Adam Cole On Keeping His AEW Debut A Secret, When He Decided To Sign With AEW Over WWE

Adam Cole recently spoke with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated and revealed the steps he and AEW took to keep his All Out debut a secret.

Cole revealed how he flew into a different city, and didn't stay at the same hotel as Bryan Danielson, who also debuted at the pay-per-view. Cole noted how he was thrilled to wear his face mask to help hide his appearance on the flight.

"I didn't even fly into Chicago [the site of All Out], I flew into a different city the day before," Cole said. "I didn't even stay in the same hotel as Bryan. We showed up to the building while the show was going on, and we waited outside in a trailer. The locker room didn't even know until the absolute last moment.

"It was the most secretive debut I've ever been involved in, and Tony Khan took every measure to make this as big of a surprise as possible."

Cole confirmed that he had talks with both AEW and WWE after becoming a free agent. He decided to sign with AEW just a few days before All Out.

"My actual decision was literally only a couple days before [the pay-per-view]," Cole said. "I was awake in bed, it was close to 1 in the morning, and I was imagining being involved in AEW. That thought gave me such an excited feeling. I was so giddy I couldn't even sleep. I loved the idea of coming to All Elite Wrestling, and that's when I knew what I needed to do."

Cole will make his AEW in-ring debut during tonight's Dynamite on TNT from the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. He will face Frankie Kazarian. Cole praised Kaz as being very good and somehow still underrated, but said he has a lesson to learn tonight.

"I've known Frankie for a really long time, and he's someone that is very good," Cole said. "Somehow, he's still underrated. But this is my debut match in AEW, so regardless of how great I think he is, I am going to teach him a lesson and let him know why I'm the one in charge here now.
"I'm excited to start my prime years in AEW, and it's my time to show the best wrestling roster in the world—and the best wrestling fans in the world—how good I really am."