How Good Was Adam Cole's NXT Title Reign? (2019-2020)

For 4 years Adam Cole was one of NXT's biggest and brightest stars. He had fantastic showings at NXT takeover and left a lasting impression on the black and gold brand. His peak came during his NXT championship reign which is recognized by the company as 403 days in this video we take a look back at possibly the greatest NXT champion up until this point.
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This video is created with the purpose to educate and review works within professional wrestling. Images have been used to assist with the purposes outlined. Images are used with section 107 of the copyright act of 1987 in mind. This section states allowance is made for fair use for purposes such as criticism, comment, reporting, teaching, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statutes that might otherwise be infringing.

[@SuperkickStudios]

who's the best NXT champion of all time?

[@DownriverMonsters]

Can you do more booked videos

[@ramitouati1325]

bron brakker

[@Kalel2.0]

Longest Champion:Adam Cole Underrated Champion:Tomasso Ciampa Best Story Champions:Sami Zayn and Johnny Gargano Best Champion:Finn Balor

[@ericguerrero7565]

Definitely Finn Balor

[@ningu7]

@@ramitouati1325 you're crazy

[@alec2000]

Ah yes. Definitely the greatest NXT Champion in my opinion. While it was depressing to see Ciampa’s reign end suddenly, with him being gone for a bit, Cole’s reign truly delivered SO many classics with so many big names, he gave us some of the best promos ever, and put his heart and soul into everything and that is why I will forever love Adam Cole. Black and Gold NXT will forever be the best for me and my brother. 😌🖤💛

[@boyankovachev7982]

I wanna say that I got back into wrestling because of AEW, and not even its beginning, but a year after that. I'm saying this, cuz I was told to check NXT soon after that, and I didn't do it then, which I regret. When I finally decided to check NXT out, it took me about a year to do so. Then I understood why people praised it so much. I love AEW, but I feel incredibly dumb for not checking NXT as soon as I got back into wrestling, or even before that. It could have been the thing that would have brought me back into wrestling. Yes, I've watched a lot of the best matches of the Black and Gold, but would have loved to be able to see things happening irl. And I may prefer AEW, but since Paul took over WWE's creative, I've been enjoying it just as much as, if not more than AEW at some points, especially Sami Zane and the Bloodline storyline. And I'm pretty sad that Vince once again has a say in creative because Paul was doing brilliantly on his own. One love ❤️ And here is to Vince retiring for real, which is currently the only way he could make the product better.

[@paulojr5565]

I agree 100%

[@kingofnewyork8092]

😬 Greatest is a bit of a stretch.

[@barrymccockiner773]

Finn Bálor

[@rddoom1566]

@@barrymccockiner773 yeap, its Finn. He's the reason I started to watch NXT regularly.

[@andraiy644]

Adam Cole was a true gem in NXT. His mic work and matches especially with Gargano defined how great he is. The NXT wrestler of all time imo.

[@salimnetwork888]

Nxt from 2017 to 2019 was my favourite era of wrestling, I admired that roster and it kept me company through difficult times, forever thankful I got lucky to witness such era , black and gold forever

[@shawnmichaels568]

Adam cole was simply top 5 NXT wrestlers, and was the greatest NXT champion alongside chiampa. There are a lot countless classic adam cole matches that i can rewatch over and over again.

[@SuperkickStudios]

cole was a top 5 wrestler in general at this time

[@beauty4ashes2]

Agreed

[@nanakwarteng2387]

Adam Cole was genuinely the reason I started watching wrestling again

[@smolgrizzly4608]

Same

[@mathiasgarelik]

2019 Adam Cole was gold

[@SuperkickStudios]

holding gold for the black and gold

[@mycahjofficial]

*Adam Cole, Tommasso Ciampa and Finn Bálor are without question the top 3 greatest NXT champions*

[@ShadowWolfe]

That "Tampa Bay..... Bay" line was fantastic

[@thedefeatedpurpose9772]

I've never seen a wrestling product with greater consistency than NXT from like 2016 up to the pandemic in 2020. Takeovers were the best thing in the bussiness.

