It is essential to elucidate the mechanical mechanism of water injection and large-diameter drilling pressure relief measures on coal rock deformation and failure. This helps coal mines adopt more precise and effective dynamic disaster prevention and control measures. To obtain the mechanical response mechanism and energy evolution characteristics of saturated coal with a single pre-existing hole, uniaxial compression tests was carried out, and the deformation and failure process of coal samples were monitored by high-speed camera and acoustic emission monitoring systems. It is found that water saturation, single pre-existing hole measures, and their coupling effect resulted in a deterioration in the coal sample's strength by approximately 23.49%, 9.47%, and 47.95% respectively. The final failure mode of coal samples with different measures is shear failure. The law of fracture development and expansion and energy accumulation and release in different coal samples is roughly the same, the speed of energy accumulation and release in different stages is different. Water saturation and single pre-existing hole measures can affect the impact risk of coal samples, and water saturation can significantly reduce the impact tendency of coal samples, and reduce the impact energy index of complete coal samples by 56.59%. The impact tendency index of natural coal sample is slightly increased by single pre-existing hole measure, and the impact energy index of intact coal sample is reduced by 46.78% by the coupling of the two measures. These findings can provide technical support for coal mine power disaster prevention and control.