September 12, 2023 • 13 mins
Before Wrestlings BIGGEST Event of All-Time I Spoke with AEW’s Adam Cole
I recently chatted with AEW's ADAM COLE before wrestling's biggest event of all-time, AEW ALL IN: LONDON.
They sold 80k+ tickets to the event.
While talking with Adam Cole (✌🏽BayBay✌🏽) I asked him about:
• Headlining the biggest PPV of all-time.
• The business decision behind having the headliners of the event wrestle for free before the PPV officially begins.
• "Switching a flip" from fun vignettes to intense in-ring promos.
• Biggest difference between fans in NYC & London.
• AEW Grand Slam coming back to Arthur Ashe Stadium September 20th.
• Staying loose between matches that'll be 4-5 hours apart & more!I had audio difficulties seconds before the meeting started so my apologies for the quality of my mic... or lack their of.
I recently chatted with AEW's ADAM COLE before wrestling's biggest event of all-time, AEW ALL IN: LONDON.
They sold 80k+ tickets to the event.
While talking with Adam Cole (✌🏽BayBay✌🏽) I asked him about:
• Headlining the biggest PPV of all-time.
• The business decision behind having the headliners of the event wrestle for free before the PPV officially begins.
• "Switching a flip" from fun vignettes to intense in-ring promos.
• Biggest difference between fans in NYC & London.
• AEW Grand Slam coming back to Arthur Ashe Stadium September 20th.
• Staying loose between matches that'll be 4-5 hours apart & more!I had audio difficulties seconds before the meeting started so my apologies for the quality of my mic... or lack their of.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hey, what's going on. I'mJosh Martinez. I'm a Superstar crossover with
my guests Adam Pole. Hey,babe, that's right, that's right.
That's the full name. That's thefull name. We got to say it.
How you doing? Man? Chilling? Chilling? You know last time
we spoke you and mj Apper kindof from the beginning of this friendship route.
Now we're full on as friends,best friends headlining de biggest wrestling event
(00:26):
of all times. It's insane.How does that feels? Yeah? To
be able to put it in thewords is very hard because I've never had
this experience before. So again,like fortunately for fifteen years, I've gotten
to travel the globe and win championshipsand wrestle some of the very best and
(00:47):
learn from some of the very best. But to be able to say that
I'm going to be involved in againone of, if not the biggest professional
wrestling shows of all time, andto go in there challenge for the aw
World title with one of my bestfriends, I mean, this is this
is it, This is the peak. Like it's just it's so so wild
(01:08):
to think that the day is soclose to being upon us. And I'll
tell you what winning the aw WorldChampionship would be pretty sweet. That'd be
pretty sweet. Now, this willbe the biggest crowd obviously. Yeah,
yes, I ask you before thisbiggest comedy I have a wrestled them.
Do you know the immediate answer Ido? I do? Yeah, that
(01:30):
would be the Tokyo Dome for WrestleKingdom. Actually, it was also a
very very special night. It wasa night that I was able to make
history. It was the time thatI won the Ring of Honor World Championship
for the third time, which tothis day, no one has been a
three time ROWH World champion. Soand that was alongside again one of my
(01:52):
best friends, Kylo Riley. Sothere's something about these big shows and Adam
Cole winning world championships and wrestling hisfriends that just goes hand in hand.
Man. Now, from a businessthe point, why is zero hour?
If you don't mind me asking,God, you know what truth be told?
I think I think here's the dealis again, when this, when
(02:15):
this whole thing started with me andMJF as a team, I thought,
no way this is gonna last.We're not gonna be friends for very long.
And then next thing you know,it's gained all this traction and and
people seem to really really enjoy ustogether as a team. Got the fact
that we have two matches on thebiggest night in pro wrestling is absolutely wild.
