Adam Cole Details His Injuries From Last Year, Says He Loved His Time In NXT

In an interview with Wrestling Observer Radio (via F4WOnline), Adam Cole detailed the injuries that kept him out of action for half of last year, including a concussion. He also noted that he had a torn labrum and rotator cuff strain while warming up for a match with Hangman Page at last year’s AEW Revolution. The concussion came during his match with Samoa Joe at Double or Nothing, followed by a second, worse concussion at Forbidden Door.

Cole noted everything from his return promo last month was true. He had memory issues and would cry for no reason. He added he had to take a test two months after the injury and did so poorly, he worried he may not be able to drive again. He took the test again two months later and “passed with flying colors”, better than average.

Here are highlights:

On the status of his 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, but compared to even two in a half to three months ago, I feel fantastic, I feel really good.”

On his second concussion: “I took a bump where I felt a little bit weird, and it wasn’t anyone’s fault, it was a normal bump. 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.”

On his time in NXT: “I had a wonderful experience working in NXT with Triple H and Shawn Micheals. I learned so much from them and it was an absolute joy to be there. All the coaches, everyone. I learned a lot being there and grew as a performer. And then looking at AEW, once again, Britt being there was a huge factor, my friends being there was a huge factor, the audience being so rabid and so wild. Every single week looked so exciting and [it was] something I wanted to be involved in.”