Adam Cole already went into his Forbidden Door match banged up and the physical bout he wrestled only appears to have made things worse.
The former NXT champion wrestled a fatal four-way match for the IWGP heavyweight championship. The other contestants of the bout were Jay White, Kazuchika Okada, and Hangman Page.
The ending of the match saw Okada trying to deliver a rainmaker to Cole but White interrupted before he could execute the move. Jay White hit the Bladerunner on Okada and then pinned Adam Cole who just collapsed to the side.
This awkward finish to the bout got people talking and many wondered if Cole had suffered another injury. Bryan Alvarez said on Twitter that the former champion is believed to have suffered a concussion:
Tony Khan Says Adam Cole Will Be Fine
Tony Khan was later asked about the AEW star in the post show media scrum. He explained that it made more sense to end the bout than to risk further damage. The AEW President also ensured the fans that Cole will be fine long term:
“Yeah, I think Adam Cole will be okay. He was in the match. It was a very physical wrestling match and he was pinned in the match. The timing of it wasn’t [right].
It may not have looked when people expected it to happen but that’s when it happened. He’s gonna be okay long term, but probably if he couldn’t continue wrestling it made sense [to end the match]. I think if you can’t keep fighting there’s discretion is a better part of valor. I think long term he’ll be okay.”
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