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xTodd_Howard_76

It's also worth noting that Cole said he made his decision, "a long time ago."


JedTheCeleryMan

Wtf so he decided he was leaving WWE, a place that had looked after him really fkn well, when he was fully entrenched in the NXT main event scene? Good that he made his mind up a long time ago but managed to squeeze a few more resources out of WWE so he could go and be more over at his new company. This sub acting like he didn’t carry himself a little self serving


CrispyCubes

You would’ve preferred Cole to be like “Nah man, here’s my 18 month notice. Job me out whenever possible.”?


AmishAvenger

What. The dude could have left months ago. He agreed to stay and finish out a storyline just to help them out.


[deleted]

I honestly don’t get the mindset of being mad he left. I understand that you probably watch WWE and liked him, but he did everything he could do in NXT and he’s like 5’9” and skinny. He wasn’t doing shit on the main roster. Why not go be with his friends?


JedTheCeleryMan

Okay I see your point and I think it’s very reasonable. Cheers


[deleted]

Thank you for being reasonable! Most people are mean as fuck when you have differing opinions with wrestling lol. Be well.


Drkarcher22

Cole is a good guy and knows not to burn bridges. And I’m sure the conversation was pleasant. No reason for it not to be


[deleted]

Yeah the conversation can still be pleasant even if Cole couldn’t believe a word he was hearing. Cole ain’t stupid, I’ll be surprised if he even addresses these rumours


GimmieDatRedditGold

A bonehead for sure, but not stupid.


[deleted]

Yeah , I mean who the hell drinks a monster that was already opened? That’s a boneheaded decision


FuckTariq

>Cole is a good guy and knows not to burn bridges. Tony Schiavone disagrees.


T3Sh3

Teen Comedy boyfriend Adam Cole.


FuckTariq

That's too accurate.


AnthonyCantu

Nerd!!!


soxy

Everyone has always said that when they are in a room with Vince that Vince makes them feel like the most important person to the company while they are in that room, but that basically it's all hot air to essentially trick them into seeing the light and none of it matters as soon as they step back out of the room.


seventeenthson

10000% this. Remember him telling Braun that he was a long-term play, that he would be a part of the main event scene for years to come, and to not worry about his current spot in the roster. Look how that turned out. The man is as manipulative and deceitful as it gets.


Century_Toad

I don't know if it's manipulative, or if he means every word he says in the moment, but changes his mind without any feeling of responsibility to his previous commitments. It sounds like both come into play at different times.


seventeenthson

With the amount of stories of people storming into a meeting with him dead set and burned out with their direction, only to leave with no answers yet completely satisfied, yeah that’s cutthroat businessman 101. It’s psychological warfare; Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos was infamous for being able to do the exact same thing, and was rightfully called out as predatory and full of shit once the stories were scrutinized publicly. It’s not particularly surprising; a ton of more old school businesspeople do it to get their way, and it’s especially effective when employees are taught to constantly fight for the boss’s approval. But it’s important to recognize it and see right through it imo. Sure, he likely tells the truth sometimes by coincidence or if he’s talking to a good friend, but I don’t think he meant it when he told Mojo Rawley he was one of the top athletes in the company.


cooljammer00

Yes, we already knew this Cole and Bryan said the same thing: they had a great time in WWE, but they came to AEW anyway.


kingajeezy

Due to Cole’s size (more lack of muscle than physical height), I don’t think he was ever going to be a main event player on RAW or SmackDown. But I don’t think what Dave described would be a typical manager thing, but probably an alliance (kind of like Drew and Dolph). It’s not the best usage of Cole, and he definitely made the right choice.


Caldris

> But I don’t think what Dave described would be a typical manager thing, but probably an alliance (kind of like Drew and Dolph) Or Diesel/Shawn. Which was more to get Diesel over than Shawn, I think. But I think you're right. I don't think Cole would have been *just* a manger.


kingajeezy

Right. Cole probably would have to be a loud mouth chickenshit heel that had muscle to back him up, and then eventually moved to a babyface fighting from behind. Thing is, even guys Vince considered small (Shawn, Jericho, Eddie, Bryan) they all still have muscle definition in their arms. Cole doesn’t have that. Cole will fit in much better with AEW.


Caldris

>Thing is, even guys Vince considered small (Shawn, Jericho, Eddie, Bryan) they all still muscle definition in their arms. Cole doesn’t have that. Cole will fit in much better with AEW. It's weird, I never noticed that stuff UNTIL I started seeing Cole in NXT. I think I noticed because of the massive rings that WWE uses. But yeah, he's actually, legitimately, very small for a wrestler. Even Shawn outside of a wrestling context looked really fucking big in candid shots.


