Last month, WrestlingNews.co reported on plans to repackage Keith Lee as a heel on the main roster.
On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer added more details to the story and the plans included Adem Cole. The idea was that Cole would have his name changed because they already have a Cole (Michael Cole) on their main roster TV.
Meltzer said, “They were going to bring him up. The idea was to turn Keith Lee heel and have Adam Cole be his manager [and] probably with a different name because of the last name Cole…with the idea kind of like a Lio Rush-Bobby Lashley thing where you have this little guy who is a big talker and he hides behind this big massive African American guy, that type of a thing. That was the dynamic that they were looking for him, more as a manager than as a wrestler.”
Meltzer also said that this was not an idea that creative came up with and it was more from Vince McMahon or Bruce Prichard. “One person told me that it was Bruce [Prichard’s] idea and another person told me that it was Vince’s,” Meltzer said.
Based on that, it’s clear that Cole made the right decision to leave WWE. In AEW, Cole is already being positioned as a big player in the company as part of The Elite. He will be wrestling Frankie Kazarian on next week’s AEW Dynamite.
Lee has been working on Main Event in recent weeks as the company prepares to reintroduce him to fans on TV.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Wrestling Observer Radio with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription. A WrestlingObserver.com subscription includes the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and daily audio shows in addition to thousands of hours of archived audio shows.
