Adam Cole credits Jay Briscoe for turning him into the superstar that he is today.
The former NXT triple-crown champion spoke about his relationship with Briscoe during a recent interview with the Wrestling Observer, where he opened up about how difficult it was when he found out about his death, and the lasting impact he had on the business. Highlights from the interview are below.
On how devastating it was for him when he found out about Jay Briscoe’s death:
It was devastating, it really was. Not just for me, but for so many of his friends. Jay, I mean this, whether you met Jay Briscoe for one day or you have known him for a decade like I have, even longer for other people. He just had this amazing ability to make you feel like you were the most important person in the room. He was so welcoming, so kind, so fun to be around. Unbelievable family man, husband, father, son, and brother. He seriously was one of the best people I’ve ever met in wrestling. To get that news, at first, it didn’t seem real. It was one of those things where I was like, ‘this has to be a mistake.’ Then the news started flooding in online. Then it kind of sunk in even more.
Says he wouldn’t be where he is today if not for Jay Briscoe:
I mean it when I say, the character that I am today, the situation that I’m in today, I guarantee I would not be where I’m at without him. He was the first real angle that I had in Ring of Honor in such an important period where I had just won the Ring of Honor Championship, and Jay was so adamant about making my character, and me as a performer come across like the biggest deal that he possibly could. There is not a selfish bone in Jay’s body.
Says he learned so much from Jay Briscoe and how much confidence he gained after working with him:
The dynamic, at the time, I was wearing suits with slick-backed hair and the watch, and Jay is on the farm cutting promos and screaming and yelling, the dynamic was so different in the best way possible. At that point in my career, there was a lot of pressure on me that I was putting on myself. I had just won the ROH Championship, I was the PWG Champion as well, and all this pressure started flooding in. You think about all the great champions there have been before you, and how you want to live up to this legacy of what Ring of Honor and PWG is, and Jay gave me so much confidence with how encouraging he was, how excited he was with everything. Jay believed in me being Ring of Honor Champion almost more than anybody. He was so adamant about making sure that I looked as good as possible, and I learned so much from Jay with how he put matches together, his promo intensity was so fascinating to watch. I love Jay Briscoe to death. My heart goes out to his entire family. He was a really special guy and I mean every word when I say I wouldn’t be where I’m at without him. I love Jay.
(H/T and transcribed by Fightful)
