Backstage AEW Panic After Adam Cole’s Health Collapse Before All In Match

Adam Cole’s abrupt withdrawal from AEW All In: Texas wasn’t just dramatic—it was frighteningly real. While fans saw Cole emotionally vacate the TNT Championship live on pay-per-view, the behind-the-scenes details paint a much more serious picture.

On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer addressed Cole’s sudden removal and how it went down internally. According to Meltzer, Cole was fully expecting to wrestle as of Friday night. No medical red flags had been raised. But by the next morning, everything changed.

“So what happened is, again, it’s like—I don’t know that it’s a concussion, but what happened to him would lead one to believe it was a concussion, OK? But I don’t know that. Like, look, Friday night he was still doing the match. And it wasn’t like it was touch and go. You know, maybe yes, maybe no. I mean, if he was diagnosed with a concussion Friday night, he’s not doing the match. That’s just reality. They’re not going to let anyone—especially with his history—go out there. Absolutely not.”

Meltzer explained that Cole woke up Saturday feeling symptoms that made competing impossible. There was no push to “tough it out,” no backstage drama over whether he’d drop the belt. It was simply a full stop.

“So what that tells me is Friday night, they didn’t know he had a concussion. Saturday morning, he woke up and something had happened. And it was just like—he can’t do the match. And he needs to take time off. And it wasn’t a debate. It wasn’t his call. It wasn’t Tony saying, ‘Can you just go through and drop the title?’ It was like, no. It was a no.”

Both Adam Cole and AEW President Tony Khan were visibly rattled by the situation. Meltzer observed how deeply affected Khan was during the post-show media scrum, noting how serious the atmosphere had become.

“Tony’s reaction, as best I could tell, was—he was really shaken up. And Adam was shaken up. You could tell from the interview. I think what he said was that he doesn’t want to make a rash decision or anything, but it was a scary situation.”

While Meltzer didn’t outright confirm a concussion, the timeline and symptoms strongly point in that direction—especially given Cole’s history. As it stands, there’s no official timetable for his return, and fans are left waiting for answers straight from Cole himself.

Adam Cole’s absence has already changed the landscape of AEW, with Dustin Rhodes stepping in to claim the TNT Title. But Cole’s uncertain future looms over the company like a shadow.

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