4 Ups & 7 Downs From AEW Dynamite: Fight For The Fallen (August 17 - Review)

1. A Small But Potentially Awful And Wonderful Thing

Hangman Page
AEW

Hangman Page's relationship with alcohol was a fascinating detail during the original elegant building up (and knocking down and building back up) of his character in AEW. Very much used as the Homer Simpson "cause-of-and-solution-to" element of his personality during the various highs and lows between 2019 and 2021, booze was necked, thrown in his face and eventually placed gracefully to one side as the 'Anxious Millennial Cowboy' finally found himself.

Now, back with The Elite and back helping Kenny Omega fight his battles, Page has a can in his hand. The message was one of strength and determination on behalf of 'The Best Bout Machine', but did the beer reveal weakness or a new kind of confidence?

And who specifically might get extremely offended and pious about that that choice of beverage, not least as he carries around a "Real" World Championship with the symbol for Straight Edge sprayed through the middle?

It could all be nothing right now, but All Elite Wrestling was once the place where NOTHING was ever simply nothing. It'd be fantastic if this relatively lowkey moment marked the end of a frustratingly slapdash era and take us all back to those times.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett