Appearing unannounced on last night's edition of AEW Dynamite, Cole confirmed he had recovered from his recent injuries and was set to return to action.
The speech marked his first All Elite Wrestling appearance since Forbidden Door 2022, having suffered multiple concussions and shoulder injuries, which he documented in detail ahead of revealing that he was now fighting fit.
Advertisement
Cole last wrestled on the AEW x NJPW supercard, losing a Four Way for the IWGP Championship that also featured Jay White, Kazuchika Okada and Hangman Adam Page. He wrestled 34 times for All Elite Wrestling following his September 2021 debut, including two failed attempts at Page's AEW World Heavyweight Championship at Revolution 2022 at the April 15th edition of Rampage. He also won the inaugural Owen Hart Men's Invitational Tournament alongside women's winner and real life girlfriend Dr Britt Baker.
Cole didn't make clear who he might target first, but did lean towards a babyface turn in his tone and make clear his continued aspirations to be AEW World Heavyweight Champion - a title currently held by industry top heel Maxwell Jacob Friedman.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
