Jenkins was trained at the Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) Wrestling Academy by DJ Hyde and Jon Dahmer.He became an official student at the Academy on November 14, 2007, while he was still a senior in high school.He made his CZW debut at No Pun Intended as Adam Cole on June 21, 2008, when he teamed with The Reason in a loss to GNC Joe Gacy and Alex Colon). His next appearance was on September 13 at the Chri$ Ca$h Memorial Show, when he defeated Tyler Veritas in a CZW Wrestling Academy showcase match.Cole then began to feud with GNC, facing them in several matches with different partners, which led GNC and EMO defeated Cole, L.J. Cruz and HDTV in a six-man tag team match on October 11.At the following show named Night of Infamy 7: Greed, GNC defeated Cole and HDTV in a regular tag team match.Cole gained his first win over GNC at Cage of Death 10: Ultraviolent Anniversary on December 13, when he, Veritas and Cruz defeated GNC and EMO in a six-man tag team match.

In 2009, Cole teamed regularly with Tyler Veritas and they won a tag team gauntlet match, outlasting the teams of The S.A.T., L.J. Cruz and Izzy Kensington, 2.0, All Money Is Legal and GNC at X: Decade of Destruction – 10th Anniversary in February. At the following show in March, they won a four-way match against the team of Jagged and Cole Calloway, GNC and Team AnDrew (Andy Sumner and Drew Gulak). After Cole took a hiatus from CZW, he returned at A Tangled Web 2 on August 8, where he and Veritas won another four-way match against BLKOUT, Team Macktion (TJ Mack and Kirby Mack) and The Spanish Armada (Alex Colon and L.J. Cruz).[14] At Down With the Sickness Forever on September 13, Cole and Veritas challenged for The Best Around (Bruce Maxwell and TJ Cannon) for the CZW World Tag Team Championship, but they were unsuccessful.[15] For the remainder of 2009, Cole and Veritas began focusing on singles competition, as they both entered the tournament to determine the inaugural CZW Wired TV Champion, with Cole defeating Alex Colon and Rich Swann en route to the final at Cage of Death 11, where he lost to Veritas.

At Walking on Pins and Needles in March 2010, Cole wrestled Sabian to a 15-minute time-limit draw.[19] Later in 2010, Cole began challenging for the CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship and on April 10 at Swinging for the Fences, Cole faced defending champion Sabian in a match that ended in a 20-minute time-limit draw.[20] On May 8, 2010, Cole won the CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship by defeating defending champion Sabian and Ruckus in a three-way match at Fist Fight.[21][22] Cole went on to successfully defend the championship against Ryan Slater in both June and August and Blk Jeez in September.[23][24][25] At It’s Always Bloody in Philadelphia on October 9, Cole turned into a heel (villainous character) by attacking long-time tag team partner Veritas and successfully defended the CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship against AR Fox later that night.[26] In November, Cole toured Germany with CZW and he retained the championship against Zack Sabre, Jr. at Live in Germany in Oberhausen.[27] In December, Cole gained Mia Yim as a manager and she helped him to retain the Junior Heavyweight Championship in two separate matches at Cage of Death XII.[28]

At Twelve: Anniversary in February 2011, Cole qualified for the Best of the Best X tournament by defeating Pinkie Sanchez.[29] On April 9 at Best of the Best X, Cole qualified for the final of the tournament by defeating Johnny Gargano and Kyle O’Reilly in a three-way match in the first round and Sabre in the semi-final, then defeating Sami Callihan in the final, thus winning the Best of the Best X tournament.[30][31] Cole then developed an alliance with his trainer DJ Hyde, with Hyde helping Cole to retain the championship against Fox in May.[32] Further title defenses against Jonatham Gresham, Chuck Taylor and AJ Curcio followed throughout the year.[33][34][35] On November 12, Cole lost the CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship to Callihan despite both Hyde and Yim interfering on his behalf, ending his reign at 553 days, the longest reign in the championship’s history.[36]

