Tony Khan Names THIS AEW Talent As Potential "Number 1 Star" In Wrestling

Is this the next top star of the business?

Oct 17, 2021 October 17th, 2021

With Tony Khan forever busy doing the media rounds right now, the AEW President stopped by the Rasslin With Brandon Walker show to discuss, amongst other topics, Adam Cole.

Talking about the potential of the former Undisputed Era leader, Khan proclaimed how Cole could be the number one star in the wrestling business in years to come.

As Tony explained ( as per 411 Mania):

"I think Adam Cole has as much potential and has as much of a chance to be the breakthrough number one star of anyone in all of wrestling right now. We talk about Hangman Page, who has the same potential, and a lot of other people. MJF, Darby Allin, Sammy Guevara. So many great people. I can't stress enough that we have a great young roster and great young fanbase."

Khan is bang on the money when he talks about Adam Cole, with the one-time NXT Champion somebody who is set to be a major player in the industry in these coming years.

To think, WWE's reported plans for Cole involved changing his name, possibly cutting his hair, and having him become a manager to Keith Lee...

Instead, the former ROH World Champion decided against re-signing with WWE, and he'd make his AEW bow at All Out last month. There, Cole quickly realigned himself with The Elite - him having previously been a part of Bullet Club with Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks and The Good Brothers - and has since found himself battling Jurassic Express in recent weeks, with a singles match against Christian Cage heavily rumoured for next month's Full Gear.

Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.

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