AEW’s Adam Cole has been on the shelf for well over a year after a freak injury at “AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam” left him with a broken ankle that required multiple surgeries after running out and jumping off the stage to help former friend MJF. His recovery also took him off the road with AEW, as traveling appeared to be hindering his progress. Cole could soon be making a return to the ring, however, according to a new report from Fightful Select.

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Fightful reported Monday that the word backstage within the company is that they’re “hopeful and even expecting” to get Cole back “sooner than later” and things have already been put in motion creatively to prepare for his return. According to the new report, Cole was backstage at All Out and walking around without the use of a boot, and was said to be in good spirits.

Cole’s last appearance for AEW was at Double or Nothing in May, when he was attacked by a returning MJF. During the appearance, Cole ran down the crowd before pulling out the devil mask he used when turning on MJF, a storyline that seemed to have been dropped due to his injury. He made a promise that once he was healed, he would “give the devil his due.” Cole’s last match before his injury as at All Out 2023 when he successfully defended the Ring of Honor tag team championships alongside MJF against The Dark Order’s John Silver and Alex Reynolds. Earlier in his time with AEW after making the jump from WWE, Cole sustained two concussions that left him out of action and almost ended his wrestling career.

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Hurricane Helene devastated portions of the United States’ eastern coast over the weekend, causing massive flooding and historic storm surge as well as power outages, leaving many without homes, food, and more from Florida through the Carolinas. Asheville, North Carolina was one of the hardest-hit communities by the storm, washing out roads completely and leaving residents without cell service or means of transportation. One-half of FTR, AEW star Cash Wheeler, posted about his hometown near Asheville on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Sunday. He said his hometown is “devastated,” but his family and friends are alright, though some lost everything. Wheeler posted a link to a local television station outlining available resources in the community to help those impacted.

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Wheeler followed up his initial post on Monday with the link to a GoFundMe page he organized to help fund relief for Western North Carolina. In the description, Wheeler said he is collecting donations to help deliver relief to those affected by the storm. He wrote he is “stocking up a van of supplies to drive down to the community to deliver to those without food and water.” He said in his post on X that donations of supplies, in addition to money, are also appreciated.

“The damage is devastating and will take years to rebuild,” Wheeler wrote on the GoFundMe page. “I’ll be starting in my hometown of Old Fort, NC and the surrounding small towns to help those in need.”

Wheeler’s GoFundMe for Hurricane Helene victims has raised over $3,000 of its $5,000 goal as of this writing with 34 donors. Former AEW World Champion MJF donated $1,000 to the campaign.

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Very few dogs have built the mystique and mythology of CM Punk’s canine companion, Larry Punk. Larry was already at an innocent bystander in the infamous “Brawl Out” incident, which saw Larry injured amidst a locker room brawl between CM Punk, Nick Jackson, Matt Jackson, Ace Steel, and Kenny Omega. Larry’s name was then included on the friendship bracelet around which Punk’s feud with Drew McIntyre has been centered.

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WWE released a video on their official YouTube channel, letting fans get to know Larry, as the small pup visited a recent taping of “WWE Raw” in Sacramento, CA. Larry could be seen eating and scampering backstage as Punk explains that Larry is missing “90% of his teeth.” Punk also says that he and Larry are similar in both their attitudes and their graying hair.

“I can’t picture the last ten years of my life without this little guy,” Punk gushed, happy that he gets to bring the dog to work with him every week. “These are the dogs that need saving and rescuing, the forgotten misfits, that’s what Larry is. Ironically, now [he’s] probably one of the more famous dogs.”

According to Punk, his Bad Blood opponent Drew McIntyre has gone too far by invoking Larry’s name in promos.

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“It motivates me all the more just to be done with it and hopefully end Drew’s entire career,” Punk said. “So people know that is a line you do not cross.”

Punk is set to face McIntyre on October 5 at WWE Bad Blood in a Hell In A Cell Match.

Just days away from the fifth anniversary episode of “AEW Dynamite,” it seems All Elite Wrestling will be without one of its original stars for an undisclosed period of time. On Monday, Fightful reported that Austin Matelson, who currently wrestles in AEW under the name Killswitch after initially being known as Luchasaurus, is dealing with a serious medical issue that has resulted in his hospitalization.

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Fightful reports that Matelson’s fiancee “found him collapsed” this past Friday, after which he was taken to the hospital. Upon admission his blood oxygen level was found to be below 80% — dangerously low, considering the normal level is 95% – 100%. Doctors also discovered that Matelson had pneumonia in both lungs and that he was “days away from permanent lung damage.” Matelson has been on oxygen since Friday and was reportedly told he would need more than a month to recover, and it could be longer before he’s ready to return to the ring. Fightful says they received permission “from those close to” Matelson before reporting on the situation.

Matelson is a former AEW TNT, Tag Team, and Trios Champion, having won the tag titles in 2022 alongside Jack Perry back when Matelson was known as Luchasaurus, Perry was known as Jungle Boy and they were collectively known as Jurassic Express. The years since have seen Luchasaurus become Killswitch after turning on Perry at the behest of Christian Cage, who brought Killswitch into The Patriarchy; Cage and Killswitch were Trios Champions with fellow Patriarchy member Nick Wayne until AEW All In 2024, when they lost the belts to the Blackpool Combat Club at Wembley Stadium. Killswitch later helped Cage win a Casino Gauntlet Match the same night, resulting in Cage “earning” a guaranteed world championship opportunity. Killswitch hasn’t competed in the ring since Wembley.

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