July 3, 2023 • 28 mins
I had a chance to kick it with AEW's Adam Cole before his Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament with Heavyweight Champ MJF. We discussed a slew of different topics, including:
Thanks for checking out the Superstar Crossover!
- His favorite match of all-time.
- Why NYC holds a special place in his heart.
- AEW's Fight Forever
- His favorite gaming console of all-time.
- The significance of winning the Owen Hart Cup
- The biggest difference between his NXT debut and AEW debut.
Thanks for checking out the Superstar Crossover!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Here what's going on? First andforemost, thank you for checking out the
Superstar Crossover audio podcasts. I can'tthank you enough. This is super dope
that you took time out of you'rea busy day to listen to my nonsense
with Adam Cole coming up in aboutthirty seconds. I will let you know
the audio is a little weird becauseI'm in the midst of moving and I
had a microphone issue, so wejust kind of went old school headphones and
(00:22):
uh, you know what I'm saying, the little microphone jack on the headphone.
So who cares, right, becauseyou're just here for a good time,
not a long time. All right, here we go, Hey,
what's going on? I'm Josh Martinezfrom iHeartRadio's newest wrestling podcast is Superstar Crossover
and Z one hundred, New York'snumber one hit music station, with my
guest Adam Cole. Babayn't know ifI should add it in, you add
(00:46):
it in. I don't know howto be there. I think that's the
that's the beautiful thing. It couldbe me, it could be you,
but but nonetheless, you do haveto finish with baby bye. I think
I think it's bad luck if youdon't, you know, it's funny because
and you're a you're a dieheart wrestlingfan. You were a wrestling fan growing
I was. We're about a yearapart, and as a wrestling fan growing
up, attitude era was really themore um the time that we really kind
(01:10):
of gravitated to things more right.Yeah, the way wrestling kind of embedded
my brain as a child, wherelike things just become normal to me,
where like you say things and peopledon't understand. I mean, do you
do you see what I'm saying?Like, yeah, yeah, for sure,
for sure. Even though, likeGod, the way that I looked
excuse me, sorry, the waythat I looked at the world as a
(01:34):
kid when I first got really obsessedwith wrestling. Like an example, like
I'd be walking around the grocery storeand if I'd hear a song playing and
like in my head, there's thismusic video of this like wrestling angle going
on, or like or a ora cool song would play, and all
of a sudden, I noticed thatwhen I was ten years old, I
noticed my walk was a little differentbecause I would like imagine walking down to
(01:57):
the ring. Yeah, you're intime perspective on everything gets engulfed with with
anything and everything pro wrestling. It'sfunny you say that, because I have
a certain playlist through iHeartRadio where Iwhen I'm in a rush, I actually
put on certain on that playlist.Let's go baby, all about that boom?
(02:19):
It's it's there's just a sped upthing to me when I hear it.
How important is entrance music to awrestler's character? Oh my god,
entrance music is huge. So againtom To kind of backpedal a little bit.
I remember when I first fell inlove with wrestling, it wasn't the
promos, it wasn't the matches,it was the entrances. That was like,
seriously, when I was nine yearsold, that was all I care
(02:40):
about, or all I cared about. Stone called Steve Auston was my favorite
wrestler because his song was cool andthe people went crazy when the glass broke,
and that was it. And thenobviously as time went on and I
started to fall in love with everythingthat involves wrestling, obviously the matches,
the psychology, the promos, thestorylines, the fan interaction, all that
(03:01):
stuff. But the first thing thatI fell in love with as a wrestling
fan was wrestler's entrances. So again, yeah, for someone like me,
I think entrance music is incredibly important, not only number one, because it
sets the tone of the vibe ofthat character. You know, if you're
a cocky, arrogant jerk, there'sa certain swagger that you have to have,
(03:23):
and there's a certain song that Ifeel that you have to have.
If you're this super energetic, exciting, ready to rock and roll baby face,
you have to have that type ofmusic that plays along with it as
well. So for me, thebeautiful thing about All About the Boom is,
first of all, massive shout outto Mikey Ruckis, who made that
song in a day, which isso absolutely insane. And secondly, it's
(03:46):
just I don't know, I reallythink, you know, I've been wrestling
for fifteen years and I feel likethis song captures the essence of Adam Cole
better than any song that I've everhad. It's it's incredibly interactive. There's
time to get to get the boomin there, there's time for the Adam
Cole Bay Bay, there's there's stuffwhere the crowd can sing along. It
just it fits so so well tomy character and what I bring to the
(04:11):
table. So, yeah, wrestlingmusic incredibly important. Where did you feel
any pressure, uh, prior today, prior to hearing the song,
because the song that was used inNXT was big amongst wrestling fans. It
was it was the boom was there. It was very interactive. I remember
seeing you NXC takeovers and being inthe crowd and doing everything. And I
(04:33):
wasn't the only one clearly sold outarena, did it? Two? Were
you worried that the song wouldn't replicatewhat you were trying to do coming in
saw a thousand percent? Yeah,I remember because again, like you said,
people really really loved the Undisputed Eratheme. They really really enjoyed it,
and it was I loved the themetoo. It was absolutely one of
(04:54):
my favorites. So and and thishappens anytime. So I've had multiple entrance
themes throughout the years, and everytime you first change your song, you
do second guess yourself a lot.You're like like, like, I can't
tell you how many times I wouldlisten to the song that mikey Rucks created
and be like, Okay, Ireally really like it, but will other
(05:15):
people like it? Is this good? And how am I gonna walk?
