Christopher Daniels explained why he chose Hangman Page to be his final wrestling opponent. He addressed the issues surrounding his transition from heel to babyface that impacted the bout.
In an interview with Michael Bochicchio, Daniels discussed the heat Page was getting from fans at the time, and connected it to his retirement match. By the time their feud peaked, Page was perceived as a babyface which slightly altered their initial plans.
“The funny thing is at the time, he was one of the top heels. He was getting a lot of real good heel heat. Especially in his feud at the time with Jay White, he was getting a lot of heat and I wanted to do something that would have benefitted him in the end so I thought to myself, if he were to retire me, if he were to injure me so badly that I couldn’t wrestle again, that would be heat for him. But, what happened between the time of me pitching the idea and the actual match happening, he started to turn babyface, but, as that happened, he and I discussed how the match could stay the same but the ramifications and the repercussions of him retiring me were gonna be different, now that he was becoming more of a popular character and credit to him, he cut one of the most amazing promos setting up this match that I’ve ever heard.”
“I went and cut a promo maybe an hour before him and thought, oh, that was a pretty decent promo and then he went and just blew me away an hour later and just threw me in the dust basically, and you know, most credit to him how well-thought-out well-put-together his character was and his promos were putting that match together.”
Daniels retired after a 32-year wrestling career in 2025. He lost to Page in a Texas Death Match on the January 16 edition of Collision. Since then he has undertaken varied backstage duties at AEW and ROH.
Christopher Daniels saying he hopes Hangman Page can be happy now after ending his career.
HANGMAN GIVING INTO HIS EMOTIONS. He might try to hide it… but the old Hanger is still in there, man. pic.twitter.com/YJE6myxlf5
It’s been several hours and six dayssince Hangman Page’s ability to challenge for the AEW World title was taken away from him.
Whether you believe this is a good thing or a bad thing, the stipulation that someone can no longer challenge for the world title is now a big part of AEW history. It’s been a major storyline point twice. It permanently altered the course of Cody Rhodes’ career in the company and now is going to do the same for Page.
There are, of course, only two possibilities for what happens next: Page either breaks the stipulation, or he doesn’t.
I think many AEW fans are worried about this, but it isn’t the existential crisis for the company some feel it is.
We know how it would play out if Page never breaks the stipulation, because we’ve already seen it. That’s what happened with Cody Rhodes. There were other factors at play, but Cody’s storylines in AEW began to feel disconnected from the rest of the show after, and fans noticed. I don’t know how much his existing in his own universe factored into fans turning on him, but I’m certain it played a role.
As for how Page might break the stipulation, Khan has clearly laid out how this could happen.
Tony Khan clarifies AEW World title stipulation
Here is what Khan said at the post-AEW Revolution media scrum about the stipulation:
“It’s the same thing with Cody, it was a gentleman’s handshake with both of them,” Khan said when asked how strict the stipulation is. “They both came to me and said, ‘I want to put this at stake.’ And both of them, I told them, ‘That sounds f***ing nuts, dude.’ Both of them really wanted to do it. And in both cases I said, ‘Are you sure?’ And they both said, ‘Yeah.’ So it is an agreement we made. Second time it’s happened. [Page] is somebody that’s known for being a man of his word, and we made an agreement. So it’s a verbal contract.”
What Khan is saying here is that the stipulation is not an AEW contractual rule, but more of an honor-bound agreement. Granted, that’s not exactly the understanding many fans came away with, but essentially he’s saying Page can break it if he chooses, but it would be dishonorable, i.e. making him a bad guy.
Now despite this explanation, Page choosing to break the verbal agreement Khan referenced above would still have the same effect in undermining how stipulations work in AEW. It would send the message to fans: yes, we have stipulations, unless we can find a way around them. That certainly sounds bad, but it’s essentially how things have always gone in wrestling, whether you view that as a good thing or a bad thing.
