5 WWE Wrestlers Who Should Jump To AEW (And 5 Who Shouldn't)

4. SHOULD - Adam Cole

Ali Cesaro
WWE.com

Adam Cole was so over as a heel, at TakeOver: New York, that several thousand fans volleyed the ADAM COLE, BAY-BAY chant across the Barclays Center.

It took the babyface performance of Johnny Gargano's career to get those fans on side, and even then, the desired reaction felt elusive. The sheer inexorable drama of the match needed to be all-time great tier to convince them that Cole losing was the correct result, and they only got there in the last five minutes. Cole is a super-nice guy, and he radiated a star power that couldn't be ignored.

NXT ignored it.

It took NXT well over a full year to listen to this reaction and turn Adam Cole babyface. This turn lasted a matter of months, and through the wonky dynamics of NXT's intense tweener posturing, it didn't truly feel like one. He didn't do anything overtly heroic; he just worked a (great) programme against the beautifully insufferable Pat McAfee.

And then he turned on Kyle O'Reilly a few weeks back, playing the same ambitious egotist he has since day one in WWE. A rare early draw in the embryonic Wednesday Night Wars, that NXT can't or won't promote him as the great babyface he is means he's pretty much f*cked. Road Dogg himself has all but said that Vince McMahon won't see anything in him because he's not the size of Karrion Kross.

As miscast as he is doomed, the promotion that gets babyfaces is his only destination.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!