Does the walk feel the same,Like, I just listen to it dozens
and dozens of times and then justhoping that people find that same excitement and
that same thrill at your previous entrancemusic that people also really enjoyed. So
but again I think I believe thistoo, I really really do. I
(05:38):
think part of wrestling music being soimportant or why people like it so much
is crowd response. Like, andI know the song itself is really important,
but like you subconsciously can't help butgo to a place mentally where you're
excited, you have adrenaline going foryour body, and you're happy when you
(05:59):
put said songs mixed with fifteen twentythousand people going crazy. So fortunately,
when I debuted, the crowd wasamazing and they were wild and they were
having a great time. So fromthe gate, not only is the song
awesome, but then again, peopleremember that moment of the crowd being super
super amped up, so I thinkthat plays a part as well. But
(06:19):
yes, to answer did the longwinded answer, But to answer your question,
yes, I was nervous, butI knew eventually people were going to
fall in love with it, andthey did very quickly. What was the
biggest difference in regards to nerves foryou, if any Maybe maybe it was
the exact same nerves debuting at NXTtakeover, attacking Drew McIntire from behind with
what eventually would become the undisputed errorin the corner, and you just walking
(06:43):
out at the end of the mainevent. You know, similar situation,
different approach. But what would yousay was the biggest difference is from a
you getting ready to go into thering standpoint? Oh um god. So
so both were very nerve wracking situationsfor sure. But I think the biggest
difference is when I debuted at NXT. I mean, I knew a handful
(07:05):
of people there, but I wasgoing to work with a bunch of people
who I didn't know, so automaticallythere's a little bit more nerves and tension
there because you're curious how you're goingto interact with everybody. I was so
curious about how the process worked atNXT, whereas with AEW same thing.
(07:25):
I wasn't exactly sure how the processworked, but I knew and know everybody
long before I made my debut atAW. I mean I got the chance
to meet some of the newer guys, but a bunch of guys, the
young Bucks, Kenny Omega, allthese guys who I consider very very close
personal friends. So the nerves atAEW were more internalized about me and myself
(07:49):
wanting the audience to be excited thatI was there. But it's actually crazy
how similar these situations work, becauseI remember debuting at NXT Takeover and attacking
Drew McIntyre and number remember this momentfor five minutes before I ran out there,
and I'm like, God, Ihope that the people know who I
am, and I hope they're excited. Uh, And that's the that's the
(08:11):
battle that goes on in your headthe whole time. And unfortunately they responded
very positively. But then same thingor in a similar situation to a e
W. I knew everyone was expectingBrian Danielson. That was like the big
rumor. So I'm like, Ihope that they're like, oh cool,
we got Adam Cole and not like, shoot, where's Brian Danielson. So
(08:33):
very similar but also very very different, I think at the same time,
but I am incredibly nervous every timeI go out there to do anything.
Well, listen if you're nervous.That means you're so passionate about it anything
exactly about it, right. Yep. So that's good. That's a good
problem to have. Yes, Iagree. This Wednesday a W Dynamite,
It is the the blind Eliminator tagtournament. You with a W Heavyweight champions
(09:00):
m JF. Did you ever comeacross MJF prior to coming to a W.
I did? I did. IActually I met m JF when he
was very very early on in hiscareer. Um, and from from the
moment I saw him, and Imean this and this is regardless when I
think about him personally, but fromthe moment I saw him, UM,
(09:20):
I knew he was super talented.Uh. He was one of those guys
who got it very very early on. He was someone who put just as
much time and energy into his promowork as he did as his bell to
bell in ring competition work. UhSo, yeah, he was. He
was incredibly talented from a very youngage. He was definitely one of those
(09:41):
guys that when I saw I waslike, Oh, this is gonna be
a guy I'm gonna be seeing alot more of now. He invaded your
your your game, streaming events ofthe other night. Um, I don't
know why I picked up. Idon't know. It was so silly.
I don't even know why I pickedup. You know what, because you're
a good guy. The guys pickedup the phone. Thank you. You're
(10:01):
right, you're right, thank you, thank you. Bad bad people hit
ignore right. Yeah, that's agood point, thanks fam, thanks for
saying that. Yeah. So,um, how excited are you uh for
for the next few years within AW? Oh my god? With with the
evolution of wrestling as a whole.You have the growth of a w um
and you're part of it because you'rea huge part of AW success moving forward.
(10:24):
Oh well, thank you. Uh, you know, I'm incredibly excited.
Um AW. Again, I knowthat people don't necessarily forget, but
it's a good reminder that AW issuch a young company. Like it's it's
unbelievable the progress that we've made insuch a short amount of time. I've
only been here, um god forlike almost two years, so it's I'm
(10:48):
still super super early in my AWcareer. On top of that, I
was out for nine months with thatwith that injury, which was the longest
I'd ever been out in my fifteenmonths or fifteen year career. So seeing
the the development and the growth ofAW has been so exciting again, not
only with the idea of us travelingall across the United States and having really
really riled up excited wrestling fans,but doing this tour of Canada right now
(11:13):
where the fans are just as passionate. My God, at the end of
August we are doing Wembley freaking Stadium. We've already sold sixty five thousand plus
tickets and they're not a single cardor not a single match, not a
single talent has been announced for theshow. So if that doesn't show the
excitement that AW has globally, Idon't know what does. But going forward
(11:33):
and looking at the path that AWis on, I think it's nowhere but
up. I think a lot ofour fans feel the exact same way.
It's an exciting time, not justfor AW but pro wrestling as a whole.
Everyone is firing on all cylinders rightnow, and the better that AW
does, the better that WWE does, the better that Ring of Honor does
impact a new Japan Like I wanteveryone to do well, and right now
(11:56):
AW is doing really well. Soit's a siding time. Man, I
love pro wrestling and I want everyoneto kill it. Now. You mentioned
a few different companies, and whenyou think of AW there are certain four
or five performers you think of maleand female. Same thing with w W,
Lee Impact New Japan. Who wouldyou say is the most underrated performer
today? Oh? Jay Lethal?Wow? Oh that question? Yeah?
(12:22):
Jay? And when I say underrated, I know Jay works for a EW
so a lot of a lot ofpeople could say he's not necessarily underrated.
He's on television every week. Hedoes amazing things. But sometimes I don't
think people realize how much of acomplete package that Jay Lethal is like.
(12:43):
He is bell to bell easily topthree I've ever been in the ring with
as far as a guy who cando anything and everything. He's an amazing
baby face, He's an amazing heel. He's amazing on the microphone. You
can throw him a tag team match, you could throw him in a in
a forty five minute singles match.He could open the show, he could
(13:05):
be in the middle of the card, he could main event, and all
of it fits. Jay is oneof those guys who you can absolutely always
twenty four seven depend on. Heis. He is one of the best
pro wrestlers I've ever had the pleasureof sharing the ring with, and I
feel like not enough people talk abouthow he's one of the best of our
generation. I think Jay Lethal isunbelievable. You know. It's interesting to
(13:30):
say that because, like, Iknow that maybe I take him for granted.
