Adam Cole says he needs surgery on injured ankle

AEW promised the Sept. 27 Dynamite would give us an update on the injury Adam Cole suffered at Grand Slam last Wednesday. Indications were the news wouldn’t be good, but we weren’t expecting it to be this not good.

“Unfortunately, this is a sad chapter of the story because last week I got hurt, and I got hurt really, really bad. Pretty much my ankle exploded, it broke in three different places, I tore ligaments, and guys, I did everything that I could, but unfortunately I have to go get surgery.

“I know, ugh, there is nothing more soul-crushing than hearing this. But listen, I promise, you have my word. I will do everything in my power to get back as soon as humanly possible.”

Depending on how accurate that diagnosis is (we’re holding out hope Cole is pulling a Kevin Nash, or at least exaggerating in service of a future surprise), he figures to be out for several months rehabbing from surgery.

The show must go on, however. And after Cole teased relinquishing the Ring of Honor Tag titles he and Maxwell Jacob Friedman hold, MJF defiantly announced he’ll defend them this Sunday at WrestleDream in a handicap match against #1 contenders The Righteous. He also vowed to keep the belts single-handedly until his Better Than You Bay Bay brochacho gets back.

We also got an appearance by an increasingly disheveled Roderick Strong, and the arrival of Switchblade Jay White as the next challenger for MJF’s AEW World title. For more immediate details on those developments, check out our live blog for tonight’s WrestleDream go home edition of Dynamite here.