[@juanoro-barcenas79495]

Adam Cole is one of my favorites. He was the reason I bought an Undisputed Era shirt in 2019 since he was the one carrying NXT in the beginning of the Wednesday Night Wars. His work in Ring of Honor is also outstanding. Can't wait to play as him in AEW Fight Forever.

[@nic8577]

Dude everything he’s done has been top tier. He’s by far one of the best wrestlers in the world right now. you could argue he’s the best all around between what he does in ring and how good he is on the mic. i hope he gets some love in aew, he should take it from mjf. I do see him going back to wwe possibly though now that HHH is booking and In charge. Either way this guy needs to be booked as a main event talent

[@DeidaraOfTheAkatsuki]

We need a full history of the Undisputed Era

[@pvsanford4955]

Seeing Cole coming back at Dynamite makes me remember how much WWE drop the ball with not only Cole, but the Undisputed Era I loved the Kyle vs Cole matches but when Cole lost his title, it was time to call them up to them main roster, instead they wasted them in NXT, where they had nothing to do there anymore until they got unhappy and their contracts ran up If Triple H was charge, this man would be world champion by now

[@loganwolverine1863]

I was lucky enough to start watching NXT just before Adam Cole began his NXT Championship Reign. And I witnessed greatness. Black and Gold NXT forever in my heart. Such underrated stuff.

[@shawnmichaels568]

Adam cole was arguebly the best NXT champion of all time, All his matches were classic.

[@Kalel2.0]

I personally loved the Reign only thing I hated sometimes was Fish,Strong and O Reilly Interrupting but the booking was fantastic HHH made Cole look like a star and his matches were awesome and Cole in some cases showed he could do without the rest of UE what made the Reign so good was it never grew stale

[@chillomega6745]

Adam Cole, Ciampa, and Balor are my Top 3 Favorite NXT Champions Of All Time

[@therealtruevigil]

adam cole and the UE def were my favorite era of nxt and i knew i’d be pretty sad when they disbanded. all their matches singles or tag delivered. They were the only other faction besides the bloodline that made me truly invested. I used to throw up the UE sign everyday 💀. They were the reason i fell in love with pro wrestling not just sports entertainment.

[@matthennessy146]

As great as Cole is to me when I think of black & gold NXT I think of Mr Takeover himself Johnny Gargano. IMO he was the heart & soul of black & gold NXT

[@theartistformallyknownasle4490]

I still upset we never got Brock Lesnar Vs Bray Wyatt Vs Adam Cole at Survivor Series 2019

[@DIO.355]

Followed Adam Cole from his debut in NXT and it was an amazing run

[@daredevil95178]

Adam Cole is simply one of the best professional wrestlers in the world right now. He's great under mic, he is charismatic, great in ring skills. He's amazing. Already the luckiest person in the world who's dating DMD.

[@djpiercejp715]

I miss the black and gold era sooo much

[@calebdodoo9965]

The dave meltzer creaming his pants literally made me laugh 😂😂😂

[@racciworldwrestling]

Cole was my favorite thing about WWE for the few years he was there 🔥didn’t even care about nxt until his debut

[@slayerBO2EPC]

Adam Cole's reign as NXT champion was one of the best singles champ runs in modern pro wrestling (and arguably the best nxt champ up there with Finn and Ciampa). Sucks to see how Tony Khan as failed to capitalize on having Adam Cole in AEW

[@wallybescotty]

thanks for the tampa bay...bay pun, i was waiting for one lol

[@calebdodoo9965]

Buh man 2019 Adam Cole was ruthless🔥🔥🔥

[@thundercloud280_]

I also think that Velveteen Dream was originally supposed to beat Adam Cole. It felt like it was supposed to be his time, but I believe Covid and especially the Velveteen Dream allegations stopped everything.

