THIS Is The Top Heel In Wrestling Today
They had to do this to even approach defeating a team that had defeated all comers. FTR might have called Page "a piece of sh*t" on TV, but in fantastic use of subtext so rare for a wrestling promotion, they respected him so much that they had to scorch his psyche just to beat him. There are layers and layers and layers of genius to this arc, but what's most crucial is that it never once made Page, the babyface, look foolish. FTR conducted a genius ruse, using the elements of discord that already existed in the Elite to shatter them for good. Steve Austin emerged from the Deadly Game of Survivor Series 1998 with his aura intact because the plot was so intricate. It's the same for his millennial descendent.
On the post-All Out Dynamite, Page described himself as "head to toe like poison" in a stark sit-down interview with Tony Schiavone. Omega vowed to move on from the team altogether. The emotional burden was too much. The loss destroyed Page and Omega, but it was literally a piece of cake for FTR, who indulged in gleeful celebration by no-selling their dirty work in one final insult. The Bucks, meanwhile, aren't even on FTR's radar. They are punchline to them now.
Except, and this is the twist, they only don't want the dream match because, like all the great heels, they are afraid of the challenge. That's why they had Page did what he did in the Gauntlet, and that will inform the next beat of this exceptional story.
The referees never seem them cheat. The heroes can't see them for what they are. They grind your favourites down with a scrubbing forearm to the skull and a knife to the back.
Top guys: out.