Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Champion Adam Cole recently spoke with CBS New York about his career. During the interview, Cole was asked about TV ratings going down for wrestling TV shows and if the decrease in viewership is because the shows are also made available online
“I think so. I think that the quicker we accept that’s the route we’re going, the better it will be for everybody as far as the wrestling industry goes.Don’t get me wrong… there’s nothing cooler than saying, “Hey friends or parents … you can watch me on television at this time on this channel.” People from our generation get very excited because that’s what we know our entertainment platform as — television. However, more and more the younger generation is always on their iPads, they’re always on the Internet, they’re always on YouTube, they’re always on websites. They’re watching everything from either their phones, laptops or iPads. The generation underneath us really watches their entertainment and shows on the Internet. The Internet as a platform I think is really fantastic. Promotions who didn’t have a chance to showcase themselves (can now do that) on a broader platform. More and more people are getting to check out these unknown promotions and popular promotions like Ring of Honor have more traffic on the Internet. I think it’s great. It’s the wrestling industry moving forward and evolving like it always has. That’s the reason pro wrestling has stayed alive and relevant for so many years.”
While Cole is the top guy in ROH, WWE is the biggest promotion in the world, and most wrestlers have always dreamed about joining the company. Cole believes that it is an exciting time on the independent scene. Cole stated that he is just going to focus on being ROH Champion and working in New Japan Pro Wrestling for now.
“I know this is going to be a rather generic answer, but it’s the truth, and it’s really how I feel. Pretty early in my career I made the decision to focus on the task at hand. Very early on I used to obsess with, “Oh man I gotta get to WWE. I gotta do everything I can to get to WWE because they’re number one, and they’re the best.” It goes without saying that WWE is the largest professional wrestling company in the world. But there are a lot of other companies — a lot of other ways to make an impact. And I have the chance right now as a two-time ROH champion to make this title run as good as I can. I’m about to start my career in New Japan Pro Wrestling. I have a lot of roadblocks and a lot of things I have to accomplish that are set in front of me right now. If you were to ask me if I ever want a WrestleMania moment someday, I’d be lying to you if I said I didn’t want a WrestleMania moment. That is in my sight line and something that I’ve thought about quite a bit. But right now I’m focused on growing with Ring of Honor and making it as big as it can be. I’m focused on trying to become a star over in Japan. The coolest part of professional wrestling right now is that any one of your favorites… they can wind up wherever. You see guys in WWE who are leaving to come and work the independent schedule, the ROH schedule, the PWG schedule. And then you see all of your independent favorites ending up in WWE. This is the closest thing to me that we’ve had since the Attitude Era with guys popping up in different promotions. It’s an exciting time for the wrestlers, it’s an exciting time for the wrestling fan, and I’m just going to enjoy the ride.”
Cole also talked about being ROH Champion and more. You can read the entire interview here.
