Adam Cole And Jon Moxley Suffer Major Injuries At AEW Dynamite GrandSlam Episode

AEW Dynamite Grand Slam had some worrisome moments for Jon Moxley and Adam Cole, both visible to those watching in the stadium and on TV. Moxley’s situation was particularly concerning as it occurred during his defense of the International Championship against Fenix.

Leading up to the busy schedule of shows, starting with AEW All In London in August, Tony Khan expressed his relief that the company wasn’t dealing with as many injuries to top talent as it did in 2022. However, at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City, during the AEW Dynamite Grand Slam, Khan might have felt like the bad luck from the previous year had returned, at least for one night.

The ending of the match seemed unusual as Fenix executed a Black Fire Driver that appeared to drive Moxley’s head into the mat. Moxley remained down, but the referee didn’t count to three. Fenix repeated the move and secured the pinfall to win the title, indicating that the match’s outcome may have been changed on the spot, and the referee wasn’t immediately informed.

Jon Moxley sustained an injury during the match with Rey Fenix, leading to a change in the match’s planned finish. Moxley left the ring under his power and received attention from several individuals, including Tony Khan, whom he assured that he was okay.

Rey Fenix emerged victorious over Jon Moxley at AEW Dynamite Grand Slam, becoming the new AEW International Champion. However, this was not the originally intended outcome.

According to reports from PWInsider, there was a backstage belief that Moxley might have suffered a concussion during the match, potentially leading to the alteration of the match’s initial plan, which was for Moxley to retain his title.

The Wrestling Observer noted that Moxley seemed injured after taking Fenix’s Black Fire Driver, where his head appeared to hit the mat. Moxley seemed to signal to referee Rick Knox to count the pin, even though it wasn’t the planned finish. Knox initially hesitated to count to three, even though Moxley didn’t kick out. Finally, when Fenix delivered a second Black Fire Driver, Knox counted to three for the pin.

Wade Keller of PWTorch.com reported that Moxley suffered a concussion before the match during a pre-match brawl, unrelated to Fenix’s piledriver. Keller revealed that Moxley made the decision during the match to change the finish, as he sensed something was wrong, but the referee was uncertain about the actual ending.

An eyewitness at Arthur Ashe Stadium mentioned that Moxley quickly got up and walked away after being examined during the commercial break following the match. Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer later provided more details on Moxley’s injury.

As for Adam Cole, his injury occurred in a seemingly innocuous manner but could potentially be more severe. During a subplot that unfolded throughout the evening, Cole didn’t walk to the ring with MJF for his AEW World Championship match against Samoa Joe. Instead, he sprinted down the ramp to support his friend late in the bout.

However, while jumping off the ramp to the floor, it was clear that Cole landed hard and began limping immediately.

According to Fightful, Cole was in obvious pain backstage and was subsequently taken to the hospital. He was later released but was seen using crutches.

Moxley has displayed remarkable durability despite his heavy workload in AEW, whereas Cole returned to the ring in March after missing nine months due to injury, ironically because of lingering concussion symptoms.

As of now, there is no update on the nature of Cole’s injury or his current condition.

If either or both Moxley and Cole are sidelined for an extended period, it would be a setback for AEW, as both are central to some of the company’s key storylines. Nevertheless, Khan and his team have experience in adapting to such challenges, and we hope they won’t need to rely on that experience this time.