(02:37):
Some would say it was that it'sabsolutely crazy, but but man,
you're getting to see if you're afan of Adam Cole and MJF, you're
getting to see a little bit ofeverything that night. So the fun,
the fun times of the tag teammatches. God, we could win some
tag team Championship gold that would beamazing. And then leading into this incredibly
(02:57):
intense World Championship match one on onematch. Again for people who like Adam
Cole and MJF, you're gonna getto see the entire the entire process of
what goes into what goes into thetwo of us. So yeah, we'll
see how it goes. We'll seehow it goes. You know, I
never thought of that. I thoughtof it as simple as this. The
quicker we get asses and seats,the better it looks. Right, So
(03:21):
why not put our top guys andalso on the free show. But it's
a free eventments on YouTube, it'sstreaming. Maybe we got this last minute
buy in, sure, yeah,yeah that that that could be it too.
That could be it too. ButI never looked at it from a
standpoint of two different not two differentpersonalities, but the way that you put
(03:44):
it of like two stylistic matches,where one is a little more like yeah,
yeah right and almost truth be told, they kind of it's weird you're
seeing the same two guys, butit's two different as it really really is
like like a A I mean,I think MJF would say this, and
(04:05):
I know I would say this,like a World Championship singles match is going
to be a little bit different thanan Adam Cole and MJF tag team match.
So yeah, it's it's two differentthings. I gotta give you guys
credit because you go from the outbacktake house been the FS and the Kangaroo
(04:25):
kick and the double clothesline, andyou guys are telling a lot of stories
with your faces, and then youguys can turn around after an air as
you're getting the ring, and thenyou guys are intent and you guys are
kind of doing what your bread andbutter is right the promos, it's been
impressive as fuck, dude, Thanksman, thank you. Well, I
(04:47):
think for me what I love somuch about pro wrestling is that encapsulation of
all these different emotions. Like,again, to me, a really really
good wrestling show, We're honestly agood wrestling angle will make me feel all
these different things throughout the process ofit, whether I'm laughing hysterically, or
(05:09):
I'm crying, or I'm jumping forjoy or I'm throwing my fist in the
air and I'm all angry. Again, that pro wrestling is the only thing
that can capture that I feel ina live entertainment aspect. So again,
with this entire process, with meand MJF going through every single different emotion
of getting people to laugh and jumpfor joy and be really worried, it's
(05:31):
been super fun. It's been reallyreally fun. That's what I think makes
makes a good pro wrestling angle anda good pro wrestling show. And listen,
let's keep it real. You guysare helping carrying the storyline and the
company. That's a ninety thousand ticketstool. And then seven days later,
you guys are doing your big payper view event, and then three weeks
(05:54):
after that it was the biggest crowd. You guys are usually on a yearly
basis at Wanta ash Stadium, aw Grand Slam guy to my end rampage.
Here's are on sale now, bythe way, September twenty. How
different are the fans in London comparedto New York City specifically? Oh so
(06:17):
okay, you just named two incrediblypassionate groups of pro wrestling fans. So
when it comes to energy, actuallythey're incredibly similar. Like like again,
to the New York fans always bringthe heat. They're always there to make
some noise and have a good time, which I love. But over in
London it's the same thing. SoI think, really the I'd say the
(06:40):
biggest difference is I think fans inLondon have a tendency to break out and
song a little bit more I don't. I don't hear the New York City
fans singing very often. But asfar as again, well, I think
back to that first show at ArthurAsh with like Kenny Omega and Brian Danielson
and that vibe from those fans.But like when the bell rang was one
(07:02):
of the coolest I had just gotan a w and I remember sitting back
and watching that match because I believeI had a match later that night,
so I had plenty of time towatch Kenny and Brian, which I wanted
to make sure I did. Andthat energy that those fans gave I was
like, Oh my god, there'snothing like New York City. But I
or but there's nothing like New Yorkfans. But again the same could be
(07:26):
said. Seriously, I've had someof my best wrestling experiences over in London
as well, so two of themost passionate groups of pro wrestling fans in
the world. But like I said, I think our fans in London are
probably gonna be singing a few moresongs. That's the one thing I'll give
the UK over New York is theyare clever with their chance. Yes they
are. What is hey, youfucking suck like, We'll throw it across
(07:49):
just to make sure it's like,hey, we could do that, which
is still great, by the way, still great. By the way.
