10 Wrestlers Who Peaked In WWE Developmental

3. Adam Cole

Karrion Kross Scarlett NXT
WWE

This could be a controversial one.

After all, Adam Cole headlined AEW's biggest show ever at All In London 2023. There, inside a busy Wembley Stadium, he wrestled on/off pal MJF in front of a passionate crowd. The next week, Cole and MJF defended the ROH Tag Titles against The Dark Order before injuries robbed their story of forward thrust.

AEW decided to out Cole as the mysterious 'Devil' later that year, and he's been the leader of the Undisputed Kingdom ever since. That, dear readers, is a poor retread of the more impact Undisputed Era over on WWE's TV. The NXT faction was legitimately excellent and dominated the brand for years after debuting in 2017.

It produced Cole's best work. He was incredible as NXT Champ, and rightly held the belt for over a year before dropping it to Keith Lee. Adam's jump to AEW has been blighted by injuries, but it'd surely struggle to match his NXT tenure anyway. That was peak 'Bay Bay'.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.