While everyone expected Adam Cole to end up in AEW after his WWE contract expired, his new deal wasn’t made official until last minute according to latest reports.
According to reports from Fightful Select, the former NXT champion’s signing with Tony Khan’s promotion didn’t come as a surprise to people within WWE. Many within the company expected him to join the rival promotion.
The WWE officials were operating under the assumption that he was already as good as gone even before his contract expired. Though the people in the organization had nothing but positive things to say about the way Cole handled things on his way out.
The former NXT star had not told anyone in the Stamford-based corporation that he would be appearing at All Out. He was kept hidden before the PPV.
Another interesting tidbit is that Adam Cole’s AEW deal wasn’t made official until Sunday. Although people handling different aspects of his debut such as merchandise were informed about it ahead of time.
The former Undisputed Era leader made his surprise AEW debut at the All Out PPV on September 5. He first teased going against Kenny Omega and the others but has since turned heel and joined his friends of the Elite.