Right. It's one of those situationsthat you just know how good someone
is, almost like like a DolpZiggler is a great example on the side,
right, like you just take forgranted how good they really are?
Ye, which brings me to sitto my next question. Growing up,
I had my favorite match of alltime, right, it was Whole Coogan,
(13:50):
Ultimate Warrior WrestleMania six, Change ChangeMy Life, WrestleMania six, Toronto's
Guide. I'm sixty seven thousand,six hundred seventy eight. He's are things
that remembered from like of cour yearsold. Never forget man, don't know
what I have to dinner Saturday,But I remember those numbers. Right As
I got older and I started listeningto podcasts, and I started looking at
wrestling a little differently and picking upon a little nuances because of interviews like
(14:13):
this where you mentioned little things hereand there. I have a new favorite
match. So I want to knowwhat was your favorite match growing up?
And what is your favorite match ofall time? Now that you're not part
of it, you just can sitback and enjoy it. Oh great question.
So I think my first favorite matchever was the Rock versus Stone Cold
Steve Boston WrestleMania seventeen in the Houstonash Fordome. At that point, that
(14:37):
was the biggest wrestling event I hadever seen. I started watching wrestling in
nineteen ninety nine. I was nineyears old. I started a little bit
late, but I remember two yearslater that match happening, and between the
Limp Biscuit My Way video the match, the last minute getting added no disqualification
Stipulation Jr. On commentary, goingno disqualification? When was that added?
(14:58):
There's a second pause where no oneis making noise. Then Austin's glass breaks,
and sixty seven thousand I get chillstalking about it still. Sixty seven
thousand people stand up and scream atthe top of their lungs. In that
moment, it was the first timeI ever got goose bumps, And in
that moment, I said, Oh, I need to be a wrestler.
I don't want to just be afan like I wanna someday maybe feel like
(15:24):
I couldn't imagine how that felt forStone Cold and that summer vacation. I
watched that VHS tape every day forthree months, every single day, like,
because that was the only tape thatI really had, and I would
watch it every day. So thatone for me was huge. And then
now as time has gone on,God, I go. I go back
(15:46):
and forth between these two, butI think Shawn Michaels is the greatest professional
wrestler that's ever lived. He's ahero of mine, he was a mentor
of mine. I love him dearly, and he's just he's on another level.
So I think it's either Sean versusThe Undertaker at WrestleMania twenty five based
(16:06):
on the entire history and story behindeverything. But then also God, Sean
Michael's versus Kurt Angle was really reallyspecial at WrestleMania twenty one as well.
But if I had to pick rightnow, I'm going Sean versus the Undertaker
at WrestleMania twenty five, with aclose second being Sean and Kurt Angle at
twenty one. Coincidentally enough, minewas WrestleMania twenty five as well. There
(16:29):
we go. I'm just I rememberwatching it. I remember where I watched
it with my buddies, and wewere just literally jumping out of our seats
for the near falls. And thatwas really the first time I remember near
falls meaning something in a match thatI picked up on. Right, dude,
I'm so glad you said that,because I remember we had a WrestleMania
party and at this point, atthis point, I was wrestling right,
just started very recently. I'd beenin for like a year, and I
(16:53):
remember we had a bunch of peopleover and I'd say seventy five percent of
the people there didn't watch wrestling,but they wanted to check out this WrestleMania.
And while this match is happening,and like you said, day with
you, we were screaming and yellingand I would turn and look at these
people who had never watched wrestling before, and their jaws were on the floor.
(17:15):
So anytime you can get a nonwrestling fan who has not watched it
before, one of my buddies isnow still a wrestling fan because of that
match. So it was it wasa special moment in time. I can't
imagine what it was like in thearena. And then as I listened to
podcast, my new favorite was actuallyUndertaker Sean Michael's Bad Blood the Helen a
Cell in ninety because of the nuancesthe storyline leading into it, Sean Michael's
(17:40):
base. It was essentially like asquash match in theory, but it worked,
you know, Sean Michaels cut themoff quickly using heel tactics and then
got cut off again, and thenthey came debut and all these just to
me, it was like the completematch of how things can go when you
tell the right story. And again, I know nothing about rustling when i'm
you know, compared to you,but just as a fan, no,
(18:02):
no, but yeah, you couldexplain how it makes you feel, and
you could explain why it was soimportant to you. And on top of
that, that's such a great choicebecause a match like that had never taken
place before, Like that was likethey had a fresh blueprint that to this
day, a lot of those HelenaSell matches are based off of Sean versus
(18:22):
the Understaker of Bad Blood. Soyeah, very important match and a great
choice. Now you mentioned how thingsmake you feel, how did you feel
when you were crowned the first everOwen Hart Cup Champion? Oh my god.
Uh yeah, that work your girl, doctor, Yeah yeah. Um.
That whole night was just so unbelievablefor so many different reasons. Again,
(18:45):
owen Hart influenced so many wrestlers andstill does. And the one thing
you always hear about Owen is howgreat of a guy he was, on
top of being just an unbelievable performer. So to be in that first tournament
and to win it alongside my girlfriendBritt Baker, and to have Martha there
and like the championships and the trophy, and just being able to really showcase
(19:11):
and appreciate how important Owen Hart is, which again, I know US fans
and US wrestlers will never never forgethim, but the chance to celebrate him
in that way was was really reallycool, and to be a big part
of it was unbelievable. I'll neverforget it. You're also a big part
of Ring of Honor back in theday. Looking back in hindsight, do
(19:33):
you do you understand the magnitude andthe importance of Ring of Honor and the
evolution of wrestling to this day?Oh my god, yeah, to me,
I think I think Ring of Honor. Ring of Honor may be the
most important company that has helped evolvewhat modern pro wrestling is today. Seriously,
(19:55):
like, there are when you lookat all the talent that came from
Ring of Honor, Brian Danielson,Samoa Joe, the Briscos, aj Styles,
the Young Bucks, I mean,the list goes on and on and
on of these guys who have comethrough Ring of Honor in some capacity.
