Was Adam Cole supposed to be Keith Lee's manager in WWE ?
AEW stars Adam Cole and Keith Lee find themselves in the same wrestling company. The last time these two worked for the same brand was in WWE NXT.
Adam Cole is widely regarded as the best NXT champion in history, and Keith Lee was the man to dethrone him. Both of them were successful in Triple H's NXT, but WWE had other ideas when it came to their promotion on the main roster.
The promotion reportedly had plans to make Adam Cole the manager of the Limitless One. Per Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Vince McMahon wanted a pairing similar to Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush and wanted Lee to be a heel:
Dave: The idea was to turn Keith Lee heel and have Adam Cole be his manager, probably with a new name (So you don't have 2 Coles). Described as a Lio Rush/Lashley dynamic where Cole is the little guy hiding behind the big guy.
When Bryan ponders why this is all creative could come up with for Cole, Dave says this wasn't creative. One source told him it was Vince's idea, another told him it was Prichard's.
You can check the entire thread here.
This never came to fruition as Cole left the company once his contract expired and made his AEW debut at All Out in 2021. On the other hand, Lee moved to the main roster and was renamed Keith "Bearcat" Lee. However, he was soon released from his contract.
Welcome to the team…
@AdamColePro is #AllElite https://t.co/fJMs2kFYqi
If WWE had gone through with their plan, Cole and Lee would have been another addition to the long line of NXT call ups who were hindered by main roster management in achieving their full potential.
The "Limitless" Keith Lee is now All Elite
AEW President Tony Khan promised us that a free agent would make his debut this week on Dynamite. He proclaimed that it would be a surprise worth all the hype, and he was right on the money.
AEW secured the signing of former NXT and North American champion Keith Lee. Upon his debut, he defeated Isiah Kassidy and secured a spot in the Face of the Revolution ladder match.
It’s official!!!
@RealKeithLee is ALL ELITE!!!
#AEWDynamite on @TBSNetwork https://t.co/uzG74YKCHF
Lee put up an awe-inspiring performance on debut against Kassidy and even fought off Mark Quen when the latter tried to get involved. His acquisition puts a lot of dream matches on the cards, such as clashes against Wardlow, Lance Archer, and Will Hobbs.
What would you like to see be Keith Lee's first feud in AEW? Let us know in the comments section.