Yes, Junkyard Dog lost a Loser Leaves Town match to Butch Reed, but then this masked Stagger Lee guy shows up. Macho Man lost a retirement match but then Jake Roberts’ snake bit him, so he was allowed to wrestle again. Sting lost a match to Bully Ray with the stipulation he could never challenge for the TNA World title again, but then just did like six months later because the company was under different management. Other than the latter example, these didn’t kill the stipulations entirely, just somewhat.
If Page breaks the stipulation, fans know the next time this specific stipulation comes into play again, and it will, that it actually means the person can’t challenge for the title again without turning heel. It will still have some effect, just not as much.
Is This The Beginning of “Bad Guy” Hangman Page?
Again, the two options are: a babyface Hangman Page adheres to the stipulation, has feuds over the TNT title, International title, National title, whatever, and that’s how the rest of his time in AEW goes. Or we get “Bad Guy” Hangman Page. And there’s something exciting about the possibility of what that character could look like.
You know that at some point Khan dreamed up an angle for Cody to break the stipulation, turn bad guy, and feud with AEW’s top babyfaces. We can only speculate that this was the plan, but if it was, maybe we’re about to see it. Maybe Hangman Page is about to do the storyline we never saw Cody do.
We’ve seen glimpses of what bad guy Hangman would be, because it came out in his rivalry with Swerve Strickland. I’ve embedded below a promo that Page did about his feud with Swerve and fans still choosing to cheer Swerve despite that whole breaking-and-entering incident earlier in their rivalry. Page sort of half goes down the “because of the fans…” angle. It might serve as a bit of a preview for things to come.
I really hope this is not the end of babyface Hangman Page in all of wrestling. There’s a reason why fans are so drawn to the guy, to the point that he was chosen over Will Ospreay and so many others to dethrone Jon Moxley at All In. He’s great in the role and there is no better example of this than his performance at Grand Slam Mexico last year.
Page’s promo in Spanish at Arena Mexico was one of the greatest things I’ve seen or heard. I’m not talking about just wrestling, and I’m not even talking about entertainment. I am saying that out of all the things I have ever seen and heard in my life, Page’s promo at Arena Mexico was one of the greatest. It transcended wrestling and was inspiring AF.
AEW posted the below video with English subtitles of Page’s promo:
I bet had Page not even been a wrestler, but rather just some dude who grabbed the microphone on this show, it would have had the same effect.
It’s hard to believe that the babyface who cut that promo will no longer be around. But wrestling is a very peculiar industry, and the stories Page tells in it are not finished by a long shot.
An update is available regarding what is next for Hangman Page following his loss to MJF at AEW Revolution.
According to Fightful Select, Page is expected to have time off from AEW television. The report notes it is unclear whether his absence will begin immediately or if he will return to Dynamite in the coming weeks before leaving. There is also no timetable for how long he will be away.
During the Revolution post-event press conference, Tony Khan addressed the stipulation that Page can no longer challenge for the AEW World Championship, noting it is the same situation Cody Rhodes agreed to after losing to Chris Jericho at AEW Full Gear 2019.
“It’s the same thing with Cody, it was a gentleman’s handshake with both of them,” Khan responded when asked how strict the stipulation is. “They both came to me and said, ‘I want to put this at stake.’ And both of them, I told them, ‘That sounds f***ing nuts, dude.’ Both of them really wanted to do it. And in both cases I said, ‘Are you sure?’ And they both said, ‘Yeah.’ So it is an agreement we made. Second time it’s happened. [Page] is somebody that’s known for being a man of his word, and we made an agreement. So it’s a verbal contract.” that’s known for being a man of his word, and we made an agreement. So it’s a verbal contract.”
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including AEW Revolution, stipulations in wrestling and in life, the RAW report from Monday night, a new ticket scheme WWE is trying for WrestleMania, and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
After Revolution, the future for some of AEW’s biggest stars is clear—but for others, what comes next is a huge question mark.
