10 Times AEW Turned Trash Into Treasure
1. The Role Of Hangman Page
Hangman Page was never bad, but his early role felt miscast.
Page was hardly helped by MJF, whose charisma dwarfed his at Double Or Nothing. Nor was he helped by the enforced change in booking plans; Page, originally meant to wrestle PAC to earn a title shot at All Out, instead won the Casino Battle Royale, the comedic overtones of which undermined the achievement. His promo work in the build was stellar - he ripped the bandages from his face to get himself over as a classic babyface - but the match with Chris Jericho didn't get over as a proper main event because he went 50/50 with Kip Sabian at Fight For The Fallen in a match that attempted to do too much at once. Getting the time limit draw over was not the priority (and was a waste of time, since AEW has now abandoned a promising narrative device).
In the early phase of Dynamite, Page got over in an excellent series with PAC, but the Elite dissolution angle really got him over as the most popular act in the company. His genuinely funny comedic instincts connected him with the fans. Scrutinised closely, that pitcher of beer pictured above making its way into his hand was impossible, but the bold-faced absurdity of the bit, and the timing of the reveal, got it over.
This entry might be a reach, because this arc was likely the plan from the jump. You were meant to lose faith in him just as he was meant to lose faith in himself.
Maybe AEW has been burying some of that treasure all along.