[@darieonFGC]

He was my favorite wrestler during this run🔥💯

[@BAM_LMAO]

Cole was my favourite nxt champion his appearances on raw and smackdown made me a fan🔥🔥🔥

[@Dare1C]

Very good. Adam Cole is outstanding

[@sandywest4977]

That's my boy Bay Bay! Carmelo you're up next😎😎

[@justinx.8949]

My hot take is that NXT was the pinnacle of Adam Cole's career, and during the global low point for wrestling that was 2019-2020, his NXT Championship run was one of the few things that was genuinely enjoyable every week. At that time we had the godawful Rollins/Fiend feud, IMPACT was...being IMPACT, AEW was still trying to find itself and for some reason NJPW had decided to make EVIL a main eventer, but down on NXT? Adam Cole was cooking with fire every damn week.

[@manucervantes2980]

NXT en general tenía un roster increíble en 2019 - 2020 pero Cole fue realmente la cara. El mejor campeón de NXT de todos los tiempos

[@mohamedboujnah4163]

i miss those days this NXT era makes me remembre why i love wrestling after i quit it when roman got overpushed in 2015 / 2016

[@cole6843]

His AEW run has been pretty good! It hasn't lived up to his NXT run yet though.

[@SuperkickStudios]

injuries unfortunately, something also felt like a miss for a bit too... cant really put my finger on it.

[@Kingk-One.]

The black and gold era was peak nxt.The roster and the matches were 🔥

[@ralfsstuff]

I don't think I've ever watched a single Adam Cole match on NXT. This must've been right around the time when I stopped watching wrestling for a bit.

[@JAN2MARS]

His recent injuries aside, I often find myself wondering what an Adam Cole main roster run would look like, ESPECIALLY NOW in a Triple H creative run WWE. You’d have to assume he’d have a rocket strapped to his back and a Wrestlemania main event would’ve been in play.

[@DownriverMonsters]

Love your vids do more BOOKED

[@SuperkickStudios]

i will appreciate the support

[@mgtwrestling123]

When I got the notification I immediately clicked on it😉

[@SuperkickStudios]

thank you!

[@mgtwrestling123]

@@SuperkickStudios took you long enough 😂

[@tjyt100]

When this guy hits 50 million it will be fun to say u were a og

[@jjLeakee_]

Liked for bittersweet poetry instrumental

[@SpiderGang56]

Adam cole was the black and gold nxt’s biggest star through his promos and incredible wrestling ability! I will never forget him in NXT and is only going to get better in AEW

[@bhaskarkakati]

Adam Cole Bay Bay 🙌

[@earlysmith4975]

It was great to me, next do how good was bayley's 380 day title reign (2019-2020)

[@jimmyju76]

it's so funny seeing Cole from NXT to the guy from DaParty lol

[@TheDonkeyFLOPPER]

Adam was the best NXT champion ever. Absolute banger after banger the undisputed era should have taken over the main roster. Hate that we'll never get to see it.

[@dispater101]

While i'm hoping that he finally gets his AEW stint running smoothly, i also dont think he could top or even come close to his NXT run..that swagger, presentation and the clear backing of Hunter and HBK made NXT Adam Cole extra special imo

[@thusocharlesbojosi9619]

That 2 out of 3 falls match was the first NXT anything i have seen in my life and i have been a fan ever since. Goes to show a good wrestling match is how its executed (i didnt know any of them) rather than the most famous wrestlers

[@shlomi41502]

in my opinion NXT was great up to Halloween Havoc 2021, not Portland. The black & gold era didn't lose its magic, 2.0 did. Keith Lee winning both belts was amazing to watch, Karrion Kross was amazing to watch, Finn Balor was amazing to watch. Even the parking lot brawl with Velveteen Dream was nothing short of greatness.

