"It Bothers Me A Lot" - Adam Cole Comments On WWE NXT Being Called 'Developmental'

Adam Cole has admitted it 'bothers' him when NXT is referred to, as a whole, as WWE's developmental territory.

Cole, the longest-reigning NXT Champion ever, has been vocal in his belief that the NXT roster is on the same level or perhaps even better than what WWE has to offer on Raw or SmackDown.

With the black-and-gold brand starting out as WWE's way of producing talent ready for the main roster, Cole recognises there is a developmental aspect of the brand, but similarly believes he is always learning as well despite wrestling for over 13 years.

Speaking on the After The Bell Podcast, Cole said: "It bothers me a lot, to some extent though. I always try to be a glass half-full guy in a lot of ways. Of course, there is an aspect to NXT, or The Performance Center, where of course, there is developmental. There are people who get hired with wrestling experience, with no wrestling experience, and it’s the process of hopefully getting to that point where they end up on NXT Television.

"But to say the roster of the guys who are on NXT every single week, as far as developmental goes, I really do believe that we are on the same level as the guys on RAW and the guys on SmackDown.

"The process of development though is something that happens all the time. I’ve been wrestling for over 13 years, and I’m constantly developing. I don’t ever want to get out of developmental. It’s so cool for me to be around guys like Shawn Michaels, HHH, or Matt Bloom, whom they themselves are open to admitting that they’re still learning. If those guys are open about learning, we definitely better be open to it.

"I’ve always kept that mentality. I’ve always kept that thought process. If I’m not getting better every single year, every single match, then I have to get out of it. I’m proudly developing in that sense.”

H/T WrestlingNews.co