Raw and SmackDown as consolation, but did get his tryout a few years later in 2013.