[@coopernut]

I started watching NXT when the Aelister Black storyline was happening, but I think 2018 is the PRIME of NXT and I miss it so f'n much. I never missed an episode then. I LOVED it. And when I see NXT now I get sooooo depressed. I don't even care about it, which I hate. NXT was doing so much better than Raw and Smackdown at it's peak. But I don't care about the people in NXT now. They are just not interesting or as "cool". It will never be the same :( I miss the real NXT

[@SuperkickStudios]

2018 was a great year for NXT takeover new orleans was a blast

[@uhWizey]

This was the era that carried Wrestling in that period. AEW did good, but NXT (correct me if I'm wrong) had the most popularity. NXT legitimately kept WWE alive back then.

[@thehoshangkoul]

NXT Adam Cole was an absolute killer.

[@gh0stamv]

The greatest title run in the modern era. Not just the greatest NXT champion but the greatest champion in general. This man was an absolute workhorse.

[@gwfanimations]

The episode of smackdown with Daniel Bryan vs cole I was there and it was wild

[@cole6843]

Adam Cole is awesome

[@riusaki]

DOUBLE CLOTHESLINE!

[@b0nkert0ns7]

I always prefer the heel champs more than the babyfaces. Balor had a long one but there wasn't much there for me outside of some really good matches. The feud with Joe was good but nothing that compared to Cole vs Gargano, for example. Same with Black. I actually loved Neville's reign, how he went from true babyface to borderline heel, with this "no one can beat me" attitude right before he lost to Zayn. Ciampa's reign could have rivaled Cole's IMO if it didn't end the way it did. Cole just delivered in every aspect though. He was on another level on the mic compared to the rest of the roster and his matches consistently stole the show(a lot of that was because of Gargano, but he still proved he was a great worker against other wrestlers). For a year+ reign it never really felt stale or boring. I think my top-5 reigns are probably 1. Cole, 2. Ciampa, 3. Neville, 4. Andrade, 5. KO Still crazy to me that Cole could have a "Hall of Fame" quality WWE career at this point without ever graduating from NXT. He was THAT good. Hopefully we get to see him back again at some point now that Triple H is running things. I need to hear that theme again.

[@kylehogan7403]

Peak NXT

[@walterjuellh1841]

He gotta be my favourite wrestler ever, the undisputed era is my fav faction ever. Sounds weird maybe but I use to watch everything I could find bout em and they where just my ovr fav wrestlers

[@sebastiansalinas3915]

Man i wish Adam cole stayed in wwe just imagine the dream feuds we could have had Adam cole vs seth Rollins Adam cole vs cody rhodes Adam cole vs John cena Adam cole vs Kevin owens (2023) Adam cole vs shinsuke nakamura Adam cole vs AJ Styles Adam cole vs Edge Adam cole vs Drew Mcintyre Adam cole vs Randy Orton Adam cole vs rey mysterio Adam cole vs sami Zayn Adam cole vs bray wyatt Adam cole vs roman reigns

[@alijahcordova8359]

Cole had a unforgettable championship reign in my opinion definitely one that shocked the system

[@DemonArshan]

Do the history Imperium and The Ring General ! as well as Gunthers NXT U.K run.

[@kadharefinley224]

A lot of people say that Finn Balor is the greatest NXT Champion of all time. But I think Adam Cole is the greatest because he put on classic matches with Johnny Gargano, Matt Riddle and Tommaso Ciampa until he lost it to Keith Lee. He elevated the NXT Championship

[@notshadou_yt]

my giants lost tonight so I can come watch this vid and it makes it better thank u superkickstudios

[@SuperkickStudios]

hope you enjoy, at least your team made the playoffs unlike mine

[@notshadou_yt]

@@SuperkickStudios it was great vid like always u never disappoint hy we made it past the first round im glad we exceeded expectations

[@BigG360]

Adam Cole Finn Balor Tommaso Ciampa three guys that the best NXT Champions of All time.But Adam Cole was the best because he was the workhorse of NXT and he could have never had a bad match with anyone and he was the best guy with the title.

[@bsylla-0413]

Favorite wrestler bay bay

[@bsylla-0413]

And yeah takeover Portland 2020 was the last best takeover

[@RomaroBrandon]

It was a good title reign that should have ended differently. I'm not saying Keith Lee shouldn't have been NXT champion, it's just that it would have been better if Karrion Kross took the title off Adam Cole in a fatal five way that included Keith Lee, Finn Balor, and Johnny Gargano. It could have even been an elimination match or championship scramble.

