Adam Cole on 'Most Challenging Time' of Career, Becoming AEW World Champion and More

After over a year on the shelf dealing with an ankle injury, Adam Cole finally returned to AEW on October 12 at WrestleDream.

Cole's ankle injury came just less than a year after he returned from a concussion he received during the IWGP Championship match at Forbidden Doorr 2022, so the past couple of years have been quite the roller coaster.

During those months he was active in 2023, the former ROH world champion entered into a storyline with MJF that saw the two go from enemies to best friends to tag team champions and back to enemies again.

Now that he's back, Cole is picking up right where he left off and has set his sights firmly on his former ROH tag team co-champion.

We had a chance to speak with Mr. Bay Bay this week about recovering from his injury, his impression of MJF, plans for the future, his love of video games and more.

Between a severe concussion and an ankle injury, the past two years have seen Cole spend more time at home recovering than on the road.

"Truth be told, these past two years have been the most challenging of my entire career," Cole said. "Before this ankle injury, I had gone through that pretty serious concussion injury where I was out for about nine months, which was pretty scary.

"I came back and had what I felt was just a wonderful run for about six months or so, and this freak accident happened with my ankle. So mentally, it was incredibly discouraging.

"Obviously, it's not as scary as anything to do with the brain, but as far as the rehab process, it was definitely frustrating because I was so so happy to be back doing what I love to do, doing what I was born to do, doing the only thing that I want to do, and that is pro wrestling.

"The process mentally was definitely challenging, but now being back and getting to be back on the road full time with AEW and getting back into the ring, it's incredibly awesome. This is all I ever wanted to do."

The ankle injury surprised many fans mainly because it didn't happen while performing a risky move. It happened while jumping a few feet from a ramp to the floor.

The process for recovery was much different from a typical sprain or even a broken ankle due to the severity of the injury. It not only required multiple surgeries, but it also led to Cole receiving a bone from a donor.

"We had a show at Arthur Ashe Stadium," He said. "The main event was MJF vs. Samoa Joe. A lot of people know this is when that injury happened, but when I jumped off the ramp, my ankle literally exploded on both sides.

"I was able to finish what I was supposed to do, but long story short, I went in to get evaluated by a doctor in Florida, and they explained, 'Unfortunately, with this injury, I wish I could give you better news, but 10 out of 10 times, you have to get surgery. Your bones are just absolutely shattered.'

"Originally, the plan was for them to go in and put six screws into my ankle, and it was going to be good to go in about six to nine months. This procedure was only supposed to take about an hour but ended up taking three and a half hours.

"And when I woke up, the first news I received was 'Your ankle was a lot worse than we anticipated. You have to get another surgery in seven days.' So that was soul-crushing for sure.

"I had to go back in and get more screws put in, and actually a bone replaced. There was a chunk of bone on my ankle that had completely snapped off. It was kind of floating around in my ankle. They went to save that piece of bone but when they went to save it, it just completely crumpled and disintegrated almost.

"So they had to scoop out my bone and I actually have a cadaver bone from somebody else who was kind enough after they had passed away to donate their bones to people who are going through injuries, which I'm thankful for.

"I have somebody else's ankle bone in my ankle as well as seven screws. It was a very extensive recovery process and a very extensive procedure. It's definitely the most challenging surgery I've ever had."

Cole is a well-documented lover of video games. Not only was he a regular on Xavier Woods' UpUpDownDown YouTube channel, but he had been streaming on Twitch for years under the name The Chugs.

While he spent a year recovering and rehabbing his ankle, he used watching wrestling and gaming on Twitch to help him stay grounded.

"Pro wrestling is such a huge part of my life, so I was extensively watching wrestling and things like that," Cole said. "I had an incredible support system, be they my family or my friends.

"But I would say the one thing I did on my own, in addition to the rehab and therapy and things like that, was Twitch streaming. It has always been such a big thing for me. It's a way for me to connect with people and connect with an audience.

"My two biggest passions in my life are pro wrestling and video games, so having the chance to have that outlet to play and experience these really cool games and go through these awesome stories while I am recovering, that really really helped me as far as staying as sane as possible."

Cole spent a lot of free time watching pro wrestling during his time off, but when asked to single out any matches he thinks everyone should see, two stuck out to him from the same PPV.

"There have been so many great matches that have happened," Cole said. "It's unbelievable the amount of great professional wrestling that has happened and how much this has been built up and how incredible the talent has been.

