Just 90 minutes before the AEW event, Texas President Tony Khan announced that TNT Champion Adam Cole was not medically cleared to compete, leading to the championship being vacated. Khan shared this update during a live social media stream, urging Cole to take the necessary time to recover fully.
This decision followed Cole’s final match on the July 10 episode of AEW Collision, where he teamed with Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong, and the Von Erich family. Due to Cole’s inability to defend his title against Kyle Fletcher, AEW replaced the original match with a fatal four-way contest for the now-vacant TNT Championship. The competitors in this match include Kyle Fletcher, Daniel Garcia (a former TNT Champion), Sammy Guevara (formerly TNT Champion and current ROH World Tag Team Champion), and Dustin Rhodes (current ROH World Tag Team Champion and veteran wrestler).
Additionally, both Guevara and Rhodes are set to team up with the Von Erichs for an eight-man tag match against Shane Taylor’s promotion during the Zero Hour Preshow. Adam Cole’s reign as AEW TNT Champion lasted 97 days with three successful title defenses, but this medical setback marks another challenge for him following a lengthy injury absence from September 2023 to October 2024. AEW has not disclosed the details of Cole’s current health issues but stressed that this precaution was taken to protect the wrestlers’ long-term well-being.
The AEW event will take place at Globe Life Field in Arlington, and the vacant TNT Championship adds an exciting unpredictability to an already action-packed lineup.
Fan Take: This sudden title vacancy shakes up AEW’s landscape, giving fresh opportunities for other top stars to rise and claim glory. For fans, it underscores the physical risks wrestlers face and highlights AEW’s commitment to prioritizing athlete health, which could set a positive precedent for the industry.