Here’s a look at what might be next for wrestlers like MJF, Andrade, and especially Hangman Page. The following is based purely on speculation and conjecture, and not on any backstage rumors or reports.
Hangman Adam Page
It’s not often that the loser of a pay-per-view main event is the biggest topic of discussion after a show, but then it’s not often that a company’s top star in the prime of his career promises to never challenge for the promotion’s top belt again.
So where do Page and AEW go from here? Let’s start with the simplest (though not necessarily smartest) solution: they eventually break the stip. Page is the one who put his future title shots on the line, though at the post-show media scrum, CEO Tony Khan called it a “verbal contract.” Could Page one day turn heel and simply go back on his word? Would Khan allow him to do so? Would kayfabe lawyers get involved, arguing on behalf of each side?
What if Page and AEW stick to the stip, and he never challenges for the world title again? Lord knows that there are plenty of other belts flying around the company. He could challenge Jon Moxley for the Continental Championship, or Kyle Fletcher for the TNT Championship, or Kazuchika Okada for the International Championship. Jack Perry is also the new National Champion, but he’s also a babyface, so that matchup seems unlikely. If AEW wanted to go to a WWE-style brand split and separate the rosters between the two shows, putting the TNT title on Page and making him the face of Collision wouldn’t be the worst idea.
The third possibility would be that Page’s days as a singles wrestler have ended. He has already won tag team and trios gold in AEW, but a full-time pairing with someone like Swerve Strickland is something that has not yet been explored.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman & Andrade el Idolo
The long-term future for MJF seems obvious—a main event title defense against Will Ospreay at All In in London at the end of August—but what happens between now and then is not clear. A lot of the company’s biggest babyfaces returned at Revolution (Ospreay, Kenny Omega, Adam Copeland, Christian Cage), but all of them attacked heels to settle personal disputes, so they won’t be challenging Friedman right away.
And then there’s Andrade el Idolo. Just two months after his full-time return to the company (following a contract kerfuffle with his former employers at WWE), Andrade has been doing almost nothing except winning great matches. He’s now 7-1 in AEW this year, including wins over Swerve Strickland, Kenny Omega, and now Bandido, the reigning ROH Champion. The sole blemish on his mark was a narrow defeat to Hangman Page, who is now out of the title picture. He’s a fresh face on the scene, he’s got a cool gimmick, and he’s a proven main eventer all over the world.
He’s also a member of the Don Callis Family, and technically a heel. Would AEW want to go with a heel-vs.-heel program on top? There was a tense moment between Friedman and Callis on TV lately, with Fletcher also involved. (Fletcher is another potential challenger for the World title, with no clear challengers for his TNT championship, but he faces the same heel-vs.-heel issues as Andrade.)
If AEW is looking for a strong babyface challenger, the best available candidate would likely be Darby Allin. He has main evented before, he has a history with MJF, and he got a big win over Moxley last year. As of late he has been feuding with Moxley’s Death Riders and then the Dogs, but he has a chance to put all of that behind him and move on to other things after Wednesday’s coffin match against Gabe Kidd.
FTR, Cage & Copeland, and the Young Bucks
FTR beat the Bucks clean at Revolution, but then were attacked by the returning Adam Copeland and Christian Cage. Cope and Cage then posed with the championship belts and said taking those would be the best way to hurt FTR.
The Bucks then muddied the picture by returning to the ring and confronting the Canadians. Fans were buzzing at the staredown. It’s obvious that none of the three teams are done with each other; the only question is who faces who first. One likely scenario: Cope & Cage win the belts from FTR, defend them against the Bucks, and then face both teams in a three-way, perhaps at All In. That would let Cope & Cage drop the belts without being pinned, and that would not be the first time a team of ex-WWE stars lost the AEW tag team titles.
Here & There
From there on down the card, Revolution set up some very obvious scenarios:
Kenny Omega returned to feud with Swerve Strickland.
Will Ospreay returned to feud with Jon Moxley.
