Bryan Danielson, Adam Cole make AEW debuts at All Out

Two of professional wrestling's hottest free agents made surprise appearances at the end of All Elite Wrestling's (AEW) All Out pay-per-view on Sunday (Monday in Manila) held at the NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

Bryan Danielson, formerly known in WWE as Daniel Bryan, and former NXT mainstay Adam Cole both made their debuts in AEW after much speculation about their destinations following the expiration of their previous contracts.

Danielson is a multiple-time WWE world champion who has been in some of the promotion's biggest matches in the previous decade and popularized the 'Yes' chant. He headlined Wrestlemania 30 back in 2014, defeating both Randy Orton and Batista in the main event to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. He also wrestled for the title in this year's Wrestlemania main event in a triple threat match with Roman Reigns and Edge.

Cole, meanwhile, was one of the stars of WWE brand NXT, where he holds the distinction of being its longest-reigning champion. He held the NXT Championship for 403 days and was the leader of one of its most popular stables, The Undisputed Era.

Cole debuted after Kenny Omega's successful title defense of the AEW Championship against Christian. It seemed like he would challenge Omega for the belt at first, before reuniting with Omega and his stable The Elite, with which he was affiliated before his WWE run, instead.

It's @AdamColePro, BAY BAY!#AEWAllOut pic.twitter.com/eHchHsYZ52

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) September 6, 2021

Danielson would make his first appearance soon after that, clearing the ring of The Elite.

.@WWEDanielBryan is here in #AEW!#AEWAllOut pic.twitter.com/oLBH975GP4

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) September 6, 2021

Earlier in the night, CM Punk competed in his first professional wrestling match in seven years about two weeks after his own debut in AEW. He was successful in his return to wrestling, defeating rising star Darby Allin.

—JMB, GMA News