At An Excellent Adventure in January 2012, Cole unsuccessfully challenged Devon Moore for the CZW World Heavyweight Championship. Cole’s alliance with Hyde ended at the Best of the Best 11 internet pay-per-view, when Hyde gained a new protégé in Tony Nese who Cole went on to defeat in a match. Cole and Hyde began feuding briefly, with Hyde attacking Cole in May and Cole attacking Hyde the following month. In November 2012, Cole went on to feud with Sami Callihan, claiming that he would always be regarded as a better wrestler than Callihan. At Cage of Death 14: Shattered Dreams on December 8, Cole defeated Callihan in a No Hold Barred match. On April 13, 2013, Cole defeated Callihan in what billed as the “final encounter” between the longtime rivals.

Independent circuit (2009–2017)

On August 7, 2009, Carelle defeated Qenann Creed to win the MCW Rage Television Championship. He held the championship for over four months, before losing it to Ryan McBride on December 26. After changing his ring name to Adam Cole, he regained the championship from McBride two months later on February 27, 2010. Cole held it until July 31, when he and Tyler Hilton were defeated by Cobian and Tommy Dreamer, which meant that Cobian won the championship.
On November 7, 2009, Cole defeated VSK to win WXW C4’s Hybrid Championship in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He lost the championship to Dave Rose on March 6, 2010, after a five-month reign.

On November 20 and 21, 2009, Cole defeated four opponents (DJ Hyde, Ryan McBride, “Mighty” Quinn Nash and Eric Enders) to win Ground Breaking Wrestling’s 1st annual 16-man Battle of Gettysburg tournament. With his victory, Cole earned a title shot against champion Greg Excellent in April 2010, but he lost.

Cole began competing for the Evolve promotion in 2010, making his debut match for the promotion on May 1 at Evolve 3: Rise Or Fall, he lost to Sami Callihan. At Evolve 4, Cole defeated Johnny Gargano to improve his record to one win and one loss. Following his victory he challenged Jimmy Jacobs to a match at the next show.[50] At Evolve 5: Danielson vs. Sawa, Cole lost to Jacobs.

Cole appeared at Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA)’s Open the Freedom Gate pay-per-view taping on November 28, 2009, on the pre-show, where he wrestled Kyle O’Reilly in a losing effort. On July 24, 2010, Cole appeared at DGUSA’s Enter the Dragon 2010 pay-per-view taping in a four-way match against Chuck Taylor, Arik Cannon, and Ricochet, which was won by Taylor.
On August 28, 2010, Cole appeared at Chikara’s Young Lions Cup tournament. He defeated Kyle O’Reilly in the quarter-finals, but was eliminated from the semi-final six-man elimination match by Obariyon.

On April 30, 2011, Cole participated in East Coast Wrestling Association’s 2011 Super 8 Tournament. He defeated Sami Callihan and Austin Aries en route to the final, where he lost to Tommaso Ciampa. On November 30, 2012, he won the Premiere Wrestling Xperience’s Heavyweight Championship.[59] Cole lost the title in February 2013.

Ring of Honor

Future Shock (2009–2012)
Cole made his Ring of Honor (ROH) debut on February 28, 2009, when he lost to John Kerman in a dark match at the Ring of Honor Wrestling tapings. At the Ring of Honor Wrestling tapings the following night, Cole appeared in a dark match again, teaming with Ninja Brown against John Kerman and Corey Abbott. The match ended in a no contest when the Dark City Fight Club (Kory Chavis and Jon Davis) attacked the match participants.He appeared again on the July 26, 2010, episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling, teaming with Nick Westgate in a loss to The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli).

