Adam Cole Keeps AEW TNT Title Out Of Death Rider Hands After Collision Open Challenge

It has been less than two weeks since Adam Cole claimed his first AEW singles title with his victory over Daniel Garcia for the TNT Championship at "AEW Dynasty," and already, Cole is showing the AEW roster why he holds the gold. On Thursday's special episode of "AEW Collision: Spring Break Thru," Cole defended his title for the first time against the Death Riders' Claudio Castagnoli, and after an intense contest, Cole walked out of the building still the TNT Champion.

Castagnoli answered Cole's open challenge for the TNT Championship, and immediately overwhelmed the new champion with his signature powerhouse offense. The Death Riders member continued to bring the fight to the champion, and when their fight spilled to the outside, Castagnoli walked around the audience as Cole laid on the cold, hard ground.

Cole did not find momentum in the match until the second half, when he rocked Castangoli with a Superkick before following it up with a Neckbreaker. Despite a brief revival of offense from Castagnoli, Cole managed to find his footing again when he plucked Castagnoli out of midair with a Superkick. What Cole lacked in offense, however, he made up for in resiliency, as he refused to stay down, regardless of Castagnoli's offense. An Avalanche Superplex from the top rope, ironically, secured the win for the underdog Cole, who managed to shift his weight to reverse Castagnoli's post-Superplex pin cover for a three-count.

Castagnoli was, lightly put, irate after his loss. In his rage, the Death Riders member ran Tony Schiavone and Nigel McGuinness out from the commentary booth, and completely turned the structure inside out. His rampage was only stopped by Death Riders' arrival, who escorted him from the ring.

Thursday's match marked Cole's first successful singles title defense on AEW programming. As of writing, Cole's next challenger is unclear.