Image: AEW
This is an opinion-based preview and reflects that of the author and not the website.
I can’t say it more clearly: Hangman Page should win at tonight’s AEW Double or Nothing and be the one to take out AEW World Champion Jon Moxley at July’s All In: Texas.
There. That’s it. You can stop reading now. (Actually, don’t just yet.)
Page takes on Will Ospreay Sunday to determine who wins the men’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament in one of the most coin-flippy major matches AEW has had in a long time. If Ospreay wins, I will not riot even if signs at the venue tell me to do so. But this is Page’s time and his promo this past Wednesday with Ospreay cemented it.
Did you know it’s been over 1000 days since Page was AEW World Champion? Do you even remember what his first and only reign was like?
I didn’t either, so I headed to Cagematch to refresh my memory. He defeated Kenny Omega for the gold at November 2021’s Full Gear and subsequently defended his title against Bryan Danielson twice, going the one-hour distance the first time and nearly 30 minutes the next time.
Then, things started getting a bit, well, random. He defended against Lance Archer for some reason in a Texas Death Match, a stipulation made also for some reason. He then feuded with and defended the title against Adam Cole at March 2022’s Revolution which I have zero recollection of. He then defended against Dante Martin, Cole again in, wait for it, a Texas Death Match on, wait for it, Rampage. He then lost the title to CM Punk at May 2022’s Double or Nothing and we remember everything around that situation – even if Punk doesn’t want to.
Of those successful defenses, only one was on pay-per-view. There were some tag matches along the way and the fun World title eliminator where he teamed with Dark Order. But the reign happened in one of those times when the AEW World title didn’t feel as special as it should have. Was it Page’s fault? No, but that guy isn’t the man we have now.
The modern day Page is brooding with some darkness and just enough light, most of which is off-camera with his family.
That whole “he drinks too much” storyline is behind him and he’s now an avenging ass-kicker who also can passionately talk about why he’s about to do what he plans to do. After an uneven feeling 2022-23, October 2023 kicked off his epic feud with Swerve Strickland where both men came out better than before.
He burned down a house while drinking whisky, put a hypodermic needle through Strickland’s face, had incredible facial reactions, and basically gave everything he had. Fans responded and refused to let him be a heel. They fell in love with him and for good reason: he’s a really f*cking good wrestler. The slot machine came up with three cowboy hats and everyone got their money’s worth.
None of this is to say Ospreay is undeserving of winning tonight.
I could write another 100 words about Ospreay, but I won’t. He’s great and we all know it, but Page is a Day One guy that has an extensive history with Moxley that started with the third-ever Dynamite. History and “remember when?” is something AEW can finally start to take advantage of with every year that passes, and they have it here in spades.
They can tell the story of the concussion Page suffered in his first shot at Moxley while he was World Champion, the Texas Death Match they survived, The Elite vs. the Blackpool Combat Club rivalry, and more. While Page vs. Moxley will never be Page vs. Strickland, it’s not a bad second place feud in his career that has (hopefully) much more to come.
Most importantly with all this, we all know there needs to be a change at the top.
The fourth Moxley title run has not felt good for many reasons, the least of which is that the belt hasn’t been seen on TV for the better part of eight months. The man that cracks the case and finally takes it out needs to represent everything fans are looking to get back and what they want as their champion going forward.
Ospreay could be that guy, but in my mind, everything Page has done since that underwhelming first run has brought him to this Sunday in Phoenix. It’s the right time to pull the trigger and it’s fitting a cowboy is the one to benefit as he heads off into the desert for another big shootout.
Josh Nason is a contributing editor to F4WOnline.com, host of Josh Nason’s Punch-Out, and fill-in host for Sunday’s Wrestling Observer Live.