Your first a W match was Grantmy Page. I believe it was the
sixth Man and that was the kindof babu of the boom before a match
(08:11):
in a W. Yeah, andthe way Arthur Ashes set up it's kind
of metal roof. It was oneof the loudest things I've ever heard in
my life. So you created acore wrestling memory for me just by being
you. Oh that's awesome, that'sawesome, that's so so cool. Yeah,
I believe that was the first likenight I officially did it, because
my first match was on Dynamite againstFrankie Kazarian. But I hadn't had a
(08:35):
part in the song or hadn't committedto doing the boom yet. But then
at Arthur Ashes when I decided,no, we gotta do it because I
know people had wanted to do itas well, and like you said,
I remember it being very very loudthat night. That was a cool moment.
I'll never forget it. So aw pay per view events tend to
be long. It is what itis. What do you do to stay
(08:56):
loose? What's your routine when you'refour or five hours apart from new matches?
Sure? Sure? So for me, I mean this, I have
so much adrenaline and anxiety going throughmy body that it's impossible for me to
lose focus. If anything, Ihave to be careful because when I was
(09:18):
younger, I used to be like, Okay, I gotta take some pre
workout before I get out to thering, and I would do that right
there you go. I would oh, nice, nice, I would do
that, and then I would feelexhausted within the first two minutes of the
match because I already had so muchadrenaline and I was so pumped up going
(09:39):
into it. So again, notonly do I feel that way about every
single aw event, but my god, eighty plus thousand people, the largest
paid attendance of all time, firsttime in Wembley Stadium, first time in
London. It is going to beimpossible not only for me to keep to
not eat the energy, but it'sgonna be impossible for me to sleep that
(10:01):
night. There's there's no way I'mgonna be so fired up. So a
lot of walking around, a lotof deep breathing, a lot of like
random stretching. So yeah, I'llbe doing a lot of that, a
lot of pacing back and forth.I think. So you and I grew
up same time a heart wrestling fans. Are you gonna take time or walk
around Wembley before the show? Kindof think of Summer's Lab ninety two one
(10:26):
hundred percent and and and I'm Ithink too. I don't know if we
talked about this before. But theolder I've gotten, the better I am
about like sitting back and smelling theroses and like really appreciating moments. Because
when I was younger, man,it was Okay, what's the next thing.
It'd be like, something awesome wouldhappen, and then you're already obsessing
(10:48):
and focusing on the next promo orthe next match or where you have to
go next instead of enjoying it.And into my thirties, now I'm like,
this is my freaking dream, man, this is all I've ever wanted
to do. Nothing in the worldmakes me happier than pro wrestling. Let
me try to enjoy this as muchas I can, not only afterwards,
(11:09):
but before and during. So toanswer your question, yes, I absolutely
will take some time to myself tobe alone and just walk around that stadium
and think about how lucky I amto be in this situation. Is your
ring attire gonna any homage to yourrun as a wrestler England, anything a
(11:30):
little different or in unique? Ido. All I can say is I
do have a very special set ofgear made specifically for this show, and
this is a set of gear actuallyI wanted to do for a very long
time. Some die hard, diehard fans of mine may know what I'm
implying, and some people again probablydon't know. But all I'll say is
(11:54):
I do have some very special gearplan for Wembley Stadium. I'm very excited
to wear it. I love that. Uh, and just switching games before
we wrap things up this past Fridaynight and reportedly may have had his final
match. Do you have any interactionswith Ed earlier career? I did.
I did, and every single oneof them were wonderful. So when I
(12:16):
worked for NXT, there was sometimes where he would come down and talk
to a group of us, givehis input, give his mindset on things,
and he was just again aside frombeing one of the greatest ever do
it, just an incredibly generous andgiving and such a smart individual who really
(12:37):
really did want to pass along hisknowledge. So yeah, he's He's a
wonderful, wonderful guy, and everyexperience I had with him was was very
positive. Now, final question,Like I said, we're coming back a
W. Graham Slam September twentieth.Now, do you have any go to
spots from New York City? DoI any what go to spots? Yes,
(13:01):
sir, gosh, you know,unfortunately, lots of times lately when
I've been in New York, somuch of it has been in and out.
