Released WWE NXT Talent Returns To AEW

After being whacked on NXT 2.0 TV, this star returned to the AEW fold.

by Andrew Pollard
Troy Donovan Cole Karter
WWE

Having been released by WWE last month, the former Troy 'Two Dimes' Donovan this weekend returned to AEW action.

As per JJ Williams of the Wrestling Observer, the one-time D'Angelo Family member appeared at the latest set of AEW Dark tapings. There, under his Cole Karter name, the 22-year-old picked up a win over Mike Orlando.

This marks Karter's first match since his WWE exit shortly after NXT: In Your House this past June. With the door reportedly left open for a return to the company down the line, Cole was let go due to a wellness policy violation. In terms of on NXT 2.0 programming, Two Dimes was written off TV after Tony D'Angelo and Channing 'Stacks' Lorenzo seemingly murdered(!) him.

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As alluded to, this wasn't Cole Karter's first appearance for AEW. Prior to signing with WWE, Karter actually competed in nine matches for All Elite Wrestling across Dark and Dark: Elevation. Those bouts saw him compete against names like Lance Archer, Death Triangle, Dark Order, the Factory, and the former Big Show, Paul Wight; bouts that Cole all lost.

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Whether Karter ends up becoming officially #AllElite remains to be seen, but the fact that this most recent AEW outing saw him pick up his first victory in the company is surely a positive step for the star.

Cole wasn't the only recently-released WWE name to wrestle for AEW this past weekend, for Parker Boudreaux, fka Harland, was unveiled as the latest member of Ariya Daivari's burgeoning Trust Busters faction.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.