10 Booking Steps For The AEW World Title Tournament

10. Hangman Page Can't Win

This is the first and most important step.

Hangman Page is the long-term Ace of AEW; the Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer has reported this several times, and it can be inferred from the incredible amount of detail with which his arc has been mapped. AEW are layering and layering the sympathy we are to feel for him, balancing it perfectly with a strong win/loss record, with the idea that the fanbase will buy him as a World Champion when they most want to see him ascend.

A witty, irreverent and sensitive babyface for a more progressive generation, Hangman retains enough of what fans have traditionally valued in a top guy - he's a superb, heavy-hitting babyface drinker with a convincing, badass frame - to appeal universally. AEW cannot risk the intricate booking that began at All Out 2019 to split the audience.

Jon Moxley is too over as the current top guy. AEW fans are encouraged to agonise over where to direct their support, in certain storylines, but the choice here is too stark: Mox is the man, and the man who defeats him is going to be heavily resented for it.

But how does Hangman Page not win?