How AEW Must Reheat Its Biggest Monster

Hangman Page Tunnel
AEW

Whether that effort resonated to bad faith actors as - sigh - Cody getting his sh*t in is immaterial. AEW needs to reheat the monster irrespective of how well he was protected because Brodie Lee is awesome in a role that folds in so much of AEW's shared universe and makes stunning use of the win/loss rankings framework and the gravity that resonates from it.

At Full Gear, in what was tremendous booking that serviced the long-term picture, the Elite won, but Hangman Page did not, furthering the idea that he doesn't feel capable of the name. Kenny Omega - who was far quicker to celebrate with the Young Bucks than he was to save them, in the sort of wrinkle at which this company excels - celebrated their title win an emotionally layered scene. Hangman Page emerged from the tunnel, just in frame. He wanted to congratulate his old friends, out of respect, but he didn't respect himself enough to do it because he lost to Kenny Omega. The loss reinforced to him the self-doubt that has plagued him since September 2019. The triumph and tragedy of their respective arcs was blocked so artfully.

On the following Dynamite, Tay Conti defeated Red Velvet in what appeared to be an entirely separate storyline development booked to further build towards the Conti Vs. Anna Jay match and Conti's full babyface singles run.

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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!