It's like I'll get I'll get tomy location, I have like an
hour to get ready at the hotel, I go do the event, and
then I go back to the hotel. So I don't I don't have a
(13:22):
go to spot, but I amvery open to suggestions of places that I
should go. If you have anyfor me, you know what, I'll
hit you with the DMS, witharcade spots and food spots. Oh my
god, you know me too well, dude. That is perfect. That
is perfect. One more time outof call. In just a few short
days, will be headlining the biggestwrestling of that of all motherfucking times.
(13:46):
My god, my god, Ican't believe we're only a few days away,
man, And what an exciting timefor pro wrestling,
Hey, what's going on. I'mJosh Martinez. I'm a Superstar crossover with
my guests Adam Pole. Hey,babe, that's right, that's right.
That's the full name. That's thefull name. We got to say it.
How you doing? Man? Chilling? Chilling? You know last time
we spoke you and mj Apper kindof from the beginning of this friendship route.
Now we're full on as friends,best friends headlining de biggest wrestling event
(00:26):
of all times. It's insane.How does that feels? Yeah? To
be able to put it in thewords is very hard because I've never had
this experience before. So again,like fortunately for fifteen years, I've gotten
to travel the globe and win championshipsand wrestle some of the very best and
(00:47):
learn from some of the very best. But to be able to say that
I'm going to be involved in againone of, if not the biggest professional
wrestling shows of all time, andto go in there challenge for the aw
World title with one of my bestfriends, I mean, this is this
is it, This is the peak. Like it's just it's so so wild
(01:08):
to think that the day is soclose to being upon us. And I'll
tell you what winning the aw WorldChampionship would be pretty sweet. That'd be
pretty sweet. Now, this willbe the biggest crowd obviously. Yeah,
yes, I ask you before thisbiggest comedy I have a wrestled them.
Do you know the immediate answer Ido? I do? Yeah, that
(01:30):
would be the Tokyo Dome for WrestleKingdom. Actually, it was also a
very very special night. It wasa night that I was able to make
history. It was the time thatI won the Ring of Honor World Championship
for the third time, which tothis day, no one has been a
three time ROWH World champion. Soand that was alongside again one of my
(01:52):
best friends, Kylo Riley. Sothere's something about these big shows and Adam
Cole winning world championships and wrestling hisfriends that just goes hand in hand.
Man. Now, from a businessthe point, why is zero hour?
If you don't mind me asking,God, you know what truth be told?
I think I think here's the dealis again, when this, when
(02:15):
this whole thing started with me andMJF as a team, I thought,
no way this is gonna last.We're not gonna be friends for very long.
And then next thing you know,it's gained all this traction and and
people seem to really really enjoy ustogether as a team. Got the fact
that we have two matches on thebiggest night in pro wrestling is absolutely wild.
(02:37):
Some would say it was that it'sabsolutely crazy, but but man,
you're getting to see if you're afan of Adam Cole and MJF, you're
getting to see a little bit ofeverything that night. So the fun,
the fun times of the tag teammatches. God, we could win some
tag team Championship gold that would beamazing. And then leading into this incredibly
(02:57):
intense World Championship match one on onematch. Again for people who like Adam
Cole and MJF, you're gonna getto see the entire the entire process of
what goes into what goes into thetwo of us. So yeah, we'll
see how it goes. We'll seehow it goes. You know, I
never thought of that. I thoughtof it as simple as this. The
quicker we get asses and seats,the better it looks. Right, So
(03:21):
why not put our top guys andalso on the free show. But it's
a free eventments on YouTube, it'sstreaming. Maybe we got this last minute
buy in, sure, yeah,yeah that that that could be it too.
