Ethan Page is getting over as a main-event level heel

Ethan Page has been very prevalent as of late on AEW TV and for very good reason: he has shined in his role as a heel for the promotion. As is often the case in professional wrestling, though, he’s the nicest guy you’re likely to meet in real life. Despite this, he is firing on all cylinders as a main event-level antagonist. All he needs now are more storylines to further build his character.

The sky is the limit for Ethan Page

These days, with so many wrestlers coming over to AEW, there certainly should be a lot for “All Ego” to do; especially seeing that most of the wrestlers on their way over are faces — except for maybe Bray Wyatt, who is close to signing with the promotion, according to pro wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer of f4wonline and of course the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Page would also be the perfect heel for CM Punk to face; especially seeing that Page worked so well with Darby Allin in their most recent feud. The coffin match they had a few weeks back is still etched in my mind, and although a lot of those spots had a lot to do with Allin himself, a face always needs an epic heel to go ‘over’ in this business, and boy, was Page ever the perfect foil in that case.

What led Page to All Elite Wrestling

An impeccable athlete, Page, whose real name is Julian Micevski, is a multiple-time black belt and works hard on his physique, as is displayed on his YouTube channel, and we’ll get to his presence on the video platform in the next portion of this piece.

He started wrestling back in 2006 and has since put together quite an impressive résumé in the pro wrestling industry.

He started his career wrestling for the Pure Wrestling Association in his native Canada –Brantford, Ontario to be precise.

He then went on to wrestle for multiple companies and promotions which included: Alpha-1 (where he tagged with Cody Rhodes; they were even tag champions for the promotion), Black Label Pro, Absolute Intense Wrestling, Deathproof Fight Club, Evolve, Pro Wrestling Guerilla, Insane Wrestling League, and of course Impact, from where he is most known.

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ranked him and Josh Alexander as number four in 2020 for the top 50 tag teams listing. As a singles wrestler in 2017, he was ranked at number 182 out of the top 500 by that same publication.

He has held multiple championships, including the Impact World Tag Championships (with Alexander) twice and the Freelance World Championship.

None of these accomplishments would’ve been possible if it wasn’t for his charisma and ability to sell as a heel.

His presence on social media

This brings us to his social media accounts, particularly his YouTube channel. At 36.2K subscribers, I’d say he’s doing pretty well, and most of his views get up to that same number or thereabouts.

In his videos, you get to see a different side of this heel; the kinder side, if you will.

He features many Ring of Honor and Impact wrestlers, like Danhausen, Rohit Raju, Jake Something. And like most wrestlers these days, except for maybe Jon Moxley, he’s very prevalent on Twitter.

But what does all of this do for him as a heel? Does it endanger him at all?

Being a heel in the “reality era” of pro wrestling

Back in the day, Kayfabe was something that in pro wrestling was kept up with, even at hotels and restaurants back in the day. Just ask the likes of The Undertaker and even Sgt. Slaughter; the character you had in the ring was the same way you enacted with the guy grabbing your luggage at the airport. “Watch those bags, Maggot!” as Slaughter would have undoubtedly said.

But if you spoke to Slaughter –the man behind the character — then and now, you’d be face to face with a sweetheart.

These days, with social media and the arts going hand in hand, it seems as though wrestling fans are apt to forgive the difference in character.

Let’s be honest: kayfabe is broken a lot these days and especially on such platforms, but when Page goes to the ring and hits a promo, he’s all business and is a heel through and through. It’s important to notice the distinction and separate social media from the squared circle, which he seems to do perfectly.

His effectiveness as a heel

Overall, as stated, Page lands perfectly in that heel category of incredibly handsome individual that you want to like but are instead drawn to hating. It’s hard to explain, but I’m sure you get the point, wrestling fans. After all, we’re used to heels like Page.

He has shades of classic wrestling heels like “The Nature Boy” himself, Ric Flair, and even younger heels like Austin Aries. His in-ring work is sturdy and organized; you won’t see him performing any needless moves or holds. Essentially, everything he does is well-paced and strategic, allowing him to share the load in telling the story.

He sells very well and takes a mean bump, that’s for sure.

But as I hinted at before, he just needs the storylines moving forward, and perhaps we’ll get to see him facing the likes of CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, and whoever else might come over to AEW. Adam Cole would be very nice for a heel vs. heel and that being said, so would Wyatt.

Time will tell, friends. Until the next one.