AEW All Out: Hangman Page will rise from failure

In the biggest match of his career, Hangman Page failed to win the AEW World Championship. However, losing benefits him more than winning ever could.

Welp. This is the point of the article where I have to eat my words whilst my foot remains idle in my mouth. I have been championing the christening of Adam “Hangman” Page ever since June and since then, have been emphasizing how important it had to be for Page to become the first ever AEW World Champion. Not only that, but I all but guaranteed that Page was going to defeat Chris Jericho to win the title. In fact, I actually might have guaran-damn-teed it once or twice this summer.

And then, it didn’t happen.

If you’re reading this, then you likely either saw AEW All Out this past weekend or you at least know that Chris Jericho became All Elite Wrestling’s inaugural World Heavyweight Champion. Yes, Jericho. Not his opponent, Page. Page lost. I was wrong.

Now that we’re past talking about the one and only time that I was wrong during my entire professional writing career, let’s talk about some actual meat that’s worth talking about: Page losing is a good thing.

I know, me turning over a new leaf of sorts or a change of mind so fast seems abrupt after being so positive that Page was winning last Sunday. But, thankfully, I have a positive enough of a mindset where I’m not only open to seeing the other side of things, but I also can look at the positives, especially in situations where a lot of negatives can be seen. Which, let’s face it, some negatives can be derived from Page’s loss.

It’s a classic case where a young gun was in the biggest match of his career and lost. Critics could see Page’s loss as a sign he’s “done” as a main eventer. After all, critics have said exactly that in similar situations (i.e. Nexus losing to John Cena at SummerSlam) and to be frank, the way certain similar situations played out could prove them right. However, I don’t think this is one of those cases at all.

I actually think that Page serves more potential in the main event scene now than he would have in winning. Think about it. Given his connections and friendships with AEW execs Kenny Omega, Cody and The Young Bucks, it gives too much of an opportunity for critics to say that Page doesn’t deserve his spot, had Page won the title in his first AEW main event that is.

While some audiences are familiar with Page’s 11-year journey in this industry, not everyone has seen his rise to stardom. Not everyone saw Page as the babyfaced rookie in CWF Mid-Atlantic, the young boy in Ring of Honor, or even the rising Problem Solver of the Bullet Club in NJPW. Much of the new viewers coming into AEW may just be seeing a new guy being pushed too soon faster than he’s ready.

Personally, I don’t feel that way, but I get why someone would have that opinion. Which, again, is why it’s good that Page lost. In losing, it creates a story for those new viewers to get attached to. You get a story of a young man who almost had the world in his hands and lost it all, then trying to bounce back. It’s a sympathetic that gets viewers into the mind of Page and grow sympathy for him as a character. In leaning into this side of Page, folks who may not care, know or even like Page may warm up to him. Then, when he does when the title one day, everyone cheers him on.

For the time being, you’ve got an emerging babyface that fans can grow to love without the pressure of a title on his shoulder to force him down our throats. In addition, you’ve got a familiar face in Chris Jericho as your premiere heel champion that brings in viewers and creates compelling storylines after doing so for several decades. Everybody wins.

I was wrong in originally thinking putting the title on Page immediately would have been the right call, but for the first time in my career, I’m happy to be wrong.