That could be it too. ButI never looked at it from a
standpoint of two different not two differentpersonalities, but the way that you put
(03:44):
it of like two stylistic matches,where one is a little more like yeah,
yeah right and almost truth be told, they kind of it's weird you're
seeing the same two guys, butit's two different as it really really is
like like a A I mean,I think MJF would say this, and
(04:05):
I know I would say this,like a World Championship singles match is going
to be a little bit different thanan Adam Cole and MJF tag team match.
So yeah, it's it's two differentthings. I gotta give you guys
credit because you go from the outbacktake house been the FS and the Kangaroo
(04:25):
kick and the double clothesline, andyou guys are telling a lot of stories
with your faces, and then youguys can turn around after an air as
you're getting the ring, and thenyou guys are intent and you guys are
kind of doing what your bread andbutter is right the promos, it's been
impressive as fuck, dude, Thanksman, thank you. Well, I
(04:47):
think for me what I love somuch about pro wrestling is that encapsulation of
all these different emotions. Like,again, to me, a really really
good wrestling show, We're honestly agood wrestling angle will make me feel all
these different things throughout the process ofit, whether I'm laughing hysterically, or
(05:09):
I'm crying, or I'm jumping forjoy or I'm throwing my fist in the
air and I'm all angry. Again, that pro wrestling is the only thing
that can capture that I feel ina live entertainment aspect. So again,
with this entire process, with meand MJF going through every single different emotion
of getting people to laugh and jumpfor joy and be really worried, it's
(05:31):
been super fun. It's been reallyreally fun. That's what I think makes
makes a good pro wrestling angle anda good pro wrestling show. And listen,
let's keep it real. You guysare helping carrying the storyline and the
company. That's a ninety thousand ticketstool. And then seven days later,
you guys are doing your big payper view event, and then three weeks
(05:54):
after that it was the biggest crowd. You guys are usually on a yearly
basis at Wanta ash Stadium, aw Grand Slam guy to my end rampage.
Here's are on sale now, bythe way, September twenty. How
different are the fans in London comparedto New York City specifically? Oh so
(06:17):
okay, you just named two incrediblypassionate groups of pro wrestling fans. So
when it comes to energy, actuallythey're incredibly similar. Like like again,
to the New York fans always bringthe heat. They're always there to make
some noise and have a good time, which I love. But over in
London it's the same thing. SoI think, really the I'd say the
(06:40):
biggest difference is I think fans inLondon have a tendency to break out and
song a little bit more I don't. I don't hear the New York City
fans singing very often. But asfar as again, well, I think
back to that first show at ArthurAsh with like Kenny Omega and Brian Danielson
and that vibe from those fans.But like when the bell rang was one
(07:02):
of the coolest I had just gotan a w and I remember sitting back
and watching that match because I believeI had a match later that night,
so I had plenty of time towatch Kenny and Brian, which I wanted
to make sure I did. Andthat energy that those fans gave I was
like, Oh my god, there'snothing like New York City. But I
or but there's nothing like New Yorkfans. But again the same could be
(07:26):
said. Seriously, I've had someof my best wrestling experiences over in London
as well, so two of themost passionate groups of pro wrestling fans in
the world. But like I said, I think our fans in London are
probably gonna be singing a few moresongs. That's the one thing I'll give
the UK over New York is theyare clever with their chance. Yes they
are. What is hey, youfucking suck like, We'll throw it across
(07:49):
just to make sure it's like,hey, we could do that, which
is still great, by the way, still great. By the way.
Your first a W match was Grantmy Page. I believe it was the
sixth Man and that was the kindof babu of the boom before a match
(08:11):
in a W. Yeah, andthe way Arthur Ashes set up it's kind
of metal roof. It was oneof the loudest things I've ever heard in
my life. So you created acore wrestling memory for me just by being
you. Oh that's awesome, that'sawesome, that's so so cool. Yeah,
I believe that was the first likenight I officially did it, because
my first match was on Dynamite againstFrankie Kazarian. But I hadn't had a
(08:35):
part in the song or hadn't committedto doing the boom yet. But then
at Arthur Ashes when I decided,no, we gotta do it because I
know people had wanted to do itas well, and like you said,
I remember it being very very loudthat night. That was a cool moment.
