Adam Cole shares horrifying injury details after AEW return - "Way worse than we anticipated"
The AEW future of Adam Cole remains a hot topic of discussion. The top star has not wrestled in more than one year due to a severe injury caused by a freak accident. Now that he's back, Cole is now opening up on how bad the injury really was, and the donor that gave him the bone needed for recovery.
The Panama City Playboy last wrestled at AEW All Out 2023, where he and MJF retained the ROH World Tag Team Championship over The Dark Order. Weeks later at Grand Slam, Cole suffered a significant ankle injury while simply rushing the ring. After a few appearances, Cole went on hiatus again but was attacked by the returning MJF at Double Or Nothing. Cole left again but returned this month at WrestleDream to save Daniel Garcia from MJF. He announced on Dynamite that although he loves The Undisputed Kingdom, he needs to deal with MJF alone.
Cole recently spoke with Sports Illustrated's The Takedown and revealed that he knew almost immediately that his ankle injury was serious on AEW Dynamite that night. However, he didn't learn the actual damage until after the initial surgery, which was supposed to last one hour, but went three times as long. Cole recalled what doctors told him after the operation:
"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 said.
A bone from the cadaver was installed during Cole's second operation. Doctors went with the bone instead of a metal plate to help with the range of motion. Cole expressed gratitude to the donor and their family:
"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," Adam Cole said.
Cole does not expect this injury to alter his in-ring style at all. The 35-year-old said he still feels like he can be Adam Cole, and do what he wants to do in the ring. He added that he certainly is nowhere near wanting to be done with the sport.
AEW couple officially splits
Adam Cole and Britt Baker were once viewed by many as the top couple of AEW. However, rumors about the two began to surface several months back, and now their split has been confirmed.
DMD Baker and The Star Of The Show began dating in 2017 while living in Pennsylvania as they met on the Bumble app. Cole confirmed to Sports Illustrated this week that they are no longer together, but remain friends. Baker later seemingly reacted on social media:
"We are no longer a couple, but when I say that we both still love each other and are still friends and still so supportive of each other, that could not be more true," Adam Cole said.
Cole continued and discussed how he feels about Baker, and how deep their friendship goes. He reiterated how there is no ill will between the two former AEW champions.