Adam Cole became a free agent and was able to go anywhere he chooses, but in speaking to WWE sources, Fightful learned an interesting note about some talks he had. According to those in WWE, Adam Cole had made it clear well ahead of his contract even coming up in July that he was not willing to give up his Twitch as many other wrestlers had been asked to do. The WWE source we originally spoke to on the matter called it "non-negotiable" for him, and even said that higher ups weren't excited to talk to him about it in general, because they didn't have much leverage on the situation, and that was even before they knew his contract came up in July.
Adam Cole signed with All Elite Wrestling, and made his debut at All Out Sunday night in one of the more memorable show closers ever in wrestling. Fightful has learned a ton of news in regards to the signing.
Cole's appearance didn't necessarily come as a surprise to many within WWE, as much of the company expected him to be heading to AEW as of last weekend. As Fightful reported, WWE had operated on the assumption that he was as good as gone by the time they sent a memo to some within the company. Still, those we spoke to in WWE had nothing but positive things to say about Adam Cole on the way out, especially the way that he handled the surprise contract expiration and extension.
Nobody we spoke to within WWE was outright told by Cole that he'd be appearing at All Out, and he was hidden the night of the show.
We're told the deal with AEW wasn't "official" until Sunday, but that those who needed to know were informed well ahead of time, as merchandise and other aspects of the debut had to be prepared. The finish of the show was discussed among talent involved late in the evening, after the CM Punk match.
We're working to find out terms of the deal
This article first appeared on our premium service, Fightful Select. Subscribe to get exclusive news every day, and a half-dozen weekly podcasts.
To directly support us and our continuing breaking news, interviews, and the like, subscribe to FightfulSelect.com. You'll get exclusive news sent to you directly before anyone else, and dozens of podcasts monthly including Alex Pawlowski's Sour Graps, Sean Ross Sapp's Q&A, Retro Reviews and more