I'll never forget it. So aw pay per view events tend to
be long. It is what itis. What do you do to stay
(08:56):
loose? What's your routine when you'refour or five hours apart from new matches?
Sure? Sure? So for me, I mean this, I have
so much adrenaline and anxiety going throughmy body that it's impossible for me to
lose focus. If anything, Ihave to be careful because when I was
(09:18):
younger, I used to be like, Okay, I gotta take some pre
workout before I get out to thering, and I would do that right
there you go. I would oh, nice, nice, I would do
that, and then I would feelexhausted within the first two minutes of the
match because I already had so muchadrenaline and I was so pumped up going
(09:39):
into it. So again, notonly do I feel that way about every
single aw event, but my god, eighty plus thousand people, the largest
paid attendance of all time, firsttime in Wembley Stadium, first time in
London. It is going to beimpossible not only for me to keep to
not eat the energy, but it'sgonna be impossible for me to sleep that
(10:01):
night. There's there's no way I'mgonna be so fired up. So a
lot of walking around, a lotof deep breathing, a lot of like
random stretching. So yeah, I'llbe doing a lot of that, a
lot of pacing back and forth.I think. So you and I grew
up same time a heart wrestling fans. Are you gonna take time or walk
around Wembley before the show? Kindof think of Summer's Lab ninety two one
(10:26):
hundred percent and and and I'm Ithink too. I don't know if we
talked about this before. But theolder I've gotten, the better I am
about like sitting back and smelling theroses and like really appreciating moments. Because
when I was younger, man,it was Okay, what's the next thing.
It'd be like, something awesome wouldhappen, and then you're already obsessing
(10:48):
and focusing on the next promo orthe next match or where you have to
go next instead of enjoying it.And into my thirties, now I'm like,
this is my freaking dream, man, this is all I've ever wanted
to do. Nothing in the worldmakes me happier than pro wrestling. Let
me try to enjoy this as muchas I can, not only afterwards,
(11:09):
but before and during. So toanswer your question, yes, I absolutely
will take some time to myself tobe alone and just walk around that stadium
and think about how lucky I amto be in this situation. Is your
ring attire gonna any homage to yourrun as a wrestler England, anything a
(11:30):
little different or in unique? Ido. All I can say is I
do have a very special set ofgear made specifically for this show, and
this is a set of gear actuallyI wanted to do for a very long
time. Some die hard, diehard fans of mine may know what I'm
implying, and some people again probablydon't know. But all I'll say is
(11:54):
I do have some very special gearplan for Wembley Stadium. I'm very excited
to wear it. I love that. Uh, and just switching games before
we wrap things up this past Fridaynight and reportedly may have had his final
match. Do you have any interactionswith Ed earlier career? I did.
I did, and every single oneof them were wonderful. So when I
(12:16):
worked for NXT, there was sometimes where he would come down and talk
to a group of us, givehis input, give his mindset on things,
and he was just again aside frombeing one of the greatest ever do
it, just an incredibly generous andgiving and such a smart individual who really
(12:37):
really did want to pass along hisknowledge. So yeah, he's He's a
wonderful, wonderful guy, and everyexperience I had with him was was very
positive. Now, final question,Like I said, we're coming back a
W. Graham Slam September twentieth.Now, do you have any go to
spots from New York City? DoI any what go to spots? Yes,
(13:01):
sir, gosh, you know,unfortunately, lots of times lately when
I've been in New York, somuch of it has been in and out.
It's like I'll get I'll get tomy location, I have like an
hour to get ready at the hotel, I go do the event, and
then I go back to the hotel. So I don't I don't have a
(13:22):
go to spot, but I amvery open to suggestions of places that I
should go. If you have anyfor me, you know what, I'll
hit you with the DMS, witharcade spots and food spots. Oh my
god, you know me too well, dude. That is perfect. That
is perfect. One more time outof call. In just a few short
days, will be headlining the biggestwrestling of that of all motherfucking times.
(13:46):
My god, my god, Ican't believe we're only a few days away,
man, And what an exciting timefor pro wrestling,
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