And also the style of wrestling thatkind of started to transcend and move forward
a little bit into the casual wrestlingaudience and what they liked in wrestling matches
(20:22):
was huge. Again, these wereguys who not all of us are six
four, two hundred sixty five pounds, a lot of us had this certain
style of pro wrestling that we reallywanted. The showcase and the athleticism was
huge, The hard hitting style washuge. The crazy passionate fan base was
really important. So to this day, you know, I spent seven years
(20:45):
in Ring of Honor and my firstwrestling contract ever was with ROH, So
there is no doubt in my mindI would have not gone to NXT,
I would have not gone to NewJapan Pro Wrestling. I might not be
in AEW if it wasn't for mytime in ROH. And that's just for
me personally, and I think abunch of guys can say the same thing.
(21:06):
So ROH incredibly important in the modernera of wrestling that we're in,
and the history is incredibly important.Now you mentioned fans how passionate they are.
PWG fans have always been passionate.I'm biased as how born and raised
in New York City, I thinkthat we have the greatest fans on the
planet. And since I am basedin New York City, what's your favorite
(21:26):
memory of New York City in yourcareer? My favorite memory is my favorite
match that I was involved in thattook place in New York Now, because
I get asked this question a lot, So New York City is incredibly important
to me. Because in twenty twelve, Me versus Kylo Riley took place at
(21:47):
a Ring of Honor I pay perview Best in the World twenty twelve and
it was in the Hammerstein Ballroom,which was super exciting, and me and
Kyle were in this feud with eachother and we had to have this match
called a hybrid fighting rules match,which was a very confusing and convoluted match
type that a lot of the fansweren't thrilled about. And at this point,
(22:11):
me and Kyle were still very veryearly in our wrestling careers, so
we had I don't want to saythat we had. I feel like we
had the respect of the fans wherethey would pay attention to what we were
doing. But we weren't over yetby any means. Like people weren't lining
up to buy the shirts, peopleweren't screaming when our music hit. We
were still kind of earning or earningtheir respect, I'll put it to you
(22:33):
that way. And when this matchwas happening, the crowd was not into
it at all. In the beginning. It was like they were trying to
be respectful, but they were bored. They just weren't. This is one
of those matches where you had tobe careful of, like how many punches
you threw, rope breaks. Itwas. It was super convoluted. Long
story short. At one point,Kyle punched me in the mouth and it
(22:55):
split my lip where I could havetaken my lip and done this, like
it was completely split in half,so much blood. I looked like a
zombie, and that changed the entiredynamic of the match all of a sudden,
those New York City fans, thoserabid New York fans, were completely
(23:15):
invested in this match. Everyone wasstanding on their feet, They're banging on
the barricades, they're channing. Thisis awesome. They're channing Adam Cole And
at one point I'm on my kneesand I flipped my hair up and I
yelled to fire up to Kyle andblood is squirting out on his chest and
Kyle standing there. So the coolthing about it is, again we're pretty
(23:37):
young in our career and we reallychanged a lot of what we were going
to do and the dynamic of thatmatch based on this little speed bump that
we had, which actually made thematch so much better. So from that
point forward, me and Kyl o'riley'sRing of Honor careers really started the skyrocket.
The next week, I won theROH television title, and I just
(23:59):
had a different connection with the fans, and so did Kyle. So that
match is the most important match tome in my career, and one of
the important reasons is, again thoserabid New York City fans that just were
having the time of their life.I want to quickly change gears a little
bit before we wrapped this up.I want to do a quick game of
this or that. I'll give youtwo options. You got to pick one
of the other. You don't evenhave to explain yourself. Okay, all
(24:21):
right? Hot dogs are hamburgers,hamburgers, eggs or pancakes, eggs,
pools or beaches, pools, barbecueor fried food? Oh? Barbecue,
Xavier Woods or Tyler Breeds. Ohoh, Xavier Woods. That's a tough
(24:42):
one, though, That's a toughone. An sixty four or PlayStations.
Oh, I'm going to original PlayStation, PlayStation or Xbox Xbox. What video
game changed your life as a kidas a kid? Final Fantasy seven on
(25:03):
the original PlayStation. Okay, yeah, so this is called a Superstar crossover.
So my previous guests had a questionfor you. It was WW Superstars,
Zelina Vega Beautiful. I would wantto know what their favorite anime is
and why is it? Naruto.I am going to give the most disappointing
answer because people assume I think thatI'm really into anime because I'm really into
(25:27):
video games. But I'm being totallytransparent, totally honest. I actually don't
watch any animes. I've I've thoughtover and over again and been told over
and over again that I need toget into it and I would really enjoy
it. But I can't give ananswer because I I have not watched Wait
with the like with the original thisis this is gonna make me seem so
(25:48):
silly. Probably would the original Pokemoncount as an anime. Here's the thing.
I've never watched Pokemon, Ubia orany sort of anime. So for
the sake of this, I'll sayyes, and then it makes people on
social media rag okay, yeah,yeah. If you attack me, I'm
very very sorry, but I'll gothe original Pokemon to give an answer.
I used to watch that every daybefore school. My next guest is uh
(26:11):
w superstar Xavier Woods. Oh,so what question would you have for our
next guest? Oh? Okay,um, who is your favorite member of
the party and why is it Chugs? I'm going off the same similar concept
as as Aalita, but but I'mexcited to hear this answered. I love
(26:33):
it. I love it one moretime. Aw Dynamite this Wednesday, and
before we wrapped this up, favoriteaspect of AW Fights Forever, which is
now available. Oh um, theI love the accessibility, um. And
what I mean by this is thegame is so fun to play, but
not only that, it's easy tolearn. So so, me and Britt
(26:56):
were playing Fight Forever and she doesn'treally play many video games at all,
and within thirty seconds she figured outhow to play. So I love the
idea of it being a game thatagain, this is very, very easy
to learn. But there is somuch detail within the game that like two
elite level players no pun intended goingagainst each other could make for some really
(27:18):
awesome, intricate competitive matches. Butbut I love I love how accessible the
game is. I will tell youone of the coolest aspects for me is
that Orange Cassidy puts his fucking handsin his pockets and still have the move
set. Unbelievable. That's a realthat's a real AW video game. Baby,
That's right, it really is.Who, aside from you and Britt,
(27:41):
who's your favorite wrestler to play with? Oh? Okay, which,
by the way, I haven't playedwith him yet, although I read somewhere
that he's probably the most complete wrestlerin the game. In regards to kind
of like move sets and how howeffective it could be in the impact and
stuff like that. So yeah,just just wait and see. Man,
(28:02):
it's it's amazing. It's Owen issimilar to the Owen Hart Tournament that we
do. Owen is showcased and respectedand appreciated very very well in Fight Forever.
