New Details On Ethan Page's Shock WWE NXT Debut

All Ego laid out Trick Williams on this week's NXT.

by Andrew Pollard
NXT Ethan Page
WWE

With Ethan Page having shocked the wrestling world by turning up on this week's NXT and attacking Trick Williams, there are now some new details on how All Ego's NXT arrival came about.

In the immediate aftermath of Page's NXT debut, it was reported that the Canadian was at the WWE Performance Center last week to undergo a physical before officially signing with the company. Now, Fightful Select has information on how the former North man's NXT appearance was handled.

During rehearsals, Ethan Page's presence was kept a secret, with Shawn Michaels standing in for Page, Booker T listed on rundowns in Ethan's place, and Shinsuke Nakamura's entrance theme played in place of Page's attack on Trick Willy. And for those wondering, Vic Joseph's near-mention of AEW as Page appeared? Yes, that was indeed scripted.

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Due to the major surprises of Ethan Page and TNA's Jordynne Grace on this week's NXT, backstage access was "stripped back" in order to keep the surprise element in play for both talents. Following her appearance at this year's Royal Rumble, Grace resurfaced as the mystery opponent for NXT Women's Champion at NXT Battleground a week on Sunday.

Where Ethan Page and AEW are concerned, Page quietly exited the company earlier this year. It's not known whether this was a case of Page's contract naturally expiring or whether the 34-year-old was released.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.