The NXT champion sat down with talkSPORT's Pro Wrestling show and we talked all things wrestling with the Undisputed Era leader, BAY BAY!

Adam Cole finally reached the summit in NXT when he became the NXT champion at the climax of NXT TakeOver 25.

The leader of the Undisputed Era quickly became one of the most popular forces in the Yellow Brand after his debut back in 2017, despite the villainous ways of the four-man faction.

2 Adam Cole made a shocking debut at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III back in 2017

The 29-year-old hopped over to the UK to perform at NXT UK’s shows during Download Festival last weekend and talkSPORT’s Pro Wrestling Show caught up with the champ to discuss a wide variety of topics.

The genesis of ‘Bay Bay!’

So, truth be told, I saw Joey Matthews – or Joey Mercury in WWE – he was wrestling an independent show in Maryland for MCW. He was beating a guy up and he just kept turning to the camera and going ‘Joey Matthews!’ and then he’d go back to him and then he’d go ‘Joey Matthews!’ over and over again and I was like oh that’s brilliant. For people that don’t know his name, everyone is going to remember it by the end. So I decided to add ‘baby’ to it and I used to say it like baby, and then it got more and more obnoxious and turned into B-A-Y, B-A-Y. The first six or seven years I did it, no one would do it, they would boo me, they hated it. Then, for some reason, somewhere along the line, they decided they wanted to do it with me.

🗣️ "It's so silly, in the BEST way"@AdamColePro on "BAY BAY" being so over with the @WWENXT & @NXTUK universe, and how he first came up with it. Hear the full interview on our show later this week – https://t.co/w2dIgrB143@WWEUK @DownloadFest #NXTUKDownload pic.twitter.com/yI7CLgiB5v — The Pro Wrestling Show (@ProWrestleShow) June 17, 2019

Should WWE have more factions?

Absolutely. I think, especially now, just seeing how attached audience members get to factions, they love when a group of guys are together and you can tell the camaraderie is there, the fun is there and they just love it. I’ve been in factions my whole career. I was in The Kingdom in Ring of Honor, Bullet Club in New Japan and now Undisputed Era and it’s so much fun creatively for a performer, to be able to play off the guys in your group. You don’t want too many, because then it loses its specialness. But, definitely, factions in wrestling can be a very beneficial thing.

On NXT TakeOvers being the best shows in wrestling today

First of all, I absolutely agree with you [that TakeOvers are the best shows in the world] and that’s not just because I work for NXT, I do think from top to bottom, bell to bell, NXT is the best wrestling show on the planet right now. I think it’s a lot of factors as to why it’s clicking so well. First and foremost, it’s the attachment the fans have to NXT. Again, they’re just as rowdy as any rowdy wrestling fanbase there is, they make a ton of noise, they’re on fire for two-and-half, three hours and more importantly, they’re so supportive of NXT that they have their minds made up before the show even starts that it’s going to be awesome. And you can feel that. So when they go in with that attitude of ‘this is going to be great’ it just puts that vibe out in the room and then, of course, the group of wrestlers, we go out and just try to have the absolute best match that we possibly can.

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All of us who are wrestling against each other and with each other, we’ve known each other for a really, really long time, we all think about wrestling the exact same way, we all have that mentality of ‘let’s have the absolute best match that we can’ and I think it’s just a combination of all of those things and all the stars aligning that makes TakeOver so special. Then Triple H and Shawn Michaels, that’s probably the most important factor. Two of the greatest to ever do it passing down knowledge, letting us try things with trial and error. Just being involved in helping NXT and us as individuals progress, learn and grow as everything moves forward.

Preferring to stay with Undisputed Era

100 percent. And I know that Roddy [Strong], Bobby [Fisk] and Kyle [O’Reilly] feel the exact same way. I know in wrestling there comes a time where most likely, factions or groups of people are likely going to split, but, we have so much left to do, I feel. I’m having a blast, all three of those guys are my absolute best friends. I feel like what we have is really special and I feel like a lot of fans feel that way too, so there’s just so much left on the table to do and if it were up to me, the Undisputed Era never breaks up.

"If it was up to me, Undisputed Era would never break up"@AdamColePro tells us he would "100%" want to debut with UE if/when they go to Raw or Smackdown, and discusses the importance of factions. @WWEUK @talkSPORT Subscribe to hear the full interview – https://t.co/PRV24Gl4uk pic.twitter.com/LD9hCO3QcB — The Pro Wrestling Show (@ProWrestleShow) June 16, 2019

On why fans have got invested with NXT

I think what’s going to keep us going is now the attachment to the characters. As much as I hated it, I think Johnny Gargano winning the NXT Championship in New York was so special because the fans had followed his journey for that long. So of course, they know they’re going to get really exciting, innovative, hard-hitting, just great pro wrestling, but I think what keeps them invested is the weekly television show or the attachment to the individual characters being thrown into different siutations.

How much control NXT stars have over their matches

One of the coolest things about NXT is we have a ton of creative liberties to come up with the story and the vision we have for the match. Of course, there’s input and advice given and there’s suggestions or, you know ‘we need something this way’ but generally speaking, myself and Gargano, we come up with that match [two-out-of-three falls]. We decide ‘hey, let’s do this’ and then if we’re stumped on a little area then someone will chime in and come up with another way to take another cool dip or make the match or the story more exciting. We do have a lot of freedom, which is great.

On any trepidation in the NXT locker room with moving up to the main roster

It’s tough to word it. I believe and I know a lot of the guys there in NXT do to, we absolutely love it. We’re not thinking ‘gosh, I can’t wait to get to the main roster’. We’re enjoying what we are doing, the stories we are telling. But, of course, a lot of us eventually as well want to take the step to Raw or SmackDown, but the big thing is I don’t look at it as you’re moving up or you’re upgrading, it’s just another brand you’re going to. That’s how strongly me, Johnny [Gargano], Ciampa and everyone else feels about NXT.

WWE 2 Adam Cole won the NXT title at TakeOver 25

A lot of our guys, and don’t get me wrong, you could put them on any brand and they’d be successful, but NXT fans are definitely – they’re starting to morph and become one – but they are a little different than the Raw and SmackDown fans. Some characters or guys may work better on other brands.

On Dr. Britt Baker’s performance at AEW’s Double or Nothing

So proud of her. Britt, and she’s going to kill me, but I think she’s been wrestling close to four years now, and she works so incredibly hard. At anything she does – I mean she’s a doctor! So she’s a dentist, then she wrestles on the weekends, so for her to get this cool opportunity and wrestle on a cool stage like that was really a lot of fun for me – I’m so proud of her.

On future NXT plans

There’s so many talented guys. To wrestle the Velveteen Dream in a big featured match, to wrestle Matt Riddle on a TakeOver, to wrestle Pete Dunne, I mean, there’s so many guys you could list. But my goal for NXT is I’ve got the NXT Championship, now we need to get Roderick Strong the North American Championship, Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly the Tag Team Championships so we can for sure go down as the greatest faction in NXT history. We need it [that Evolution at Armageddon 2003 moment].