It's awesome. I love that.One more time, Adam Cole,
I appreciate you coming by. Man. Thank you so much, of course,
Man, thank you
Here what's going on? First andforemost, thank you for checking out the
Superstar Crossover audio podcasts. I can'tthank you enough. This is super dope
that you took time out of you'rea busy day to listen to my nonsense
with Adam Cole coming up in aboutthirty seconds. I will let you know
the audio is a little weird becauseI'm in the midst of moving and I
had a microphone issue, so wejust kind of went old school headphones and
(00:22):
uh, you know what I'm saying, the little microphone jack on the headphone.
So who cares, right, becauseyou're just here for a good time,
not a long time. All right, here we go, Hey,
what's going on? I'm Josh Martinezfrom iHeartRadio's newest wrestling podcast is Superstar Crossover
and Z one hundred, New York'snumber one hit music station, with my
guest Adam Cole. Babayn't know ifI should add it in, you add
(00:46):
it in. I don't know howto be there. I think that's the
that's the beautiful thing. It couldbe me, it could be you,
but but nonetheless, you do haveto finish with baby bye. I think
I think it's bad luck if youdon't, you know, it's funny because
and you're a you're a dieheart wrestlingfan. You were a wrestling fan growing
I was. We're about a yearapart, and as a wrestling fan growing
up, attitude era was really themore um the time that we really kind
(01:10):
of gravitated to things more right.Yeah, the way wrestling kind of embedded
my brain as a child, wherelike things just become normal to me,
where like you say things and peopledon't understand. I mean, do you
do you see what I'm saying?Like, yeah, yeah, for sure,
for sure. Even though, likeGod, the way that I looked
excuse me, sorry, the waythat I looked at the world as a
(01:34):
kid when I first got really obsessedwith wrestling. Like an example, like
I'd be walking around the grocery storeand if I'd hear a song playing and
like in my head, there's thismusic video of this like wrestling angle going
on, or like or a ora cool song would play, and all
of a sudden, I noticed thatwhen I was ten years old, I
noticed my walk was a little differentbecause I would like imagine walking down to
(01:57):
the ring. Yeah, you're intime perspective on everything gets engulfed with with
anything and everything pro wrestling. It'sfunny you say that, because I have
a certain playlist through iHeartRadio where Iwhen I'm in a rush, I actually
put on certain on that playlist.Let's go baby, all about that boom?
(02:19):
It's it's there's just a sped upthing to me when I hear it.
How important is entrance music to awrestler's character? Oh my god,
entrance music is huge. So againtom To kind of backpedal a little bit.
I remember when I first fell inlove with wrestling, it wasn't the
promos, it wasn't the matches,it was the entrances. That was like,
seriously, when I was nine yearsold, that was all I care
(02:40):
about, or all I cared about. Stone called Steve Auston was my favorite
wrestler because his song was cool andthe people went crazy when the glass broke,
and that was it. And thenobviously as time went on and I
started to fall in love with everythingthat involves wrestling, obviously the matches,
the psychology, the promos, thestorylines, the fan interaction, all that
(03:01):
stuff. But the first thing thatI fell in love with as a wrestling
fan was wrestler's entrances. So again, yeah, for someone like me,
I think entrance music is incredibly important, not only number one, because it
sets the tone of the vibe ofthat character. You know, if you're
a cocky, arrogant jerk, there'sa certain swagger that you have to have,
(03:23):
and there's a certain song that Ifeel that you have to have.
If you're this super energetic, exciting, ready to rock and roll baby face,
you have to have that type ofmusic that plays along with it as
well. So for me, thebeautiful thing about All About the Boom is,
first of all, massive shout outto Mikey Ruckis, who made that
song in a day, which isso absolutely insane. And secondly, it's
(03:46):
just I don't know, I reallythink, you know, I've been wrestling
for fifteen years and I feel likethis song captures the essence of Adam Cole
better than any song that I've everhad. It's it's incredibly interactive. There's
time to get to get the boomin there, there's time for the Adam
Cole Bay Bay, there's there's stuffwhere the crowd can sing along. It
just it fits so so well tomy character and what I bring to the
(04:11):
table. So, yeah, wrestlingmusic incredibly important. Where did you feel
any pressure, uh, prior today, prior to hearing the song,
because the song that was used inNXT was big amongst wrestling fans. It
was it was the boom was there. It was very interactive. I remember
seeing you NXC takeovers and being inthe crowd and doing everything. And I
(04:33):
wasn't the only one clearly sold outarena, did it? Two? Were
you worried that the song wouldn't replicatewhat you were trying to do coming in
saw a thousand percent? Yeah,I remember because again, like you said,
people really really loved the Undisputed Eratheme. They really really enjoyed it,
and it was I loved the themetoo. It was absolutely one of
(04:54):
my favorites. So and and thishappens anytime. So I've had multiple entrance
themes throughout the years, and everytime you first change your song, you
do second guess yourself a lot.You're like like, like, I can't
tell you how many times I wouldlisten to the song that mikey Rucks created
and be like, Okay, Ireally really like it, but will other
(05:15):
people like it? Is this good? And how am I gonna walk?
Does the walk feel the same,Like, I just listen to it dozens
and dozens of times and then justhoping that people find that same excitement and
that same thrill at your previous entrancemusic that people also really enjoyed. So
but again I think I believe thistoo, I really really do. I
(05:38):
think part of wrestling music being soimportant or why people like it so much
is crowd response. Like, andI know the song itself is really important,
but like you subconsciously can't help butgo to a place mentally where you're
excited, you have adrenaline going foryour body, and you're happy when you
(05:59):
put said songs mixed with fifteen twentythousand people going crazy. So fortunately,
when I debuted, the crowd wasamazing and they were wild and they were
having a great time. So fromthe gate, not only is the song
awesome, but then again, peopleremember that moment of the crowd being super
super amped up, so I thinkthat plays a part as well. But
(06:19):
yes, to answer did the longwinded answer, But to answer your question,
yes, I was nervous, butI knew eventually people were going to
fall in love with it, andthey did very quickly. What was the
biggest difference in regards to nerves foryou, if any Maybe maybe it was
the exact same nerves debuting at NXTtakeover, attacking Drew McIntire from behind with
what eventually would become the undisputed errorin the corner, and you just walking
(06:43):
out at the end of the mainevent. You know, similar situation,
different approach. But what would yousay was the biggest difference is from a
you getting ready to go into thering standpoint? Oh um god. So
so both were very nerve wracking situationsfor sure. But I think the biggest
difference is when I debuted at NXT. I mean, I knew a handful
(07:05):
of people there, but I wasgoing to work with a bunch of people
who I didn't know, so automaticallythere's a little bit more nerves and tension
there because you're curious how you're goingto interact with everybody. I was so
curious about how the process worked atNXT, whereas with AEW same thing.
