10 Times AEW Made The Critics Look Like IDIOTS

4. "Hangman Page Won't Get Over"

CM Punk
AEW

Hangman Page is the main character of All Elite Wrestling; if he doesn't renew his contract, AEW will feel like the Office when Steve Carrell left. There'll still be a good or even excellent story here or there, but the heart would be ripped straight out.

Many questioned why he was primed for the role, and this interrogation intensified when he lost to Chris Jericho at the first All Out: the match lacked heat, and while that probably had something to do with the fact that Matt Jackson had just taken one of the most insane bumps in wrestling history in the blow away awesome Escalera de la Muerte match, Page was thought to have failed his referendum as AEW's "I'm him". He was a great, explosive worker, but hadn't translated his funny and endearing Being The Elite character on the big stage.

Why go so hard with Page - especially when AEW hadn't utilised Kenny Omega anywhere near enough?

These 2019 complaints were answered with a resounding "we know what the f*ck we are doing, lads" in 2021 when, at Full Gear 2021, the anxious, self-deprecating Page, on the back of a perfect redemption story, defeated Omega, AEW's highest-drawing heel, in a classic main event.

That event did a monster 155,000 buys on PPV.

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!