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| BAYBAY Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein |
Cole will join fellow former ROH wrestlers Kyle O'Reilly, Bobby Fish, Lio Rush, and Donovan Dijak in NXT/developmental. O'Reilly and Fish have already both debuted, losing their first matches against Aleister Black. Rush and Dijak are just finishing up their indie dates. The folks over at Pro Wrestling Spyware, which I don't link here because I don't hate your computers, are reporting that most if not all of those names will debut in a ROH-centric stable, which would be funny for several reasons, not the least of which being that ROH is the reason why most of them, or at least Cole and reDRagon, had to wait this long to sign. Sinclair Broadcast Group filed injunctions to keep them from signing back in January after their contracts expired. It seems those legal battles are over now.
Cole seems tailor made for WWE, especially now that the company has shifted focus from all-homegrown, all-the-time to giving indie guys not only spotlight, but seeming preference. He seemed to be a perfect WWE guy from when he debuted in EVOLVE/Dragon Gate USA, and he cultivated a following with high dramatics as well as a resumé of great matches. More than anyone else except for perhaps Dijak, he's going to be a star in the company, or at least should be. After seeing Finn Bálor lose clean to Bray Wyatt on RAW last night so WWE could limply set up the appearance of THE DEMON a week in advance of SummerSlam, I'm not so sure about anyone anymore. Still, Cole deserves to make that money. I expect he'll make some kind of appearance at Takeover: Brooklyn III, whether in the crowd as is the custom or in an active role.