(07:25):
I wasn't exactly sure how the processworked, but I knew and know everybody
long before I made my debut atAW. I mean I got the chance
to meet some of the newer guys, but a bunch of guys, the
young Bucks, Kenny Omega, allthese guys who I consider very very close
personal friends. So the nerves atAEW were more internalized about me and myself
(07:49):
wanting the audience to be excited thatI was there. But it's actually crazy
how similar these situations work, becauseI remember debuting at NXT Takeover and attacking
Drew McIntyre and number remember this momentfor five minutes before I ran out there,
and I'm like, God, Ihope that the people know who I
am, and I hope they're excited. Uh, And that's the that's the
(08:11):
battle that goes on in your headthe whole time. And unfortunately they responded
very positively. But then same thingor in a similar situation to a e
W. I knew everyone was expectingBrian Danielson. That was like the big
rumor. So I'm like, Ihope that they're like, oh cool,
we got Adam Cole and not like, shoot, where's Brian Danielson. So
(08:33):
very similar but also very very different, I think at the same time,
but I am incredibly nervous every timeI go out there to do anything.
Well, listen if you're nervous.That means you're so passionate about it anything
exactly about it, right. Yep. So that's good. That's a good
problem to have. Yes, Iagree. This Wednesday a W Dynamite,
It is the the blind Eliminator tagtournament. You with a W Heavyweight champions
(09:00):
m JF. Did you ever comeacross MJF prior to coming to a W.
I did? I did. IActually I met m JF when he
was very very early on in hiscareer. Um, and from from the
moment I saw him, and Imean this and this is regardless when I
think about him personally, but fromthe moment I saw him, UM,
(09:20):
I knew he was super talented.Uh. He was one of those guys
who got it very very early on. He was someone who put just as
much time and energy into his promowork as he did as his bell to
bell in ring competition work. UhSo, yeah, he was. He
was incredibly talented from a very youngage. He was definitely one of those
(09:41):
guys that when I saw I waslike, Oh, this is gonna be
a guy I'm gonna be seeing alot more of now. He invaded your
your your game, streaming events ofthe other night. Um, I don't
know why I picked up. Idon't know. It was so silly.
I don't even know why I pickedup. You know what, because you're
a good guy. The guys pickedup the phone. Thank you. You're
(10:01):
right, you're right, thank you, thank you. Bad bad people hit
ignore right. Yeah, that's agood point, thanks fam, thanks for
saying that. Yeah. So,um, how excited are you uh for
for the next few years within AW? Oh my god? With with the
evolution of wrestling as a whole.You have the growth of a w um
and you're part of it because you'rea huge part of AW success moving forward.
(10:24):
Oh well, thank you. Uh, you know, I'm incredibly excited.
Um AW. Again, I knowthat people don't necessarily forget, but
it's a good reminder that AW issuch a young company. Like it's it's
unbelievable the progress that we've made insuch a short amount of time. I've
only been here, um god forlike almost two years, so it's I'm
(10:48):
still super super early in my AWcareer. On top of that, I
was out for nine months with thatwith that injury, which was the longest
I'd ever been out in my fifteenmonths or fifteen year career. So seeing
the the development and the growth ofAW has been so exciting again, not
only with the idea of us travelingall across the United States and having really
really riled up excited wrestling fans,but doing this tour of Canada right now
(11:13):
where the fans are just as passionate. My God, at the end of
August we are doing Wembley freaking Stadium. We've already sold sixty five thousand plus
tickets and they're not a single cardor not a single match, not a
single talent has been announced for theshow. So if that doesn't show the
excitement that AW has globally, Idon't know what does. But going forward
(11:33):
and looking at the path that AWis on, I think it's nowhere but
up. I think a lot ofour fans feel the exact same way.
It's an exciting time, not justfor AW but pro wrestling as a whole.
Everyone is firing on all cylinders rightnow, and the better that AW
does, the better that WWE does, the better that Ring of Honor does
impact a new Japan Like I wanteveryone to do well, and right now
(11:56):
AW is doing really well. Soit's a siding time. Man, I
love pro wrestling and I want everyoneto kill it. Now. You mentioned
a few different companies, and whenyou think of AW there are certain four
or five performers you think of maleand female. Same thing with w W,
Lee Impact New Japan. Who wouldyou say is the most underrated performer
today? Oh? Jay Lethal?Wow? Oh that question? Yeah?
(12:22):
Jay? And when I say underrated, I know Jay works for a EW
so a lot of a lot ofpeople could say he's not necessarily underrated.
He's on television every week. Hedoes amazing things. But sometimes I don't
think people realize how much of acomplete package that Jay Lethal is like.
(12:43):
He is bell to bell easily topthree I've ever been in the ring with
as far as a guy who cando anything and everything. He's an amazing
baby face, He's an amazing heel. He's amazing on the microphone. You
can throw him a tag team match, you could throw him in a in
a forty five minute singles match.He could open the show, he could
(13:05):
be in the middle of the card, he could main event, and all
of it fits. Jay is oneof those guys who you can absolutely always
twenty four seven depend on. Heis. He is one of the best
pro wrestlers I've ever had the pleasureof sharing the ring with, and I
feel like not enough people talk abouthow he's one of the best of our
generation. I think Jay Lethal isunbelievable. You know. It's interesting to
(13:30):
say that because, like, Iknow that maybe I take him for granted.
Right. It's one of those situationsthat you just know how good someone
is, almost like like a DolpZiggler is a great example on the side,
right, like you just take forgranted how good they really are?
