Adam Cole on His Takeover New York Match With Johnny Gargano: “It’s Going to Be Special”

Adam Cole recently spoke to ESPN about his upcoming NXT Takeover: New York match against Johnny Gargano. The bout will be contested for the vacant NXT Championship, which was most recently held by Tommaso Ciampa.

Cole spoke about being prepared for this match, which will likely be the biggest of his pro wrestling career.

“If I had to pick one word to describe how I’m feeling, it’s ready,” Cole told ESPN. “I made my debut at TakeOver Brooklyn. I joined forces with Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish, we formed the greatest faction in NXT history — the Undisputed Era — and I held the NXT championship above my head. And pretty much since then, I have not been in the forefront of the NXT championship picture. It’s something I feel like I’ve been ready for since I got here,” Cole continued, “and finally getting that opportunity on the biggest stage in NXT history, it’s going to be special.”

Cole also talked about the Fatal 5-Way match that he won to get the title shot with Gargano. That match saw Adam, Ricochet, Aleister Black, Matt Riddle and The Velveteen Dream deliver an instant classic. The Undisputed Era leader commented on the level of talent currently in NXT, which continues to impress fans on every level.

“It’s incredible how much talent NXT currently has, and that’s only continuing to grow as more and more guys are finding themselves or ending up here,” Cole continued. “No matter what situation you’re put in, you always get exciting, interesting, compelling main-event matches. It’s definitely made me better in every way, because when you’re in situations where you’re competing against guys at the level of the talent on the NXT roster, you can’t help but improve. We all bring the absolute best out of one another, and I think that’s a big reason TakeOver shows are so successful, [and]NXT as a brand as a whole is so successful, because the audience sees that.”

Takeover: New York happens on April 5, two nights before WWE’s biggest event of the year, WrestleMania 35. While the anticipation over Mania is always huge, the fact is that the Takeover show is typically just as big. Many fans believe that the black and gold brand outshines its main roster heavyweight more often than not.