Adam Cole Was Making Retirement Plans After Suffering Concussion

Adam Cole made his way to AEW during the All Out pay-per-view in 2021 and immediately established himself as a top talent, feuding with Adam Page and others. However, Cole was on the shelf for 9 months after suffering a concussion last year. Now it appears that Adam Cole was even making retirement plans after he suffered the concussion.

Adam Cole suffered a concussion at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door last year when he challenged Jay White for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title in a four-way match that also featured Kazuchika Okada and Hangman Page.

Adam Cole went through a lot of rehab and his recovery process seemed uncertain, as Cole was not even sure if he was going to compete in the ring ever again. Thankfully, Cole made his in-ring return against Daniel Garcia on the March 29 episode of AEW Dynamite.

While speaking to Swerve Strickland and Monteasy on the Swerve City Podcast, Adam Cole revealed that he was mentally preparing himself for a life without wrestling. Cole even made retirement plans, thinking about opening up a wrestling school.

“I’m not kidding, and I’m sorry because this sounds like such a standard answer, but I really do mean this. I was mentally preparing to have to start a new life without wrestling. That was so difficult for me.

I’m thinking, maybe I’ll Twitch stream. Maybe I’ll do something in gaming. Maybe I’ll start a wrestling school. I was really, mentally trying to prepare myself for that happening. Being cleared and being able to come back and travel again and being on an airplane, walk out to the ring, and have a match; my goal going forward is just be able to continue to wrestle. When I was able to come back and wrestle Daniel Garcia, and be out there with Britt and the fans, and the confetti came down, it was my favorite moment of my career because of how much it meant to me and how for months and months, I thought I wasn’t going to be able to come back.

At this point, of course I have goals like, I want to move up the ranks in AEW and challenge for and maybe someday be a world champion and travel and do more things and awesome stuff within wrestling. At this point, when I wake up, there is a whole new appreciation for this job. I never lost appreciation for wrestling, but now, after going through what I went through, I’m not kidding, every single week I show up at TV and I’m like, ‘I have the best job in the world. This is incredible.’ Wrestling week to week, that’s the main goal.”

Adam Cole will be squaring off against Chris Jericho in an Unsanctioned match at AEW Double or Nothing. We’ll have to see whether he will be able to defeat Le Champion in the match.