AEW's Adam Cole Discusses 'Ups And Downs' Of Injury Recovery

Last week on "AEW Dynamite," Adam Cole marked his first match in nearly 14 months by defeating House of Black's Buddy Matthews. As Cole explains on "Stick To Wrestling," though, the path to get there was filled with "a ton of ups and downs," both mentally and physically, as he first worked to overcome a serious ankle injury.

"Mentally, it was incredibly discouraging. Physically, it was definitely one of the biggest challenges I've gone through," Cole said. "... Truth be told, my ankle did practically explode. I had to have two surgeries within seven days. I have a cadaver bone, meaning someone else's bone, in my ankle as well as a bunch of different screws and stuff. The rehab was quite a difficult process, to be expected, but again, the whole time I was just thinking about 'I got to get back, I got to get back.' Then as it got closer and closer, I started feeling better and feeling like myself again. Mentally, you start feeling better. Physically, you start feeling better."

The injury in reference occurred on the 2023 edition of "AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam," after Cole rushed down to ringside to cheer on his tag partner and AEW World Champion MJF. With Cole subsequently put on the sidelines, MJF was left to defend the ROH Tag Team Championships alone, and once with a replacement partner, in the months following. Unfortunately for MJF, his efforts were not enough to overcome Matt Taven and Mike Bennett, who were plotting against him at the behest of Cole himself.

Now in his return, a babyface Cole has returned his focus to MJF, vowing to destroy him. To potentially do that, Cole must first outpace Roderick Strong in scoring three consecutive victories in the lead-up to AEW WrestleDream.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Stick To Wrestling" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.