Tony Khan Pulls Back Curtain On Last-Minute AEW TNT Title Change

AEW CEO Tony Khan has discussed Adam Cole's injury, which forced him to make last-minute changes to plans at All In.

Cole vacated the TNT Championship and announced on the show that he will have to step away for a while to care for his injuries, resulting in Khan making a late call to alter plans.

"Well, it was really challenging. I had just come from the ROH show, and Adam Cole was planning to wrestle and defend the championship, and it was actually very early Saturday morning, technically, I was just getting to bed for a few hours. I was planning to sleep, and it didn't really work out that way because, unfortunately, we had to make major changes and I had to spend the night really thinking about how to make it up to the fans and to treat Adam Cole with respect that he has earned and that he deserves," Khan said on "Good Karma Wrestling." "It was a hard conversation, but I'm glad he told me the truth that he just didn't feel well and he was having trouble sleeping."

Khan feels that Rhodes winning the vacant title was the right fit, considering how the veteran star had come close to the title on a few occasions in the past. 

"It was very fitting that he came out and spoke to the fans. Of course, he had to relinquish the TNT championship. But then it was great to see a longtime fan favorite, Dustin Rhodes, win after so many close chances to the TNT Championship."

Tony Khan also lauded Adam Cole for the speech he delivered at All In, where an emotional Cole teased potential retirement due to his injuries. Khan disagreed with one particular point that Cole made, to highlight what a valuable asset he is for AEW.

"And I knew that it would be the right thing for Adam Cole, and it was what he wanted to do too, to go out and speak to the fans from his heart and explain that he wouldn't be able to wrestle. The only thing I disagreed with [in his speech] is one of the first things he said. I don't think at all that he let people down. While we're all sad, I think that Adam Cole, everyone knows, does his best, and if he could have wrestled, he would have gone out there," he added. 

Khan earnestly stated that Cole is a beloved figure with the fans and in the locker room, stressing how he has been one of the most popular stars in every promotion that he has been in.

"Adam Cole gave a great speech to the fans. They embraced him. He's a great popular star, beloved by the wrestlers and by the fans. He's not only been a top wrestler in every company he's been in, but he's been a leader in the locker room in every promotion that he's ever wrestled in."

Cole's AEW TNT title reign lasted just under 100 days, and is his only title reign in AEW.