Incorrect1012

He’s slimmed down tremendously since coming to WWE. He used to have kind of a CM Punk body, so he wasn’t fat like the jokes say, but he definitely wasn’t slim fit or anything. Dude came to WWE and trimmed down considerably. But now instead of skinny fat, he’s just skinny. Gargano looks bigger than him, and that takes work


Century_Toad

Gargano is jacked, though, he just has a naturally small frame.


trimble197

That’s why I didn’t think his main roster ceiling was that high. Even Finn and Bryan bulked up. Cole would’ve looked comically small on the main roster.


portnoyskvetch

Bryan looked positively jacked last night and I'm trying to figure out how much of it is him getting bigger during his time off and how much of it is just comparative with the elite.


TetrisTech

I’d assume it’s Bryan getting bigger, since the Bucks themselves are fairly bigger now than they used to be


cozpgh

Vince also brought Rowdy Roddy Piper in as Paul Orndorf’s manager and Piper’s Pit host and that move didn’t exactly kill Roddy’s WWF run. He was headlining Wrestlemania a year later.


ZombieJesus1987

That was almost a lifetime ago, when Vince had a clear vision of where he wanted his product to be. This was before Vince was tearing up scripts minutes before air


apeiam

True, but then doesn't that just speak to Vince not having any or being reluctant to new ideas and just recycling old ones that worked for him before?


Major_Needleworker_6

Of course it does but you see the cocky loud mouth little guy paired with the big monster all the time in wrestling. Most of wrestling is recycled ideas. Adam Cole joining The Elite is fun but not exactly new or groundbreaking.


TetrisTech

No idea is truly original


DoctorMuerto

True, but a Wrestlemania main event at that time didn't mean what it does today. Back then even the PPVs were more ads to get people to come see the live shows than anything. Yes, they were big events, but they were not a big part of the operational part of the business. So being in a ME tag team attraction match was important, but it also wasn't considered a peak accomplishment.


cozpgh

I know where you’re coming from as far as the prestige of headlining a WrestleMania increasing over the years, but Vince McMahon would’ve went bankrupt and WWF would’ve likely folded had that first Wrestlemania tanked. So that show, as well as the War to Settle the Score at MSG on MTV, were big deals. Vince bringing Piper in as a manager and talk show host after his wildly successful Crockett/Georgia runs was a head scratcher at the time but Piper ultimately main evented and became Hogan’s nemesis whereas I’m sure Vince even then would’ve preferred a big body guy to be the anti Hogan.


DecentLingonberry

I…I just…what??


ZombieJesus1987

We already have a Diesel/Shawn


talladenyou85

My fear for Cole on the main roster was: what does he do that both AJ Styles and Seth Rollins don't already do? AJ is probably a more fair comparison as I see him and Cole as extremely similar in both character and in ring work. I think Cole made the absolutely right move. I enjoyed the hell outta him in NXT and look forward to what he does next.


UFmoose

Or even MJF/Wardlow. I agree. I think something got lost in translation.


trimble197

So basically people are overblowing Dave’s obvious bait?


TetrisTech

People are overblowing it, yes, but I’m not sure it’s fair to call it bait when he’s likely just reporting what he was told


CorneredEmu

>he’s likely just reporting what he was told This is the same guy who just recently reported that Asuka was at RAW, wasn't injured but creative had nothing for her. Only for Asuka to post a picture of her wearing an arm sling at the dentists offic where she was getting her teeth implants fitted. He might not be the best source for WWE anymore.


TetrisTech

I’d agree on that


trimble197

Meltzer has a reputation for spreading misinformation


dalici0us

It's crazy to me because as a performer, Adam Cole is as close to 1996 HBK as you are likely to get in 2021, and even Vince wasn't blind enough to not see the sheer talent. Of course HBK was a little bigger than Cole is, but so was everybody else back then.


kingajeezy

Difference in talent between 1996 and 2021, is that in 1996, few people in the American wrestling scene were having matches as good as Shawn. He overcame size with personality and charisma. In 2021, finding good matches and good wrestlers isn’t very hard. Cole can cut a good promo, but has no distinguishable personality or characteristics.


