Former NXT North American Champion Adam Cole was on E&C's Pod Of Awesomeness. The NXT star mostly talked about how he developed his promo skills, stating that he developed that more than his in-ring skills. Cole then lists the wrestlers that he studied in order to develop his form on the mic:
"Actually, I think I have a knack or an understanding of promos quicker than I picked up the in-ring stuff." Cole stated, "like, I always felt somewhat comfortable talking. I grew up watching guys like I loved Mick Foley's ECW promos; I loved CM Punk's promos; there's this guy, Eddie Kingston, he was just a fantastic talker, so I used to study and watch him. I mean, gosh, there's just such a big list of guys who I used to study. I used to watch promos as much as I did matches."
To Cole, cutting a heel promo is easier than doing it as a babyface. He states that you get to tell whatever story you want and creatively come up with different ways to speak:
"For me, too, it was always easier for me, and I'm sure [Edge and Christian] can agree, maybe not, but I always felt that it was easier to talk as a heel as opposed to a babyface. It's just way, way easier to tell whatever story you want to tell and creatively come up with different ways to speak." Cole added, "so yeah, so important."
Also on the podcast, Cole talks about how his promo skills landed him jobs with Ring Of Honor and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and whether he was always a natural talker.