Hangman Page Defends AEW World Championship In Gory Texas Death Match
Bloodied champ manages to put down Lance Archer, next challenger steps up.
Despite losing a good deal of blood, Hangman Adam Page vanquished Lance Archer Wednesday night in their Texas Death Match, retaining his AEW World Championship.
Page and Archer battled backstage to start the bout but then stayed mainly in the ringside area, using tables, stairs, chairs and kendo sticks to batter and bloody each other. In one of the more shocking moments, Archer nailed a Blackout from the apron onto the ring steps, which had been turned on their side. The Murderhawk Monster didn't hold back, using a fork at one point to channel is inner Abdullah the Butcher and repeatedly stab Page's head.
Perhaps the cleverest spot came early on in the match. Page nailed a Buckshot Lariat for a 9 count, so Dan Lambert disassembled the top rope, removing the champ's ability to nail his finishing move. But at the climax, Page vaulted over a bent-over referee to hit the Buckshot, putting Archer through a table for the win.
One of the biggest complaints about Hangman's title reign has been that he's only defended the title twice since winning it nearly three months ago and had only wrestled on Dynamite those two times since winning the title. A vicious, wild title defense like this could serve to bolster his reign and set him up for the future.
But Page didn't get to celebrate for very long before his next challenger made himself known. Adam Cole, the presumed new #1 contender, walked out and placed the AEW Championship on Hangman's shoulder before leaving. Cole should represent a more high-profile, challenging feud for Page than the Archer program, and it should produce some great promos and a fantastic title match.