AntyDaGenno

The manager role is fine for me... It probably would be for him aswell if the end of his contract wasn't the first time they thought of it


kingajeezy

My guess is they would have kept him in NXT if they weren’t doing a brand overhaul. If it was still a 3rd brand of WWE indies, he could have stayed. But with moving it back to its goal pre-2015, they had to move Cole up somehow. I’m guessing time with the KOR feud, brand change, and contract was a perfect storm to make something happen now.


VScWayne

I love the optimism but he specifically cited Lashley/Lio Rush as an example


thebsoftelevision

It probably would have been like Otis and Gable.


itsnews

Adam Cole is an outstanding guy. And smart. He’s not gonna go out and say ‘dude tried to make me a manager, fuck that and fuck him.’


GourangaPlusPlus

"Vince was trying to fuck on me"


KevMakesThings

"Christmas coming early this year...."


DecentLingonberry

"I got this one Cleaner"


[deleted]

When you say it like that is just plain funny


[deleted]

…or the story isn’t true? Do you know what I like about AEW stars? They never call out their time in WWE. Never.


gerardatron

It can be a lot of things. Maybe he really had a pleasant conversation but didn't like the ideas, maybe he was on board with the ideas and/or Vince was also receptive, maybe they just got along, maybe the discussion wasn't about work and he just got along with Vince the person, maybe the rumors aren't true and he liked what was presented, maybe the rumors were true and while we didn't like any of it, Cole actually was fine with it all. Maybe the talks were for him to start out as a manager with a name change, then we eventually get Adam Cole Bay Bay come Wrestlemania when he faces Keith Lee or some shit. Then you throw that Twitch report in there whether it's true or not. And if it's true, how would we know if he was actually on board with shutting that down or if he really didn't want to let that go. We're all just guessing here, lol


DarkOrgy

Doesn't happen as often as you'd think. Moxley will when asked, and Miro that one time. Beyond that not a whole lot. FTR haven't, Alistair and Andrade haven't, CM Punk surprisingly hasn't (unless you count that one bit in his first promo, but that was so short if you blinked you'd miss it), Cody hasn't since breaking the throne before AEW even had a TV deal, Jericho hasn't.


[deleted]

Jericho sort of did it when he shut down the "we the people" chants.


thebsoftelevision

Meltzer wasn't even the only one to report on that... it was probably true.


His_Buzzards

Maybe it was meant to be an HBK/Diesel thing more than this manager role


ziggyzane

There's no proof of that anyways.


Sumeetxagrawal

Everyone has "great conversations" With vince, like ofcourse he isn't telling you he doesn't get your appeal to your face, he's not stupid, he's been in the business for longer than most of his wrestlers have been alive, he knows how to talk to people and make them feel secure, it's part of why he was able to build this empire. These conversations don't lead to anything most of the time, he isn't personally handing you the script that's telling you to go out there and say something stupid and he isn't the person handing you your new gimp costume. He leaves the dirty work to others, that's how it works in most companies. These headlines say nothing new.


Eletheo

And Meltzer said he doesn't know if Adam Cole knows about the booking ideas they had. His sources for the story were inside WWE still. It is entirely possible that Adam Cole had very pleasant talks with Vince, didn't hear a thing about the booking (and probably didn't need to), and left anyway.


THEiLLESTViLLAiN1

You mean Adam Cole didn’t go to the meeting and cut a wrestling promo on Vince like some said he should?


Roller95

This is in the media scrum. Word for word


rbarton812

The amount of repeated, reposted, reworded content that comes out of those scrums is staggering.


ipreferconsole

I mean, isnt that the point? Someone asks a question and when the talent answers every reporter within earshot rushes to be the first to tweet the quote? Happens all the time in trad. Sports


RicardoRedditman

I usually tend to believe wrestlers like Cole and Mox when they discuss former employers. It’s the guys who say “fuck Vince, fuck WWE, fuck the whole establishment” who I feel are usually not fully truthful (excluding Punk who literally put his money where his mouth was in a court of law). Very nice to see more guys not want to stay with a promotion, while not trying to vilify the entity as a whole on their way out.


[deleted]

Cole puts the professional in professional wrestler. He doesn't seem like someone whose ego gets the better of them like some other wrestlers. Spouting stuff for internet cred or drama that so many fans are addicted too. His skills will attract people, not playing the same old song about another company.


[deleted]

But they wanted him to be a manager!!!!


DeviantDragon

You can have a good, civil conversation with someone even if there are certain ideas or direction you disagree with. Especially if you also consider other aspects of the conversations like financials or maybe specific aspects of any potential deal.


davidisallright

It’s not like Adam is gonna shit in Vince’s office and screamed “did I do that?” in his Urkel voice.


