Adam Cole Nearly Retired at AEW All In After Concussion—Future Still Uncertain

Adam Cole’s emotional moment at AEW All In: Texas wasn’t just a storyline—it was real. Cole officially vacated the TNT Championship live on pay-per-view, and now there are serious questions about whether he’ll ever wrestle again.

On Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan Alvarez confirmed Cole’s injury was legitimate and severe. “Kyle Fletcher lariated him right in the jaw, and he ended up with a concussion,” Alvarez revealed. “He talked to Tony Khan, and ended up he’s out.”

Alvarez also shut down any speculation about this being scripted. “Everything you see is everything that happened… everything you saw on television was 100% legitimate, everything he said, all of it.”

In a chilling revelation, Alvarez said Cole was seriously contemplating retirement. “From what I can gather… he was pretty much ready to go out on Saturday and retire,” he shared. “And I guess, you know, cooler heads prevailed, and it’s exactly what he said. He was like, ‘I’m not in the right headspace to make that decision right now.’”

As of now, there’s no timetable for Cole’s return. Alvarez ended with a grim reality: “His future as a wrestler is very much in doubt, and it’s just going to be a matter of time when he feels he’s in the right headspace, he’s going to make a decision, and we’ll see what happens.”

In Cole’s absence, AEW crowned a new TNT Champion during All In—Dustin Rhodes won the four-way match and claimed the title for the first time in his storied career.

Adam Cole’s future is unclear, and the industry may have just witnessed a farewell in real time. But if he does make a comeback, it’ll be on his own terms.

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