Ye, which brings me to sitto my next question. Growing up,
I had my favorite match of alltime, right, it was Whole Coogan,
(13:50):
Ultimate Warrior WrestleMania six, Change ChangeMy Life, WrestleMania six, Toronto's
Guide. I'm sixty seven thousand,six hundred seventy eight. He's are things
that remembered from like of cour yearsold. Never forget man, don't know
what I have to dinner Saturday,But I remember those numbers. Right As
I got older and I started listeningto podcasts, and I started looking at
wrestling a little differently and picking upon a little nuances because of interviews like
(14:13):
this where you mentioned little things hereand there. I have a new favorite
match. So I want to knowwhat was your favorite match growing up?
And what is your favorite match ofall time? Now that you're not part
of it, you just can sitback and enjoy it. Oh great question.
So I think my first favorite matchever was the Rock versus Stone Cold
Steve Boston WrestleMania seventeen in the Houstonash Fordome. At that point, that
(14:37):
was the biggest wrestling event I hadever seen. I started watching wrestling in
nineteen ninety nine. I was nineyears old. I started a little bit
late, but I remember two yearslater that match happening, and between the
Limp Biscuit My Way video the match, the last minute getting added no disqualification
Stipulation Jr. On commentary, goingno disqualification? When was that added?
(14:58):
There's a second pause where no oneis making noise. Then Austin's glass breaks,
and sixty seven thousand I get chillstalking about it still. Sixty seven
thousand people stand up and scream atthe top of their lungs. In that
moment, it was the first timeI ever got goose bumps, And in
that moment, I said, Oh, I need to be a wrestler.
I don't want to just be afan like I wanna someday maybe feel like
(15:24):
I couldn't imagine how that felt forStone Cold and that summer vacation. I
watched that VHS tape every day forthree months, every single day, like,
because that was the only tape thatI really had, and I would
watch it every day. So thatone for me was huge. And then
now as time has gone on,God, I go. I go back
(15:46):
and forth between these two, butI think Shawn Michaels is the greatest professional
wrestler that's ever lived. He's ahero of mine, he was a mentor
of mine. I love him dearly, and he's just he's on another level.
So I think it's either Sean versusThe Undertaker at WrestleMania twenty five based
(16:06):
on the entire history and story behindeverything. But then also God, Sean
Michael's versus Kurt Angle was really reallyspecial at WrestleMania twenty one as well.
But if I had to pick rightnow, I'm going Sean versus the Undertaker
at WrestleMania twenty five, with aclose second being Sean and Kurt Angle at
twenty one. Coincidentally enough, minewas WrestleMania twenty five as well. There
(16:29):
we go. I'm just I rememberwatching it. I remember where I watched
it with my buddies, and wewere just literally jumping out of our seats
for the near falls. And thatwas really the first time I remember near
falls meaning something in a match thatI picked up on. Right, dude,
I'm so glad you said that,because I remember we had a WrestleMania
party and at this point, atthis point, I was wrestling right,
just started very recently. I'd beenin for like a year, and I
(16:53):
remember we had a bunch of peopleover and I'd say seventy five percent of
the people there didn't watch wrestling,but they wanted to check out this WrestleMania.
And while this match is happening,and like you said, day with
you, we were screaming and yellingand I would turn and look at these
people who had never watched wrestling before, and their jaws were on the floor.
(17:15):
So anytime you can get a nonwrestling fan who has not watched it
before, one of my buddies isnow still a wrestling fan because of that
match. So it was it wasa special moment in time. I can't
imagine what it was like in thearena. And then as I listened to
podcast, my new favorite was actuallyUndertaker Sean Michael's Bad Blood the Helen a
Cell in ninety because of the nuancesthe storyline leading into it, Sean Michael's
(17:40):
base. It was essentially like asquash match in theory, but it worked,
you know, Sean Michaels cut themoff quickly using heel tactics and then
got cut off again, and thenthey came debut and all these just to
me, it was like the completematch of how things can go when you
tell the right story. And again, I know nothing about rustling when i'm
you know, compared to you,but just as a fan, no,
(18:02):
no, but yeah, you couldexplain how it makes you feel, and
you could explain why it was soimportant to you. And on top of
that, that's such a great choicebecause a match like that had never taken
place before, Like that was likethey had a fresh blueprint that to this
day, a lot of those HelenaSell matches are based off of Sean versus
(18:22):
the Understaker of Bad Blood. Soyeah, very important match and a great
choice. Now you mentioned how thingsmake you feel, how did you feel
when you were crowned the first everOwen Hart Cup Champion? Oh my god.
Uh yeah, that work your girl, doctor, Yeah yeah. Um.
That whole night was just so unbelievablefor so many different reasons. Again,
(18:45):
owen Hart influenced so many wrestlers andstill does. And the one thing
you always hear about Owen is howgreat of a guy he was, on
top of being just an unbelievable performer. So to be in that first tournament
and to win it alongside my girlfriendBritt Baker, and to have Martha there
and like the championships and the trophy, and just being able to really showcase
(19:11):
and appreciate how important Owen Hart is, which again, I know US fans
and US wrestlers will never never forgethim, but the chance to celebrate him
in that way was was really reallycool, and to be a big part
of it was unbelievable. I'll neverforget it. You're also a big part
of Ring of Honor back in theday. Looking back in hindsight, do
(19:33):
you do you understand the magnitude andthe importance of Ring of Honor and the
evolution of wrestling to this day?Oh my god, yeah, to me,
I think I think Ring of Honor. Ring of Honor may be the
most important company that has helped evolvewhat modern pro wrestling is today. Seriously,
(19:55):
like, there are when you lookat all the talent that came from
Ring of Honor, Brian Danielson,Samoa Joe, the Briscos, aj Styles,
the Young Bucks, I mean,the list goes on and on and
on of these guys who have comethrough Ring of Honor in some capacity.
And also the style of wrestling thatkind of started to transcend and move forward
a little bit into the casual wrestlingaudience and what they liked in wrestling matches
(20:22):
was huge. Again, these wereguys who not all of us are six
four, two hundred sixty five pounds, a lot of us had this certain
style of pro wrestling that we reallywanted. The showcase and the athleticism was
huge, The hard hitting style washuge. The crazy passionate fan base was
really important. So to this day, you know, I spent seven years
(20:45):
in Ring of Honor and my firstwrestling contract ever was with ROH, So
there is no doubt in my mindI would have not gone to NXT,
I would have not gone to NewJapan Pro Wrestling. I might not be
in AEW if it wasn't for mytime in ROH. And that's just for
me personally, and I think abunch of guys can say the same thing.