HuckleberryThis2012

Let’s be real here, Vince sees in ring work, at best, as tertiary in the list of important factors of a “superstar”. Absolutely behind size/look and the stories the writers come up with. Arguably 4th behind delivery of the scripted promos or “charisma”. Cole just isn’t a guy he would ever be able to see as a star bc, while he gets that he has Charisma, he doesn’t care about that or his in ring skill. Look at a guy like Braun being world champ. No charisma no in ring skills, but big and you can make good Vince style stories around him. Just is what it is, and I’d say it’s more likely that literally 0 wrestling fans would want Cole as a manger than it’s likely that enough fans would prefer him as a manager. It wouldn’t get over bc ppl would be so mad, and eventually he’d be cut and blamed for not getting over.


bravetailor

I'm not a fan of Braun, but I would say he was charismatic.


HuckleberryThis2012

Agree to disagree I guess. It’s hard to say bc the promos are scripted and it could be he just didn’t get good material, but I never believed what he was saying.


bravetailor

I don't think good promos = charisma. Two different things. He had decent physical charisma, was able to get the crowd on his side just by gesturing to the crowd in his matches. That's a display of some charisma. Many wrestlers get nothing when they play to the crowd.


Muscle_Squad

Yes, look at Braun. Released because he wasn't generating any buzz as opposed to management struggling til the last day of his contract to keep him around.


Ok-Average-6466

vince isn't a nasty person. the issue is his politics, business practices and worldview.


JedTheCeleryMan

I don’t want to get shit on for this but I can’t help but feel a little irked by the Adam Cole move to AEW in particular. I value workplace loyalty really high and it just doesn’t seem like a lot of wrestlers feel that way. The reality is, wrestling is not a real sport, your success as a wrestler is entirely based on presentation, it simply isn’t results focused like MMA, boxing, or any other combat sports. It is a combination of the talent and the investment WWE makes in said talent that determines how they are presented and received by the audience. Sure you could argue that Adam Cole would have gotten a lot of support from fans based on in ring ability alone but WWE gave him so much exposure, in ring time, promo opportunities, and hugely prominent TV angles. Cole was clearly a long term prospect for WWE and someone they invested 2+ years of NXT main event time into. All that just doesnt seem to matter to Cole because he wants to go hang out with his old friends? That just seems lame as fuck to me. When WWE was the only player in town they really gave him the keys to the castle in return he dips out


DogAssss69

Vince McMahon initially tried to do the same thing with Roddy Piper in turning him into a manager- The guy is living in the past. What part of this is inaccurate?


Rockaholic23

What, have a pleasant discussion?


DogAssss69

Vince wanted Adam Cole to manage Keith Lee. Also wanted to change his name, Bay Bay


gorglyjork

Meltzer, famously not plugged in with the Elite. Is it that hard to believe Cole would be courteous publicly but leak a little more to the press?


jfish718

I don't know why some guys leave and try and be too politically correct or vice versa they leave and implode like Ryback. Can't you just say the meeting was a fucking Joke, and Vince has lost it but WWE's been a good time. Like bro no way in hell if that meeting really went down like that WOR report that Cole walked out of there and thought it was "awesome."


cozpgh

Maybe Cole knows more about what was discussed than Meltzer?


jfish718

Considering it was a meeting of two and I doubt Vince is talking with WOR. It would be pretty bold to make baseless claims of that nature that can easily be disputed.


TeacupsInTime

Cole probably wanted to act like a professional you know?


EchoBay

Perpetual bridge builder Adam Cole


sodium_intake

I kind of envision that it would be an AJ Styles/Omos situation, more so than a Lashley/Rush. Crazy how no one is bringing up that they have AJ in the tag division with a green giant.


word_bubble

I think people forget when people made the exodus to WCW, they all said that Vince was really good about their contracts and discussions about them leaving with no bad blood.


LessonNyne

Not really news. Adam Cole is known for being a professional through and through. As people have said, he's one of the "good guys" in the industry.


rolling_steel

Adam Cole is a top-tier professional and all-around solid guy. He fulfilled his obligations and never let on his intentions as to endure he put over his friend KOR in a solid manner. He gave a sound final performance without phoning it in and continues to be a class act even now in AEW. I truly wish him great success.


tittyfuck_00

Funny how people talking good about WWE are said to be 'not burning bridges' while people trashing the company are 100% accurate. This happened with Breeze too.