The landscape of AEW All In: Texas changed dramatically at the last minute on Saturday, as a health issue forced Adam Cole to be pulled from his scheduled TNT Championship defense and relinquish the title. The decision came after a conversation with AEW President Tony Khan, who was reportedly “shaken up” by the situation.
According to a report on Wrestling Observer Radio, the concern over Cole’s status did not arise until the morning of the event. Cole, who was still cleared to compete as of Friday, woke up on Saturday and felt that “something wasn’t right.” He then made the personal call that he could not compete and needed time off, a decision that AEW respected.
During the All In: Texas event, a visibly emotional Cole appeared in the ring, accompanied by his Paragon stablemates Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly. He informed the audience he was dealing with “health issues” that would sideline him for a while and officially vacated the TNT Championship. While he acknowledged retirement was a possibility, he stated he was not in the right headspace to make that decision.
The injury is believed to be a concussion suffered during a lariat exchange with Kyle Fletcher on the July 10 episode of AEW Collision. This development is particularly serious given Cole’s history, as he was previously sidelined for nearly ten months in 2022 with two significant concussions. Reports also indicated Cole was prepared to announce his retirement at the event, but it was decided to postpone any definitive announcement.
With the championship vacant, AEW booked a fatal four-way match to crown a new champion. Dustin Rhodes emerged victorious in the contest, defeating Kyle Fletcher, Sammy Guevara, and Daniel Garcia to begin his third reign with the title. Cole is now expected to be away from AEW for the “foreseeable future.”