Adam Cole To Have First AEW Match On Dynamite

At the criticially acclaimed AEW All Out event, the show closed with a monumental pair of signings- Adam Cole & Bryan Danielson (fka Daniel Bryan in WWE). Cole emerged first to a huge ovation to the Chicago crowd, and in a somewhat shocking moment, immediately rejoined his old buddies in The Elite- Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks.

It is fitting, then, that Adam Cole's first official action in an AEW ring will be against a man known as The Elite Hunter. This coming week on Dynamite, it will be Adam Cole vs. Frankie Kazarian. Since the dissolution of the SCU tag team and Christopher Daniels disappearing from television, Kazarian has made it his mission to stand up to the cocky Elite faction. Adam Cole said on Dynamite last week that he's been elite for a very long time. The opportunity to prove it is near.

This will be Adam Cole's first wrestling match outside of WWE in over 4 years. He spent essentially his whole WWE run on the NXT brand, only appearing on Raw & Smackdown in late 2019 when the majority of the WWE crew were stuck in Saudi Arabia due to travel issues. He faced Daniel Bryan on Smackdown and Seth Rollins on Raw in a couple of the better TV matches of the year.

His chapter in NXT ended very recently, losing to former Undisputed Era stablemate Kyle O'Reilly at NXT Takeover 36 on the 22nd August. As Cole's WWE contract expired after signing a short-term extension to conclude the O'Reilly feud, he was not bound by a no-compete clause, as other wrestlers who were released from WWE this year have been. As such, Cole's first appearance in AEW came exactly two weeks after his last NXT match. Pro wrestling in 2021 is a wild time.

By Mick Robson