2. Hangman Page & The Young Bucks Vs The Dark Order
AEW
Was the dynamic in this match doomed by the vignettes that came before it, or did Hangman Page's crumbling kinship with the dilapidated Dark Order over the last several months do the damage?
Earlier in the show, they accepted an open challenge extended by The Hung Bucks having been left on read for long enough by the former AEW Champion. Not for the first time, he looked somewhere between angry and upset and yeah yeah yeah people are complex and Hangman Page is AEW's totem because of it, but sometimes wrestling needs it kept simple, stupid, and the reasons were laid bare when the bell rang.
Drawn into the fight by Evil Uno, it was tough to receive Page as the hero of this mini-story because The Bucks were d*ckheads throughout and The Dark Order are so utterly pathetic at this point that it scanned as schoolyard bullying. The work was crisp and flawless but the live crowd didn't seem to know which way to support it beyond gasps and claps at all of the usual. The babyfaces (?) got the win, but is Hangman okay with it?
Bluntly, who gives a sh*t at this point? Page and Omega 2019-2021, this isn't. Speaking of which...
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
