Adam Cole Reveals Triple H And Shawn Michaels’ Reactions To Him Leaving WWE For AEW

A number of weeks ago it was reported that Adam Cole’s deal with WWE would be expiring following SummerSlam weekend, and Cole wrestled his last match for the company at NXT TakeOver 36. Adam Cole has since gone on to join All Elite Wrestling, and if the past few weeks are any indication it seems that he will be pushed as one of the company’s top stars moving forward.

Adam Cole recently discussed his WWE departure during an appearance on Oral Sessions with Renee Paquette, and he noted that he was very open and honest with Triple H and Shawn Michaels while talking about his decision, and that he still has a positive relationship with both of them.

“The nice thing about my relationship with him and my relationship with Shawn Michaels is they are so positive. To this day, positive. I formed a bond with Hunter, with Shawn, that I would like to think, and they’ve made very apparent to me as well, that it’s a relationship we’re always going to keep. I loved working with those guys. He knew what my goals were, what I wanted to accomplish. I think a big reason I loved NXT so much was we had that freedom and that ability to wrestle super cool, longer matches and get to show ourselves off artistically in that sense. NXT was built on that mentality. I got in at the perfect time, at least for what I loved about pro wrestling. He (Hunter) understood that I wanted to continue doing stuff like that, he knew my Twitch was super important to me. And I know that’s a big no no in WWE, which is unfortunate. So I was very open and very honest with him, to the point where I was still thinking about what I was going to do when my contract was up. He knew that. And then when the decision was made, he knew that and Shawn knew that.

The former NXT Champion went on to say that when it came down to it Shawn Michaels put business aside and let it be known that above all he just wanted Adam Cole to be happy.

“Shawn and I have developed a relationship, like I said, that I think will last for the rest of our lives. At least I hope so, and I know Shawn feels that way too. But Shawn has always been such a big supporter of me and what’s best for me. So of course he wanted me to work something out where I could stay and things like that. But at the same time, Shawn wanted me to be happy, he wanted me to do what’s best for me. So he had my back. He knows how much I respect him, how much I look up to him and idolize him. So for him to be very open about ‘listen, of course I want you to stay here. But I want you to be happy.’ He was putting business aside, all that stuff aside. He just wanted me to be as happy as possible, so that was really cool for me. It was what I needed to hear honestly. Like I said, it was a big decision. So for him to have my back was really cool.”

H/T Wrestling Inc.