How Hangman Page Will Change Everything About Pro Wrestling
![Chris Jericho Hangman Page](https://cdn3.whatculture.com/images/2019/09/a2a38d05af6aca50-600x338.gif)
At Fight For The Fallen, he narrowly got by Kip Sabian in an overlong and unfocused match, the shrugging reception to which layered, at least, what would become AEW's greatest long-term story - and, one day, the blueprint for pro wrestling narrative deeper into the 21st century. Page was a main event bust in the company that could not afford to fail.
This feeling became canon at All Out. Jericho pinned Page clean in the middle of the ring. Page wasn't screwed. He failed. On the post-PPV Being The Elite, Page cut a shattered figure. The Bucks attempted to console him, but he was inconsolable. That the Bucks had rejected his plea to second him at the show deepened his sadness. He no longer felt worthy of the Elite name, and as Dynamite launched, he quietly distanced himself from it.
This was handled so elegantly; as those early Elite Vs. Inner Circle brawls erupted, Page was either slow to make the save, or barely participated at all. In the meantime, he renewed hostilities with PAC, his snake-bitten rival. In yet more careful, subtle booking, he won a nuanced banger at Full Gear, but lost the trilogy. This was crucial; Page in storylines always remained a great wrestler, just one experiencing a dip in form and confidence. The balance was exquisite, in that fans were still allowed to believe in him, but he couldn't believe in himself.
Kenny Omega still believed in him, or at least, that's how the next, seminal chapter seemed to begin. Driven by their respective failures in the singles division, the two men at Omega's urging joined forces in the tag ranks.
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