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An update has emerged regarding the in-ring future of AEW star Adam Cole. The former ROH World Champion was last seen on screen at Double or Nothing 2024.
Adam Cole suffered a major ankle injury in September 2023, at a time when he was a storyline ally to then-AEW World Champion MJF. A lot has transpired since then, with The Panama City Playboy having turned on The Salt of the Earth, formed a new faction in The Undisputed Kingdom, and faced the consequences of betraying Friedman at Double or Nothing 2024, when the latter returned to All Elite Wrestling and laid out Cole with a brainbuster.
The 35-year-old star, it was reported recently, had been present backstage for Dynamite last month. An update from Fightful Select now claims that Cole is likely to return to action sometime soon and that plans are already being set in motion for his on-screen AEW comeback.
The report alluded to how the multiple surgeries undergone by the former NXT Champion had disrupted his creative trajectory last year. It also referenced Cole's backstage appearance at All Out 2024, where he was seen walking around supposedly without crutches, boots, or support of any kind. The former Super Elite member was reportedly on the road with the Tony Khan-led promotion earlier this year, but he was eventually pulled out to expedite his recovery. He was also claimed to have been in "good spirits" at All Out, as per sources close to the star.
Booker T commented on Adam Cole's AEW run
While discussing Ethan Page's recent success in NXT in relation to his creative handling in All Elite Wrestling on the Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T criticized Adam Cole's booking in the Jacksonville-based company compared to his immensely popular tenure in the Black and Gold brand prior to his All Elite debut.
"Ethan Page in AEW, he really wasn't that relevant, and then coming to 'NXT,' man, the guy, he's a star," Booker said. "I mean everybody knows Ethan Page right now, he's a guy that's doing a hell of a job. Then you've got guys who, let's just say, for instance, Adam Cole. Adam Cole in WWE, in 'NXT,' he was super, super hot. I mean I had touted this guy as being the next Shawn Michaels. That's what I said, I said that, and then he goes to AEW, gets lost in the shuffle, really don't hear a whole lot from him." (H/T Wrestling Inc.)
Notably, despite multiple injury-related hiatuses in the promotion, Cole has been featured on programs with many top All Elite Wrestling stars, including Hangman Adam Page, Orange Cassidy, and MJF, with whom he headlined All In 2023 in front of over 70,000 people.
