Adam Cole has discussed his recent spell on the sidelines.
At AEW Grand Slam 2023 last September, Adam Cole suffered an ankle injury which has meant he hasn’t competed in the ring for over a year. Thankfully, the 35-year-old made his return to All Elite Wrestling at October 12’s WrestleDream, and he has now opened up about his recent injury and what his road to recovery was like.
In an interview with Rick Ucchino for The Takedown on SI, Cole first revealed that the damage to his ankle was much worse than first thought, with the former ROH World Champion having to have a second surgery seven days after his first.
“The first piece of news that I heard was, your ankle is way worse than we anticipated. You have to get another surgery in seven days. So, not only did I have to get double the amount of screws in my ankle, but also, I had to get someone else’s bone put into my ankle because the bone piece within my ankle just completely disintegrated.”
-Adam Cole
The bone used in Adam’s second surgery was a substitute for a metal plate, and he’d go on to recognise that this was a better option. As for his future, Cole clarified that he’s ’not even close’ to being done with the wrestling.
“Incredibly thankful to [the donor] and the family. It’s certainly a better option. I definitely notice a difference in my left ankle as opposed to my right one, but I think that comes with the territory. I still feel like I can be Adam Cole and do the things that I wanna do. And I’m certainly not even close to wanting to be done with wrestling.”
-Adam Cole
Now back on AEW TV, Cole has picked up where he left off with regard to his feud with MJF. On this, the Undisputed Kingdom member emphasised the need to acknowledge the past that exists between he and his former tag team partner before moving forward.
“I’m sure there were a bunch of different thought processes or ideas as far as where Adam Cole was gonna go. I do feel like that, at least for a little bit, acknowledging the feud, the storyline that we are in, I feel like that’s incredibly important going forward. Now, what happens after that? I don’t know, but I certainly think that going that route was the right direction.”
-Adam Cole
Then, Cole expressed how much his recent injury had reminded him of his love for wrestling, stating his excitement to get going again with AEW.
“If you could say there’s any positive to the situation that I’ve been in, as far as injuries go, it has constantly reminded me of how much I love and want to be a part of pro wrestling. I am so unbelievably amped, so unbelievably stoked, excited to get back into the ring and have matches and be on AEW TV every single week. I’m 35-years-old, but I have so much more of my career left to go.”
-Adam Cole
As of yet, Adam’s first match back in AEW hasn’t been announced, but the company will be relieved to have the star back at their disposal once again. As his comeback plays out, many fans will be excited to see what comes next for Cole in future.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on Adam Cole’s recent injury as soon as we hear more.