On August 23, 2010, ROH announced that Cole had signed a contract with the company. At the August 2 tapings of Ring of Honor Wrestling, Cole was defeated by Mike Bennett. Cole began to ally himself with fellow ROH newcomer Kyle O’Reilly, with the pair forming a tag team. At the October 2 Ring of Honor Wrestling tapings they defeated the team of Grizzly Redwood and Mike Sydal. They lost to Steve Corino and Kevin Steen on October 15, and The All Night Express (Kenny King and Rhett Titus at a show on October 16. They defeated the Bravado Brothers (Harlem and Lance) on the November 8 episode of Ring of Honor Wrestling. On November 12, Cole participated in the 2010 edition of the Survival of the Fittest tournament. He defeated Steve Corino in the first round, but was the second person eliminated from the final, a six-man elimination match. The following night in Toronto, Cole and O’Reilly defeated the Bravado Brothers. Cole made his ROH pay-per-view debut on December 18 at Final Battle 2010, where he and O’Reilly were defeated by the All Night Express. On April 1 and 2 at Chapter One and Two of Honor Takes Center Stage, Cole and O’Reilly faced the Briscoe Brothers (Jay and Mark) and the Kings of Wrestling in two losing efforts, despite putting on strong performances. On July 8, Cole and O’Reilly defeated the Bravado Brothers to earn a future shot at the ROH World Tag Team Championship. On July 25, ROH announced that Cole had re-signed with the promotion. At the August 13 tapings of Ring of Honor Wrestling, the tag team of Cole and O’Reilly was named Future Shock.

Championship reigns (2012–2015)

At the January 7, 2012, tapings of Ring of Honor Wrestling, Future Shock disbanded and Cole formed a new partnership with Eddie Edwards, opposite Kyle O’Reilly and Davey Richards. On March 4 at the 10th Anniversary Show, Cole and Edwards defeated O’Reilly and Richards in a main event tag team match, with Cole pinning Richards, the reigning ROH World Champion, for the win. On June 24 at Best in the World 2012: Hostage Crisis, Cole defeated O’Reilly in a “Hybrid Rules” match. Afterwards, Cole tried to make peace with his former partner, but the offer was turned down.On June 29, 2012, Cole won his first championship in ROH, defeating Roderick Strong to become the ROH World Television Champion in Baltimore, Maryland at a taping of Ring of Honor Wrestling. On September 15 at Death Before Dishonor X: State of Emergency, Cole successfully defended the title against Mike Mondo, before being confronted by Matt Hardy. At the following internet pay-per-view, Glory By Honor XI: The Unbreakable Hope on October 13, Cole successfully defended his title against Eddie Edwards. On December 16 at Final Battle 2012: Doomsday, Cole was defeated by Hardy in a non-title match. At the following iPPV, 11th Anniversary Show on March 2, 2013, Cole lost the World Television Championship to Matt Taven, ending his reign at 246 days. On May 4 at Border Wars 2013, Cole unsuccessfully challenged Jay Briscoe for the ROH World Championship. On May 30, ROH announced that Cole had re-signed with the promotion.

After the ROH World Championship was vacated, Cole entered a tournament to determine the new champion, defeating Mark Briscoe in his first round match on July 27. On August 3, Cole defeated Jay Lethal to advance to the semifinals of the tournament. On September 20 at Death Before Dishonor XI, Cole first defeated Tommaso Ciampa in the semifinals and then Michael Elgin in the finals to win the tournament and become the new ROH World Champion. After being presented the title belt by former champion Jay Briscoe, Cole attacked Briscoe and Elgin thus establishing himself as a villain. In early November, Cole suffered a concussion, temporarily sidelining him from wrestling. On December 14 at Final Battle 2013, Cole successfully defended the ROH World Championship in a three-way match against Briscoe and Elgin, following outside interference from Matt Hardy, with the two later forming a stable alongside Mike Bennett and Matt Taven named The Kingdom. Post-match, Cole and Hardy were attacked by the returning Chris Hero, which led to Cole’s next title defense on February 21, 2014, at the 12th Anniversary Show, where he defeated Hero. A rematch between the two, contested under Ringmaster’s Challenge rules, took place on March 8 and saw Cole again retain the title.

