10 Reasons AEW Fans Should Be Worried

The first three years of AEW were built, in part, around the grand story of Hangman Adam Page. The performance was subtle but brilliant, the booking careful and clever. As he gradually faced down and overcame his demons, as well as delivering explosive TV matches, fan investment only deepened.

Not that Page was always the central focus. Alongside Hangman’s saga, three different World Champions were presented in turn as the biggest deals in the company. The Hangman was all set to be next.

It’s unfortunate that his long-awaited coronation as World Champion almost coincided with three of the biggest signings in company history. Despite some excellent title defences, Page has often felt sidelined on TV.

Then there’s the title feud with CM Punk. With Punk the eternally over babyface, the former people’s champion Page was suddenly presented as a weird, paranoid, angry dude. He was convinced AEW needed defending from Punk but wouldn’t tell us why. Fans have come up with their own theories but it’s all been very reliant on viewers doing the work with their head canons. We’ve not been given the details, clues and foreshadowing lovingly strewn across the promotion’s best stories.

CM Punk was never factored into the original overarching narrative ahead of time because Khan didn’t know AEW would have Punk at their disposal. But nearly a year into Punk’s run, Khan has had plenty of time to dream up a storyline worthy of both competitors. Ultimately, it feels like he never got around to it.