"But I will say this, and this is not a definitive answer, but watching Will Ospreay within AEW has been such a joy to watch. Literally, any match that he's involved in, my eyes are glued to the screen. He is just one of the most unbelievably talented guys that I've ever seen in the entire world.

"Watching All In this year, for example, watching Will Ospreay and MJF was so incredible and so awesome to watch.

"I think another one that people should check out is Swerve Strickland against Bryan Danielson at All In this year. Both of those matches stick out to me as just absolutely unbelievable pro wrestling, and it certainly inspired me to get back in the ring as soon as possible. But it also had to be so exciting for the wrestling fans to watch."

During his time in AEW, Cole has been heavily linked to MJF. They began as enemies before forming a friendship and winning the ROH tag titles, but their alliance eventually ended.

When asked about his thoughts on his former brochacho, Cole had positive and negative things to say.

"I do think [MJF] is incredibly talented, "Cole said. "As far as professional wrestling goes, whether it be on the microphone, in the ring, his look, I think MJF has a lot of things going for him.

"I personally am not a huge fan of the guy. I've gotten to know him over this past year and really gotten to know what type of person he is, what he stands for, and all that.

"When it comes to objectively looking at him bell to bell, word for word, MJF has the entire world at his fingertips, and I really do believe that. But I think he definitely needs an attitude adjustment, that's for sure."

Whether wrestlers are in their first or 20th year in this business, almost everyone has goals they want to accomplish. Cole is no different. After spending the last 16 years working worldwide, the 35-year-old veteran still has some things to check off his bucket list.

"I'm 35 now and I've been blessed to have a 16-year wrestling career," Cole said. "I remember dealing with this ankle injury and just thinking more and more as I'm getting older, the idea of my wrestling career maybe ending, and the more that I thought about that, the more anxious I got and the more I knew that it was the last thing I want.

"There is so much more that I would like to accomplish. Within AEW, I really do think being the AEW world champion someday is a massive goal of mine. I think AEW with this five-year process has really grown and become one of the most important professional wrestling companies of all time.

"And I think AEW has only scratched the surface of what it's capable of, and that's wild to say considering all of the things AEW has indeed accomplished in such a short amount of time. I so badly want to be a part of that. I want to be the guy who leads the charge.

"I would like to be the AEW world champion and continue to wrestle for as long as I possibly can, and I really do think I will be able to continue to do that. I think as time has gone on, I'm realizing how precious this job is, how much I love this job, and how much I want to be a pro wrestler.

"So for as long as I possibly can, and if it's up to me it's going to be years and years and years from now, I'm going to be involved in professional wrestling, hopefully with AEW."

While Cole hopes to have many more years as an active competitor, he has already begun to consider what he wants to do in the wrestling industry once his in-ring career is over.

"One of my favorite things to do, and it's been quite some time since I've had a chance to do this, but I get the chance to do seminars with young wrestlers," He said. "Those are one of my favorite things in the entire world because you're in a room filled with passionate, young, hungry talent that wants to learn about this thing that I love so much.

"You can't help but feel the love back. It's so cool and so exhilarating to be in a room filled with people who just are so incredibly passionate about pro wrestling.

"Getting to do seminars and coaching are some of my favorite things to do. I love commentary. I love just being involved in the pro wrestling industry.

"When that day does come, I certainly think that I will be involved in the pro wrestling industry in some capacity, whether that be as a coach, a trainer, a commentator, a manager, in some capacity, I'm going to be involved."

To hear Cole talk about wanting to get involved in video game voice acting, listen to his full response in the included video.

We always like to end our AEW interviews with a movie review, and since October is a time when horror movies are king, Cole picked an appropriate film to discuss.

"Because it is indeed October, spooky season, I recently watched a movie called Oddity with my mother and my brother," Cole said. "It was an excellent horror movie.

"It was really really creepy. Most importantly, it was shot really really well. It's definitely one of my favorite horror movies I've seen this year. I don't know how much I want to go into details because I don't want to spoil anything, but I want to recommend this movie.

"There's a paranormal crime aspect to this movie. If you're looking for a good horror movie to watch and you haven't seen Oddity, I definitely recommend that one."

We also spoke to Cole about what video games he has been playing recently. You can listen to his answer in the video above.

All quotes were trimmed for clarity and conciseness. You can hear his full answers in the videos included on each page. You can follow @AdamColePro and @BR_Doctor on Twitter.