35-year-old star says he wants to end his career in AEW; seemingly rules out WWE return

AEW has established itself as a major alternative to industry juggernaut WWE and is renowned for respecting its talent. Despite World Wrestling Entertainment having a greater presence in the industry, former NXT Champion Adam Cole has revealed that he's not leaving the Jacksonville-based promotion anytime soon.

Adam Cole joined AEW in September 2021 and was a hot prospect out of the gate. Unfortunately, his run has been derailed multiple times. His foot injury in 2023 kept him out of action for a full year, but after returning at WrestleDream, he seems primed for a big push.

Despite his setbacks, Adam Cole is eager to get back into the main event scene, and he's not planning on leaving All Elite Wrestling anytime soon. In a recent appearance on the Stick to Wrestling podcast, he told James Stewart that he loves AEW and has no plans to leave:

"Of course, as we say in pro wrestling, never say never, you never know what's going to happen, but I love AEW with all of my heart. I love our crew. I love our boss. I love our fans. I absolutely love it here and have no real plans of leaving." [H/T Fightful]

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Adam Cole will wrestle for the first time in over a year on tonight's AEW Dynamite

It's been more than a year since Adam Cole's last match, which came at All Out 2023. The 35-year-old is in a heated feud with MJF, but he's got some business to take care of before he can get his hands on his former best friend.

Cole will face The House of Black's Buddy Matthews on tonight's special Fright Night episode of Dynamite. He took to X/Twitter ahead of the show to express his excitement over getting back into the ring:

"Tonight...I'm back BayBay. #BOOM," Adam Cole wrote.

Cole will have to go through three opponents to get his hands on MJF at Full Gear. Whether he can defeat the formidable Buddy Matthews after a year on the shelf remains to be seen.

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