Photo: Adam Cole changes his look amid AEW hiatus 

Adam Cole hasn't been seen inside the ring since the September 27 episode of AEW Dynamite.

He announced his hiatus on that night to undergo surgery on the ankle injury he suffered while trying to help his comrade MJF during the AEW World Championship defense against Samoa Joe at the Grand Slam III.

The Panama City Playboy was willing to relinquish his ROH World Tag Team title, but Maxwell talked him out of making the decision. Although he's not medically cleared yet, Cole has continued to appear on weekly programming via pre-taped skits involving Roderick Strong and The Kingdom.

Amid his absence, Adam Cole reunited with DaParty (Claudio Castagnoli, Xavier Woods, and Tyler Breeze) on Twitch. Interestingly, eagle-eyed wrestling fans noticed Cole had been growing out his beard during his injury hiatus.

You can check out his photo below:

Last week, Adam Cole underwent a successful surgery on his broken ankle and shared the following message for his fans:

"I’m ok #ChugsArmy ♥️ This is going to be a long & challenging road, but your love & support means the absolute world to me. I hope you all know how much I appreciate it. 🙏Hoping to be back on stream next week! Most importantly, I hope you all are doing amazing. I really do," Cole tweeted.

According to the latest reports, there's currently no timeline for the former WWE NXT Champion's in-ring return.

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Jim Cornette blasts Adam Cole and MJF

Speaking on The Experience podcast, former WWE manager Jim Cornette slammed Cole and MJF for their funny pre-taped segments.

Cornette described their backstage skits as "goofy fake videos" and bluntly stated that their content is for 12-year-old young fans:

"We've all become 12 years old mentally. Why is this? The idea that one of them might turn on the other one would be accentuated if you believed that this was actually taking place and that they actually were friends and committed to each other rather than dramatic renditions every week of these goofy fake videos that are obviously produced and everybody's cooperating. Do they have to make this for 12-year-old children? And why is this the thing that the world champion of the company is involved in?" said Cornette.

Cole's unfortunate injury has likely put his plans with MJF on hold for the foreseeable future. As for The Salt of the Earth, he's set to put his AEW World Championship on the line against Jay White at Full Gear pay-per-view.

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