10 Amazing Wrestling Callbacks You Totally Missed

8. Hangman Page Attempts To Atone

MJF Samoa Joe
AEW

The booking in AEW used to be better and more thought-out and critics of the promotion point this out in hopes that a bit of a kicking might drive Tony Khan into recapturing his form.

The booking of the Elite ahead of and at All Out 2020 was majestic.

In a great bit of daring plotting, that made exquisite use of the rankings system, FTR and the Young Bucks almost collided in a four-way Gauntlet match between the teams ranked #1, #2, #3 and #4. Tony Khan, and talk about build, used the (unrealised) threat of a free first-time meeting between the Bucks and FTR as a means of convincing fans that they'd much rather pay for it. This was a bait-and-switch, but the best possible version. The people wanted the scam!

They were deprived of the real thing when Hangman Page, manipulated by FTR, prevented Nick Jackson from executing his role in the Meltzer Driver by clutching the leg. The distraction saw the Bucks eliminated.

FTR advanced to face Kenny Omega and Hangman Page instead, and in the match, in an attempt to atone, Page prevented Dax Harwood from drilling Omega with a suplex using the exact same body language. Even his anguished head was twisted at the exact same angle.

Contrition as a counter: melodramatic in-ring storytelling rarely is as clever as that.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!