(21:06):
So ROH incredibly important in the modernera of wrestling that we're in,
and the history is incredibly important.Now you mentioned fans how passionate they are.
PWG fans have always been passionate.I'm biased as how born and raised
in New York City, I thinkthat we have the greatest fans on the
planet. And since I am basedin New York City, what's your favorite
(21:26):
memory of New York City in yourcareer? My favorite memory is my favorite
match that I was involved in thattook place in New York Now, because
I get asked this question a lot, So New York City is incredibly important
to me. Because in twenty twelve, Me versus Kylo Riley took place at
(21:47):
a Ring of Honor I pay perview Best in the World twenty twelve and
it was in the Hammerstein Ballroom,which was super exciting, and me and
Kyle were in this feud with eachother and we had to have this match
called a hybrid fighting rules match,which was a very confusing and convoluted match
type that a lot of the fansweren't thrilled about. And at this point,
(22:11):
me and Kyle were still very veryearly in our wrestling careers, so
we had I don't want to saythat we had. I feel like we
had the respect of the fans wherethey would pay attention to what we were
doing. But we weren't over yetby any means. Like people weren't lining
up to buy the shirts, peopleweren't screaming when our music hit. We
were still kind of earning or earningtheir respect, I'll put it to you
(22:33):
that way. And when this matchwas happening, the crowd was not into
it at all. In the beginning. It was like they were trying to
be respectful, but they were bored. They just weren't. This is one
of those matches where you had tobe careful of, like how many punches
you threw, rope breaks. Itwas. It was super convoluted. Long
story short. At one point,Kyle punched me in the mouth and it
(22:55):
split my lip where I could havetaken my lip and done this, like
it was completely split in half,so much blood. I looked like a
zombie, and that changed the entiredynamic of the match all of a sudden,
those New York City fans, thoserabid New York fans, were completely
(23:15):
invested in this match. Everyone wasstanding on their feet, They're banging on
the barricades, they're channing. Thisis awesome. They're channing Adam Cole And
at one point I'm on my kneesand I flipped my hair up and I
yelled to fire up to Kyle andblood is squirting out on his chest and
Kyle standing there. So the coolthing about it is, again we're pretty
(23:37):
young in our career and we reallychanged a lot of what we were going
to do and the dynamic of thatmatch based on this little speed bump that
we had, which actually made thematch so much better. So from that
point forward, me and Kyl o'riley'sRing of Honor careers really started the skyrocket.
The next week, I won theROH television title, and I just
(23:59):
had a different connection with the fans, and so did Kyle. So that
match is the most important match tome in my career, and one of
the important reasons is, again thoserabid New York City fans that just were
having the time of their life.I want to quickly change gears a little
bit before we wrapped this up.I want to do a quick game of
this or that. I'll give youtwo options. You got to pick one
of the other. You don't evenhave to explain yourself. Okay, all
(24:21):
right? Hot dogs are hamburgers,hamburgers, eggs or pancakes, eggs,
pools or beaches, pools, barbecueor fried food? Oh? Barbecue,
Xavier Woods or Tyler Breeds. Ohoh, Xavier Woods. That's a tough
(24:42):
one, though, That's a toughone. An sixty four or PlayStations.
Oh, I'm going to original PlayStation, PlayStation or Xbox Xbox. What video
game changed your life as a kidas a kid? Final Fantasy seven on
(25:03):
the original PlayStation. Okay, yeah, so this is called a Superstar crossover.
So my previous guests had a questionfor you. It was WW Superstars,
Zelina Vega Beautiful. I would wantto know what their favorite anime is
and why is it? Naruto.I am going to give the most disappointing
answer because people assume I think thatI'm really into anime because I'm really into
(25:27):
video games. But I'm being totallytransparent, totally honest. I actually don't
watch any animes. I've I've thoughtover and over again and been told over
and over again that I need toget into it and I would really enjoy
it. But I can't give ananswer because I I have not watched Wait
with the like with the original thisis this is gonna make me seem so
(25:48):
silly. Probably would the original Pokemoncount as an anime. Here's the thing.
I've never watched Pokemon, Ubia orany sort of anime. So for
the sake of this, I'll sayyes, and then it makes people on
social media rag okay, yeah,yeah. If you attack me, I'm
very very sorry, but I'll gothe original Pokemon to give an answer.
I used to watch that every daybefore school. My next guest is uh
(26:11):
w superstar Xavier Woods. Oh,so what question would you have for our
next guest? Oh? Okay,um, who is your favorite member of
the party and why is it Chugs? I'm going off the same similar concept
as as Aalita, but but I'mexcited to hear this answered. I love
(26:33):
it. I love it one moretime. Aw Dynamite this Wednesday, and
before we wrapped this up, favoriteaspect of AW Fights Forever, which is
now available. Oh um, theI love the accessibility, um. And
what I mean by this is thegame is so fun to play, but
not only that, it's easy tolearn. So so, me and Britt
(26:56):
were playing Fight Forever and she doesn'treally play many video games at all,
and within thirty seconds she figured outhow to play. So I love the
idea of it being a game thatagain, this is very, very easy
to learn. But there is somuch detail within the game that like two
elite level players no pun intended goingagainst each other could make for some really
(27:18):
awesome, intricate competitive matches. Butbut I love I love how accessible the
game is. I will tell youone of the coolest aspects for me is
that Orange Cassidy puts his fucking handsin his pockets and still have the move
set. Unbelievable. That's a realthat's a real AW video game. Baby,
That's right, it really is.Who, aside from you and Britt,
(27:41):
who's your favorite wrestler to play with? Oh? Okay, which,
by the way, I haven't playedwith him yet, although I read somewhere
that he's probably the most complete wrestlerin the game. In regards to kind
of like move sets and how howeffective it could be in the impact and
stuff like that. So yeah,just just wait and see. Man,
(28:02):
it's it's amazing. It's Owen issimilar to the Owen Hart Tournament that we
do. Owen is showcased and respectedand appreciated very very well in Fight Forever.
It's awesome. I love that.One more time, Adam Cole,
I appreciate you coming by. Man. Thank you so much, of course,
Man, thank you
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