Adam Cole Reveals Why He Chose AEW Over WWE

With his WWE contract expiring, Adam Cole became one of the hottest free agents in the summer of 2022. WWE wanted Cole to re-sign, while All Elite Wrestling were interested in bringing in the three-time ROH World Champion. 

Cole's contract expired at the end of August 2021 and he debuted in AEW only days later, shocking fans around the world when he made his way to the ring and reunited with The Elite following the main event of All Out.

Speaking on Under the Ring, Cole detailed why he ended up choosing AEW over sticking with WWE. 

"It was definitely a choice I thought about for quite some time. There were a couple of factors that kind of really pushed me towards making the AEW decision. First and foremost, I was a massive fan of the product and I would watch it every week. It was so awesome to watch these shows... the crowds were so raucous and so wild every single week and it almost felt like an NXT TakeOver every week," Cole said.

"At this point, me and Britt, my girlfriend, were barely seeing each other -- I was maybe seeing her one day a week at this point because our schedules were so different. The idea of not only being able to see her more, travel with her, be there for her before and after her matches, that was something that was very attractive to me."

Cole also noted WWE's policy at the time of banning main roster performers from operating on Twitch was a motivating factor in him choosing AEW as the former Undisputed ERA leader didn't want to scrap the community he had built. 

Cole has established himself as one of All Elite Wrestling's top stars in the two years since his debut. He will main event the promotion's biggest-ever show on Sunday when he challenges MJF for the AEW World Championship at All In. 

H/T to Wrestling Inc.