It's Official: A New Era Has Begun In AEW

MJF AEW
AEW

Nobody really knew the potential Page held - with the exception of the original AEW think tank.

Hangman Page was the one all along; as the Bucks wrote in their autobiography, they believed Page to hold the most potential out of the lot of them.

Khan was convinced of this plan by his new hires within the original creative committee, and the first phase of the promotion was built around Page's ascension. Page was a great worker, ridiculously explosive, and had shown considerable personality as a defensive cocksman ahead of and at All In. His early AEW run however wasn't a success.

People enjoyed MJF's banter at his expense a little too much at Double Or Nothing, his match at Fight For The Fallen was an overlong dud, and at All Out, he lost to Chris Jericho in a very good match that played out to an exhausted crowd. The wonderful booking - the Young Bucks had a valid reason not to second him, but it hardly made Page feel elite - was somewhat lost. The money is in the chase, but who wanted anybody to chase Le Champion: Chris Jericho on the run of his career? The answer was Cody, who was significantly more over than Page.

AEW persisted because AEW was Page's promotion. He slowly grasped how to adapt his anxious character on television. He drank to mask his sadness, but the oversized pitchers were quality meme material. His irreverent-wit-as-a-defensive-mechanism bit was perfect because it didn't demean the sensitivity of the material. It was relatable. It was hilarious, and given the wider state of the world, essential.

CONT'D...(2 of 6)

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Contributor
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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!