Konosuke Takeshita lost to Moxley, and it’s time for him to leave the Don Callis Family and do the feud with Kazuchika Okada they have been teasing forever.
Toni Storm will, at some point, have a big match with Ronda Rousey, either one-on-one, or teaming with Mina Shirakawa against Rousey & Marina Shafir, or both.
Thekla defeated Kris Statlander in screwy fashion, so their issue remains unsettled.
Jack Perry, the new National Champion, can continue his feud with Ricochet, just as the hunted instead of the hunter.
The new Trios Champions—Mistico & Kevin Knight & Mike Bailey—can just have bangers every week against a variety of opponents. The Don Callis Family alone should be able to put together enough fresh combinations of challengers to last through the summer.
Hangman Page can never challenge for the AEW World Championship again — unless he breaks his word and goes back on the stipulation he agreed to.
The main event of Revolution on Sunday night saw MJF retain the AEW World Championship against Page in a Texas Death match. As a result, Page is unable to challenge for the title ever again. Tony Khan was asked about that stipulation at the post-PPV press conference and described it as a “gentleman’s handshake.” Like when Cody Rhodes faced Chris Jericho at AEW Full Gear 2019, there is nothing on paper in AEW canon that means the wrestler has to follow through on the stipulation. But Khan believes Page is a man of his word.
“It’s the same thing with Cody, it was a gentleman’s handshake with both of them,” Khan responded when asked how strict the stipulation is. “They both came to me and said, ‘I want to put this at stake.’ And both of them, I told them, ‘That sounds f***ing nuts, dude.’ Both of them really wanted to do it. And in both cases I said, ‘Are you sure?’ And they both said, ‘Yeah.’ So it is an agreement we made. Second time it’s happened. [Page] is somebody that’s known for being a man of his word, and we made an agreement. So it’s a verbal contract.”
After Rhodes lost to Jericho at Full Gear 2019, AEW legitimately stuck to the stipulation and never had Rhodes challenge for the World title again, with Rhodes instead focusing on the TNT Championship until leaving the promotion for WWE in 2022.
Khan said he believes the MJF vs. Page stipulation added a lot of intrigue to the Revolution main event. When asked about filling Page’s void in the title picture, Khan noted that AEW has a “fantastic line of competitors” who want a shot at the championship.
Page is a two-time AEW World Champion, having held the title in 2021-2022 and 2025.
Hangman Page will never be able to challenge for the AEW World title again after losing to reigning champion MJF at Sunday’s AEW Revolution.
On his birthday, MJF defeated Page in a Texas Death Match in the night’s main event, a bloody fight that featured barbed wire, a staple gun, paper cuts, a broken pane of glass, light tubes, skewers, and a broken broom handle among other items. One of those was a hypodermic needle that was stuck through Page’s cheek in a callback to his Texas Death Match with Swerve Strickland.
Page nearly had MJF beat after driving skewers into his head followed by a buckshot lariat. Page then brought out a double dog collar in a callback to MJF’s violent match with CM Punk several years ago. He then dragged MJF to the apron and brought out a barbed wire board on top of another table as the fans chanted for fire. The two battled and MJF pulled Page off for a flip through the board/table.
MJF continued to whip Page with the collar chain, going up to the stage. Page countered, grabbing MJF and jumping into a table of electrical equipment that exploded. Both men eventually beat the ten count and Page dog walked him back to the ring. MJF kicked him low off a buckshot attempt and grabbed his title belt, hitting him in the head and barely beating the ten count. Page hit him with the belt and went for another buckshot, but MJF countered and choked Page out over the top rope to end the match.
Page was put on a stretcher, but MJF jumped up on the stretcher and stood over his opponent to end the pay-per-view.
Because of the stipulation Page offered in order to get the title shot, he and Cody Rhodes are now the only two men in company history to be ineligible to ever challenge for the World title again due to that stipulation.
