AEW: Who should be next challenger for “Hangman” Adam Page?

When “Hangman” Adam Page defeated Kenny Omega for the AEW World Title at Full Gear on November 13, 2021, it capped off one of the most stirring pieces of long-term storytelling in recent memory.

It was a story two years in the making that took us on a ride of the tremendous peaks and valleys that Page has experienced in his tenure in AEW.

We saw Page as a member of the Elite and a challenger to become the first-ever AEW World Champion.  We also got a look at him as a down on his luck loner whose closest relationship seemed to be with a bottle of whiskey.

But through the highs and lows, wrestling fans stayed invested in his story, wildly cheering him at every appearance.  None more so than when the story came full circle and Adam Page’s journey ended with him proudly holding the prize he had coveted for so long proudly over his head after dispatching his biggest naysayer, Kenny Omega.

“Hangman” is currently in an extremely entertaining feud with Bryan Danielson.  Their first match went to a sixty-minute time limit draw at Winter is Coming and their highly anticipated rematch is scheduled for January 5th, on Dynamite’s TBS debut.

While it is conceivable that Danielson could defeat Page and become the AEW Champion, it isn’t likely.

After putting so much effort into telling the story of “Hangman” and building him into a star, it would be very counterproductive for him to lose his title in his first feud after winning it.

So somehow, someway, Page will find a way to beat Bryan Danielson on January 5th.

But once Page dispatches of Bryan Danielson, who might emerge as the next challenger for Page’s AEW Title?

Here are the three most likely next challengers for “Hangman” Adam Page’s AEW World Title.

Andrade El Idolo

Two things are very clear about Andrade El Idolo.

One, the man is a special talent in the ring.

Andrade can really do it all.  He is strong enough to pull off impressive power moves, quick enough to keep up with opponents much smaller than him, and flies off the top ropes in a manner that is usually reserved for cruiserweights.

Secondly, for whatever reason, Andrade has failed to induce the reactions from the crowd that his ex-WWE peers have been able to.

From his surprise introduction as the newest member to the roster of All Elite Wrestling to his Atlanta Street Fight match with Cody Rhodes, Andrade just hasn’t been able to draw a strong reaction either way from the promotion’s faithful despite having some amazing matches within AEW.

A match against an uber-over champion fresh off winning a feud against Bryan Danielson may change that.  A feud between Andrade and Page would produce a great in-ring product and may also help Andrade El Idolo elicit stronger emotions from the crowds moving forward.

CM Punk

Make no mistake about it, we will get Adam Page versus CM Punk at some point in Page’s title reign.  But the timing just isn’t quite right yet.

CM Punk and Adam Page is a pay-per-view headline-type of a matchup.  And while AEW has no issue giving its fans amazing matches for free, they can’t give them all away.

This contest feels like the main event for Revolution 2022, but unfortunately, that show isn’t scheduled until March 6th of 2022.

So in the meantime, Punk will finish up his feud with MJF and then set his sights on another one of the young lions of the promotion, possibly Ricky Starks, while he bides his time to make his challenge to Adam Page.

When Punk and Page do meet in the ring it is going to be an absolute barnburner.  And CM Punk will have stayed true to his word to being in AEW to work with the promotion’s young talent.  It just so happens that in this case that young talent also holds the AEW World Title.

Miro

The most likely next opponent for Adam Page is Miro.

Miro is the logical choice for a number of reasons.

One, he is just so talented and he is that monstrous villain that every champion needs to overcome during their title reign.  In addition to being just that, Miro is also a believable threat to Page’s title.

Secondly, other than being a last-minute fill-in for Jon Moxley in the World Title Eliminator Tournament we haven’t seen Miro much recently, other than in vignettes.

Finally, in building a star, putting a title on him/her is only part of the process.  Just as important is the ability for that star to defend his/her title against the best competition and do so in a memorable fashion by putting on great matches in those title defenses.

Miro is capable of helping Page do just that.

The only thing working against him is that he has been absent from AEW television for a bit and is not in the current top five rankings.

But that isn’t anything an Adam Page open challenge or a couple of weeks of wins on AEW Dark and/or Elevation couldn’t fix.

Once Miro has those wins under his belt and cracks the top five look for him to come gunning for the AEW title, keeping “Hangman” Page occupied until his title defense at Revolution against CM Punk.