There was worthy work to be enjoyed between Hangman Page and David Finlay, but in yet another somewhat damning indictment of the Forbidden Door concept being made real, a theoretically enormous AEW x NJPW interaction being used to further other things (see also: Adam Cole Vs Tomohiro Ishii and Minoru Suzuki Vs Samoa Joe) implied that there's still too much going on for anything to register fully.
Hangman Page's post-victory promo was more intriguing than great. His understated burial of the Battle Royal and his apparent exclusion from it spoke more to MJF's similar internal complaints last week than anything else, but an interruption from Adam Cole to ensure yet another battle between the former rivals felt like over-egging a pudding that has already been baked.
It's logical enough that Cole would want Jay White to beat Kazuchika Okada, and be angry enough at Page for suggesting this wouldn't occur. But the match feels like a condescending delay - Page/Okada should be and presumably is the direction; was a foregone conclusion TV squabble between Page and Cole really necessary to build for the way there?
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
