Tearful WWE and AEW star Adam Cole, 36, teases retirement for health reasons
Alistair McGeorge
Alistair McGeorge
Published July 12, 2025 7:03pm Updated July 12, 2025 9:37pm
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Adam Cole cries at AEW All In
Adam Cole fought back tears during All In (Picture: AEW)
Wrestling star Adam Cole is stepping away for health reasons.
The 36-year-old AEW and former WWE superstar was pulled from tonight’s AEW All In event on Amazon Prime Video just 90 minutes before the show went on air.
Cole was set to defend his TNT Championship, but Tony Khan cancelled his planned match with Kyle Fletcher, and stripped him of the title.
During the show, Cole was visibly emotional as he came out and revealed he is out of action due to ‘health issues’, and while he didn’t want to mention retirement, he hinted it could be a possibility.
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‘Thank you so much,’ he told the fans, as his teammates Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong fought back tears as they hugged in the ring.
In an announcement made around an hour and a half before the show was due to start, the Fulham FC boss said during a live video on X: ‘I cannot clear Adam Cole to go out there to wrestle today, I don’t feel good about it.
‘I had a long talk with him. I’m gonna ask Adam to take some time away to make sure he’s clear, but I do need to vacate the championship.’
Instead, fans will get a ‘4-Way Fight’ for the now vacant championship, with Kyle Fletcher getting three new opponents to determine a new champion.
He will now face Daniel Garcia, Sammy Guevara, and Dustin Rhodes – best known to WWE fans as Goldust – with the winner being crowd the TNT Champion.
The nature of the injury is yet to be confirmed, but fans are heartbroken after Cole has dealt with numerous setbacks since joining AEW in 2021.
‘I hope Adam Cole recovers well man, cause vacating the TNT title the day of a big title defense like this is so heartbreaking,’ wrote @OmarCameUp on X.
Ricky Havlik Adam Cole Segment San Jose, CA AEW Dyanmite October 16, 2024
Cole had been removed from tonight’s show (Picture: AEW/Ricky Havlik)
Lee South Jack Perry vs Katsuyori Shibata Tacoma, WA AEW Wrestledream October 12, 2024
Fans are devastated for the decorated wrestler (Picture: AEW/Lee South)
‘Adam Cole was hitting on a consistent base since he won the belt. Heartbreaking,’ @AdamGoldberg28 agreed.
And @DragunovTheDon added: ‘I feel so bad for Adam Cole right now. I said it a week ago that his AEW run has been nothing but unlucky because of injuries and now he got injured again 💔
Cole has history at AEW All In, as he headlined the 2023 edition at Wembley Stadium when he faced MJF in a historic main event.
Adam Cole in WWE
Cole previously worked for WWE before joining rivals AEW (Picture: WWE)
Ricky Havlik Paragon vs Kyle Fletcher and RPG Vice Garland, TX AEW Collision July 10, 2025
Cole had been on a roll as TNT Champion (Picture: AEW/Ricky Havlik)
Lee South Don Callis Family vs Paragon Garcia Denver, CO AEW Fyter Fest June 5, 2025
He has had bad luck with injuries over the last couple of years (Picture: AEW/Lee South)
Cole fell off an entrance ramp in September 2023, as he suffered a horror ankle injury in a freak accident, while a year earlier, he was out of action for several months due to issues following a concussion.
Reflecting on his recovery, he previously told Metro: ‘It was stressful, because of what I was going through, this very legitimate, very serious head injury.
‘The idea of showcasing that to the world was very intimidating but I’m so glad that I did. ‘The fans were so supportive the whole way through, and they’re gonna get to see a totally different side.’
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