8 Things WWE Fans Need To Know About Adam Cole
7. His Tough Early Years
Cole started training to become a professional wrestler in 2007. He was a senior student in high school at the time, and officially enrolled in Combat Zone Wrestling’s academy that November, working primarily under Jon Dahmer and renowned deathmatch veteran DJ Hyde prior to his introduction as a roster member.
Training was as gruelling as you'd imagine, and while Cole has never taken things to CZW’s extreme levels in the ring, he gives Hyde specific credit for “teaching me how to be tough”. DJ’s students were often subjected to grueling initiations, but Cole believes he emerged better for his harsh upbringing in wrestling, stating that he feared nothing after leaving one of Hyde’s classes.
Dahmer meanwhile, focused on the technical side of the game, along with the finer points of ring psychology. Cole’s formative years also saw him work multiple seminars with Al Snow and Les Thatcher (who counts Dean Ambrose and Charlie Haas among his students), giving him a diverse range of great wrestling minds to learn from, all of whom helped forge him into the multi-faceted performer he is today.