It’s MJF’s first win over Page in four tries.
MJF wore the crimson mask first and was dragged through the broken glass, followed by a string of barbed wire in his mouth as Page pulled it back and forth from behind as if he were a horse. Page was later cut open after MJF stabbed him with a piece of the glass, followed by him dragging Page through the glass.
MJF’s second World title reign continues with the sixth successful defense of the gold he won at last December’s Worlds End. He came out for his first-ever Texas Death Match clad in tights and trunks and Western garb in honor of Terry Funk. Page is now 5-2 in his speciality match with his only other loss coming to Strickland at November 2023’s Full Gear.
Page held the title twice in his career, the first time from November 2021’s Full Gear when he defeated Kenny Omega through May 2022’s Double or Nothing when he notably lost to CM Punk. His second run came from July 2025’s All In Texas through November’s Full Gear.
The following is an opinion-based preview and reflects that of the author and not the website.
AEW Revolution is AEW’s first real statement of the year, a new calendar with new intentions. This one feels different. Not louder, not more stacked necessarily, but more consequential. Almost every match on Sunday’s card carries the weight of a real-time decision. This isn’t just about who wins, but about who these people will be going forward.
Konosuke Takeshita getting what’s his or being deferred again. Marina Shafir walking through the door or watching it close. Kevin Knight being on the precipice of something bigger than the team he’s in. Hangman Page facing permanent exile from the one thing that defines him. Sunday’s Revolution 2026 isn’t just a show. Rather, it’s a card full of people standing at a fork in the road, whether they asked to be there or not.
These are the questions that get answered this Sunday in Los Angeles. Let’s run through the action.
AEW Revolution preview
Toni Storm vs. Marina Shafir with everyone banned from ringside
There is a specific and under-appreciated generosity in what Toni Storm is doing right now. For years, she was the division’s anchor and a main event metronome. Now, without gold attached, she’s doing something arguably more valuable: she’s making others matter. That’s a skill set not everyone has and fewer are willing to deploy it.
Storm is doing both because that is what the great ones always do. The Timeless character should not have worked at all, but Storm turned both it and herself into one of the most valuable commodities in all of pro wrestling at the ripe age of 30.
Marina Shafir has been many things in AEW. Background. Muscle. Faction decoration. Occasionally terrifying in small doses. But this is different. This is the door opening to something substantially more. Her credibility has slowly accumulated in the margins of larger stories and has led us to this moment.
There is no more patient waiting, no more promising glimpses. The lights are on and Storm, of all people, is the one at home. What Shafir does with this opportunity will define her ceiling in AEW. Either she leaves LA as someone the audience believes in, or she doesn’t. Sometimes it’s that simple. Sometimes, it’s that unforgiving. No pressure!
Prediction: Marina gets the big one
Darby Allin, Orange Cassidy & Roderick Strong vs. The Dogs (David Finlay, Clark Connors & Gabe Kidd)
David Finlay has something, something real, something that separates him from his partners in ways that will eventually become impossible to ignore. The Dogs are loud and committed, and while Connors has his moments, this is clearly Finlay’s faction in the same way the Death Riders are (were??) always Jon Moxley’s.
The others exist in service of their leader, whether they know it or not. Gabe Kidd remains, to me, a performer whose reputation slightly exceeds his output, though I am watching him closely. The tag match on Wednesday delivered in a big way with a killer closing stretch that was a perfect preview of what kind of match this should be.
Roderick Strong’s addition is a welcome one. The man is a perpetual motion machine of offense. He fits comfortably into the chaos this match is building toward. Expect more of what we saw on Wednesday, only just a bit louder. This is a fun match on a heavy card and exactly what’s needed.
Prediction: Darby, Cassidy & Strong
Brody King vs. Swerve Strickland
No titles. No trophies. Just violence.
Swerve is never better than when he has an edge. There’s real menace and an earned anger in everything he does. He’s never needed a reason to make someone bleed, but he feels slighted and pettiness is a powerful motivator.
