10 Secret AEW Storyline Details Hiding In Plain Sight

5. The Real Reason Kenny Omega & Hangman Page Lost The Tag Team Titles

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AEW

Kenny Omega and Hangman Page weren't close, nor did they have anything in common.

Page was an anxious wreck who had never experienced notable singles success, much less compared to his ultra-gilded partner, and he drank heavily to subdue his mental health problems. Omega was drawn to Page having experienced a decline in his normal standards, which to every other wrestler was a rich vein of form. Omega was calm, enthusiastic and optimistic about his next direction. He was also a teetotaller.

This was key to the next phase of a story that appeared to settle with the touching truce of Double Or Nothing, at which Omega and Page shared a whiskey and milk.

FTR arrived like a dark grey cloud as beer-drinking mid-Atlantic boys feigning a friendship with Page. They had a lot in common, and FTR used this to manipulate Page. Putting over the prestige of the titles, and the extent to which they were difficult to obtain, FTR created a masterplan, the endgame of which was the shattering of Page's soul - as beautifully visualised with a shot of Page, disconsolate, stood in front of a broken mirror.

It was Omega who hurt Page first; when building their match with Best Friends at Fyter Fest, Omega gently but callously mocked Page for having no drinking buddies.

And then, at Fight For The Fallen, left out by the Elite once again, FTR became his drinking buddies by joining him at the bar.

 
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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!