On April 4 at Supercard of Honor VIII, Cole defeated Jay Briscoe in a ladder match to become the undisputed ROH World Champion, retaining his title and taking over Briscoe’s unrecognized “Real World Title”. In May 2014, Cole took part in a tour co-produced by ROH and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), during which he made two more successful title defenses; first against Kevin Steen at Global Wars on May 10 and then against NJPW’s Jushin Thunder Liger at War of the Worlds on May 17. The following month, Cole retained the championship against ACH and Tommaso Ciamapa. On June 22 at Best in the World 2014, Cole lost the ROH World Championship to Michael Elgin, ending his reign at 275 days. On November 8, Cole won the 2014 Survival of the Fittest. On December 7 at Final Battle 2014, Cole unsuccessfully challenged Jay Briscoe for the ROH World Championship in a Fight Without Honor. The following week, Cole announced he had suffered a shoulder injury, which required surgery.

Cole returned from his injury on May 12, 2015, at War of the Worlds ’15 Night 1, losing to A.J. Styles. Cole then began having problems with his Kingdom stablemates and started teasing a reunion with his Future Shock tag team partner Kyle O’Reilly. However, on September 18 at All Star Extravaganza VII, Cole turned on O’Reilly during his match for the ROH World Championship and reunited with the rest of the Kingdom, becoming a villain once again.

Bullet Club (2016–2017)

On May 8, 2016, at Global Wars, Cole joined Bullet Club, helping the stable take over the ring in a show-closing angle. On June 16, at Best in the World, Cole teamed up with The Young Bucks and formed The Superkliq to defeat War Machine and Moose. On August 19 at Death Before Dishonor XIV, Cole defeated Jay Lethal to win the ROH World Championship for the 2nd time, becoming the 3rd man to regain the championship. Afterwards, Cole’s victory celebration was abruptly ended when he was laid out by a returning Kyle O’Reilly. On December 2 at Final Battle, He lost the ROH World Championship to O’Reilly. Cole regained the title from O’Reilly on January 4, 2017, at NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome, thus making Cole the first 3-time ROH World Champion. On March 10 at the 15th Anniversary Show, Cole lost the ROH World Championship to Christopher Daniels, when Bullet Club’s newest member and Daniels’ longtime tag team partner Frankie Kazarian turned on him. In early 2017, Cole began showing tension with Bullet Club stablemate Kenny Omega with The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) caught in the middle.The storyline led to an angle on March 11, where Cole tried to fire The Young Bucks from Bullet Club, but the two responded by stating that Omega, not Cole, was the leader of the stable. Despite the dissension, Cole remained a member of Bullet Club. On May 1, it was reported that Cole’s ROH contract had expired and he was now a free agent. On May 12, during the third night of the War of the Worlds tour, Cole was defeated by NJPW’s Hiroshi Tanahashi in a singles match. After the match, Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks turned on Cole and kicked him out of Bullet Club, giving his spot in the stable to Marty Scurll. Two days later, He was defeated by Scurll in a Philadelphia Street Fight, thus making Cole his ROH farewell match. After the match, He made a farewell speech to the fans, And made his last Bay-Bay chant. Adam Cole’s profile was removed from ROH’s Roster page, As Cole was released from his ROH’s contract.

NXT (2017–present)
Before signing to WWE, in the first weekend of February 2013, Jenkins took part in a tryout at their Performance Center in Florida. On August 14, 2017, multiple sources confirmed that Jenkins had officially signed with WWE and would be working in the company’s developmental territory NXT. Cole made his NXT debut on August 19 at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III, attacking newly crowned NXT Champion Drew McIntyre, alongside Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly, establishing himself as a villain in the process. The following month, the trio of Cole, Fish and O’Reilly was officially dubbed “The Undisputed Era”.