Brody King has come into his own. A hulking, physical performer who has rounded out his edges to become an across-the-board superstar. The man was quietly turning into one of the most compelling physical presences in the company long before anyone thought to build a match around it. Now they have, and the result is a collision that doesn’t need a single title belt attached to justify its existence.
Leave these two alone in the ring, and they will figure it out.
Prediction: Swerve
Andrade El Idolo (with Don Callis) vs. Bandido
Good lord, the juice in this match.
Andrade has never, ever been better — not in NXT, not in WWE, not in his first run in AEW, not anywhere. There is a clarity and a sharpness to him right now that suggests one of two things: this is either a man who finally knows exactly who he is and what he’s capable of, or yet another tantalizing Andrade tease where he dials it in for a stretch before logging out completely.
We know these runs are fleeting and fragile, but right now, in this moment? He is a Tropicana factory worth of juice, and everyone in that arena and everyone at home is going to feel it.
Bandido, meanwhile, remains one of the purest pro wrestling treasures on the planet. His ROH World title is well-earned even if its visibility is…limited. Everything he does is must-see. Everything he does makes the person across the ring look like a million dollars. What happens when the person across the ring already looks that good? There is potential for something really, really special here.
This is lining up to be the match people talk about on the way home. Plan your bathroom breaks accordingly.
Prediction: Bandido
Kazuchika Okada, Kyle Fletcher, and Mark Davis vs. Kevin Knight, Mike Bailey, and Mistico for the AEW World Trios title
AEW Trios Champions Don Callis Family (Kazuchika Okada, Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) defend against Místico & JetSpeed (Kevin Knight and Mike Bailey)
We are in a moment for the fortitude and otherworldly determination of Mark Davis, a talented, rear-end-endowed man who has battled through more unfortunate injury luck than any one performer should be asked to absorb. It would have been so easy to give up and fade into generic Don Callis Family flotsam.
Instead, he worked his tail off and made the most of his situation. This is no charity act. Davis deserves to stand side-by-side with Okada and Fletcher as a champion. A rugged and beyond-solid worker, he is the kind of performer professional wrestling desperately needs to revitalize a sagging middle-class.
JetSpeed didn’t recruit a consolation prize when they brought in Místico. They recruited a living legend, this site’s Wrestler of the Year, a man so beloved in lucha libre that entire arenas exist in a state of permanent devotion to him. If anything, Knight and Bailey are the junior partners in this arrangement.
JetSpeed has worked better as a team than I ever imagined. I am frequently wrong. I am wrong about something every single day I am alive. Rarely have I been more wrong about something than I was about Bailey in AEW. I thought the act had a short shelf life at best and was an active drag on the product at worst. Nope! Not even close! The dude is not just a television worker, but a television highlight week after week.
The more interesting thread running through this match is Kevin Knight himself. Watch him. He demands it. He got the big match against MJF, he got the prime promo time, something big is coming. He’s already outgrown the trios title, but has he outgrown his tag partner as well? This is a burgeoning superstar with an uncapped ceiling. I can’t wait to see him try to reach it.
Prediction: Okada, Fletcher and Davis
AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) (with Stokely) defend against The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson)
A few variations on one big question I can’t get out of my head: What can they do to make this special? What can they do to make this meaningfully different than every other time these four men have shared a ring?
It’s an honest question and it deserves an honest answer which is probably not much, at least structurally. The bones of an FTR/Bucks match are well-documented at this point. We know the beats, we know the escalation, we know the breathless finishing stretch. The question is whether, on this particular night in this particular building in this particular ring, they find that thing that separates a great match from a transcendent one.
These are two teams well aware of their legacy and their places in wrestling history. Any implication to the contrary is shortsighted and naive. Both FTR and The Young Bucks are consumed with greatness, and, with their finish lines closer than anyone would like to admit, tearing down the house very much matters to them. How they do it is where the intrigue comes.