[@wrestlingisfire5319]

Honestly I think Adam Cole is the best Wrestler today and deserves to have a AEW World title run

[@koohengamez]

What editing software do you use

[@Rand0mContnt]

Don’t get me wrong I love Adam Cole in AEW, but man there’s a part of me that wants him to return to WWE with Triple HHH in charge, give us that main roster run he deserved but never got.

[@yanvazquez4758]

Good reining champ

[@dylanbryant3547]

The old days of nxt

[@turtletcp1598]

Let's go

[@beauty4ashes2]

Adam Cole in opinion is one of the best nxt champions

[@willlamoureux1690]

A CLASSIC nxt title reign.

[@SuperkickStudios]

W

[@Aydennn.]

imagine the undisputed era vs bloodline

[@TheJspan]

He is definitely on NXT's mountain rushmore

[@luissantiago3928]

The best NXT champion overall and is the only one to reach a year let alone 400 days ending it at 403 days

[@hhh417]

In my opinion the best NXT World Champion of all time

[@ZIGAG1999]

here's a cool video idea. "What would NXT Black and Gold look like today" basically what if vince didn't kill off nxt black and gold and release everyone from triple h's nxt regime, including the wrestlers.

[@SuperkickStudios]

good suggestion ill keep it under considerations, appreciate that

[@divyanshusingh2285]

Bro.. Just an update....how u doing?& Today booked episode coming or u still working on it?

[@anikvy]

Adam Cole is the greatest NXT superstar of all time imo

[@joseangelom.villanueva1889]

can't say his name without *BAY BAY!!!*

[@KingNars999]

Adam Cole definitely imo is the best NXT Champion of all time

[@eliotember6050]

His right

[@_Lonelychild]

No Doubt About It Adam Cole Is The Greatest NXT Champion Of All Time BAY BAY 🐐

[@Rene-ij1ut]

If people talk about NXT's best superstar ever, Adam Cole's easily really up there

[@SuperkickStudios]

gotta agree with that

[@F1RST_BLUD1]

Is he still in WWE since I don't see him on the main 2 weekly TV shows

[@kev_greezy124]

I think Adam Cold was greatest NXT Tittle Regin all time and best NXT Champion of all time.

[@dylanthebroadcaster]

I was at NXT takeover New York! Easily the best show I’ve ever been too

[@ehhhhwassupdoc]

Adam Michaels. I really thought this guy was the 2nd coming of Jesus during this reign. Genuine superstar.

[@SuperkickStudios]

he was insane... makes sense that HBK is his idol

[@ehhhhwassupdoc]

@@SuperkickStudios I wonder how he’d be today w H in Charge. Sheeeesh.

[@SuperkickStudios]

@@ehhhhwassupdoc probably on his way to being one of WWE's top guys. HHH loved him.

[@DoubleSuperkick]

Adam Cole is my pick for the best NXT champion, the only other person I think could be number one is Finn Balors second reign

[@tipsterdiogo]

Adam Cole was the best nxt champion ever, he never deserced to lose the unification match to Keith Lee

[@tipsterdiogo]

Deserved *

[@tommyjohnson1066]

Funny how Cole and Danielson are in the same company again

[@CameraX_FNAF]

Adam Cole's reign was the last thing we got to see from him before he jumped ship

[@schwiftywizard]

FALSE! Feud with Pat Feud with Finn Feud with Kyle

[@frostydiscord224]

Video idea how good was Seth Rollins 2nd intercontinental championship run

[@emmanuelalexander5694]

Too 5 NXT champions of all time in my opinion: 1. Adam Cole 2. Finn Balor 3. Tommaso Ciampa 4. Samoa Joe 5. Johnny Gargano

[@pottsie_era]

Kevin Owens wants to talk to you