Adam Cole's NXT Championship Defences Ranked From Worst To Best

11. Velveteen Dream (NXT TV, 29th April 2020)

Seth Rollins Adam Cole
WWE

This wasn't good 2.0.

The generous term was "rusty" when Velveteen Dream looked more than a little off in his comeback clash with Roderick Strong just weeks removed from slapping The Undisputed Era man's wife and child on his trunks in an act of ambiguity that moved some to suggest he'd lost his cool.

That take was undone by Dream playing the long game with Adam Cole surrogate Strong to try and get what he came really for in the form of the NXT Championship, but a hugely disappointing television version of what could well have been the TakeOver: Tampa main event served as evidence that Dream wasn't (for now? for never?) it.

A lack of genuine atmosphere could be attributed to the empty venue per the early days of the global b*stard, but a total lack of drama at the finish could not. Dream was no more the guy here than he was at In Your House: TakeOver. This only marginally improved on that by not falling into another cinematic hole.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett