Adam Cole has revealed that he still has a “little ways” to go before he is fully prepared to compete once more in the ring.
Since competing in the Fatal 4 Way for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door on June 26, 2002, against Adam Page, Kazuchika Okada, and the victor, former champion Jay White, Cole has not competed in pro wrestling. After that match, Cole reportedly suffered a concussion and was out of action. He recently made an appearance on Wrestling Observer Radio to talk about his recovery process and his current health.
“I still have a little ways to go until I get to a point where I think I’m ready to rock and roll as far as going to the ring and having a 35-45 minute match,” he said. “But compared to even two in a half to three months ago, I feel fantastic, I feel really good.”
Cole mentioned how, while warming up for his defeat to the AEW World Champion Page at AEW Revolution in March 2022, he tore his labrum and strained his rotator cuff. His first concussion occurred when he defeated current AEW TNT Champion and ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Finals at Double Or Nothing in May 2022. His second concussion, which occurred during the Forbidden Door match in June, was much worse.
“I took a bump where I felt a little bit weird, and it wasn’t anyone’s fault, it was a normal bump,” Cole said of Forbidden Door. “And I remember thinking ‘okay, that felt a little strange’. And about thirty seconds go by, and then it’s like I have no recollection or memory of what I’m supposed to do [or] what happened in the match.”
Cole talked about his recovery process and said that everything he said in the Dynamite return promo from last month was accurate. He mentioned memory problems brought on by the concussion and claimed that occasionally he would cry for no apparent reason.
Cole also discussed how a test he had to take two months after the injury went so horribly wrong that there was concern he might lose his ability to drive. Two months later, he retook the test and “passed with flying colors,” doing better than the norm. Cole claimed that this gave him hope for his return to the ring.
Although AEW has been hyping Cole’s return to the ring in recent weeks, no date has yet been set for his next match.
You can watch the interview below:
