Adam Cole gives emotional address at AEW All In, unsure if this is ‘goodbye’
Image: JJ Williams
Whatever injury or medical issue Adam Cole is dealing with is serious enough that he wanted to address the live crowd at AEW All In, hinting that it could be the end of his in-ring career.
In the hours leading up to the pay-per-view, Tony Khan took to social media to announce Cole wasn’t medically cleared to compete and the TNT title was being vacated. He didn’t say what Cole was dealing with, but that he wanted Cole to take some time off to get better.
Before the four-way to determine the new TNT Champion, Cole came out to the ring, apologized for letting everyone down, and said he was going to be “gone for a while.” He said he didn’t want to even think about retiring as he wasn’t in the right head space to do so, but he wanted to talk to the fans if this was indeed “goodbye.”
Cole spent just over three minutes in his address (seen below), getting emotional several times. He thanked the fans for supporting him for years through different promotions and through his highest and lowest moments, saying “I will love you forever.”
At the end, he was joined by Paragon teammates Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong who were also in tears. The three then left the ring and Cole embraced Daniel Garcia as he came out for the newly-made four-way for the vacant title.
Cole last wrestled on Thursday’s Collision in a trios match and was set to defend the title against Kyle Fletcher Saturday. Our Bryan Alvarez noted the Cole injury was from a lariat in that match. Both Excalibur and Nigel McGuinness mentioned on commentary that Fletcher had injured Cole.
It’s the latest bit of bad timing for the 36-year-old who missed an entire year from September 2023 through October 2024 due to a non-contact ankle injury that required two surgeries. He also missed the better part of nine months from June 2022 through March 2023 due to a concussion suffered at Forbidden Door.
Cole’s ex-girlfriend Britt Baker tweeted a broken heart following Cole’s speech.