If they go 25 minutes and leave everything they have on the floor, this match can still be the thing everyone remembers. These four are too good at their jobs for it not to be.
Prediction: The Young Bucks win the titles
Image Copyright: AEW
AEW Continental Champion Jon Moxley defends against Konosuke Takeshita with no time limit
Here is the honest Moxley situation as it stands: tweener Jon Moxley is incongruous. The Death Riders are firmly heels while their leader is no longer, at least not consistently. The audience has started cheering him again because the audience never really stopped loving him, which is either a testament to his permanent likability or a creative miscalculation, depending on how charitable you’re feeling.
The full turn feels all but cemented, but that creates a different problem entirely: can the Death Riders function without their True Ace as the fulcrum? Everyone in that group would need to take a significant step up for the faction to work independently of him, and that’s the big blinking question mark at the end of this sentence.
The no time limit stipulation exists because a second draw would be a bit of unconscionable, creative malpractice. One of them must walk out of LA as Continental Champion. The narrative weight of Takeshita finally claiming more gold and Moxley’s potential full face turn needs a clean loss to make it land with proper weight.
This is Takeshita’s moment and has been for a long time. Beating The Ace and bringing another title to the Don Callis Family does wonders for him. He should win, and win clean…and then the Death Riders should bust out the plastic bag one more time.
Prediction: Takeshita wins the title
AEW Revolution (Image credit: AEW)
AEW Women’s Tag Team Champions Babes of Wrath (Willow Nightingale & Harley Cameron) defend against Megan Bayne & Lena Kross
Megan Bayne is a top-of-the-card superstar in the making, and pairing her with another woman of size in Lena Kross is exactly the right move — two physically imposing, credible presences who should not ever resort to chicanery to win their matches. Bayne has been ready for titles for a while now and this feels like the first step in a full ascent toward every piece of individual gold.
Willow Nightingale is better than these titles. She is better than this program. She may well be better than everyone in this match. This is less hyperbole and more a statement of fact that AEW has been politely ignoring. Willow is a singles star being asked to be patient inside a tag team. Case in point is her singles title defense being on the pre-show and this on the main.
Harley Cameron is not for me. I’ll own that fully and without reservation. Some people find her endearing and charming which is almost certainly true, and I understand that I am likely the problem here. But as a professional wrestling act, she is an anchor on someone with greatness in her future.
The Babes of Wrath have been fun enough. Fun has a ceiling. Nightingale does not and the longer she remains ancillary attached to other people’s stories — Cameron’s rise, Kris Statlander’s everything — the further she drifts from the moment she’s owed.
Let Bayne and Kross have the titles. Free Willow.
Prediction: Bayne & Kross win the titles
AEW Women’s World Champion Thekla defends against Kris Statlander in a two of three falls match
Rarely is someone so comfortable in their character so quickly on national television. Thekla is by no means a rookie, but it still took a terrifyingly short time to become this fully formed, singular performer. No one is really doing it like her. She moves, acts and talks like an 80s action movie villain who is also, entirely and completely, herself. I could listen to her run down her opponents all day. Her delivery of ‘you wear sunglasses now!’ is something I’m still thinking about.
There is a specificity to her contempt that most heels can’t locate without using their opponents’ first names or winking at the camera. Her delivery is spiteful and it always feels like she’s airing a grievance. That’s the mark of someone who has done the work. AEW’s women’s division is flush with talent. Thekla came in like a thunderbolt, forcing everyone else to step up.
This is the rubber match with a fitting stipulation. Two out of three falls neutralizes the chaos that defined their strap match. It forces a longer story, rewarding craft over improvisation, and leans into both women’s ability to go a longer distance. Statlander is proof of concept as the wrestler who waited, grinded, and finally got there. Thekla is the proof of concept for what happens when AEW lets someone be who they are, even when they’re so different from everyone else.
Prediction: Thekla retains
Image Copyright: AEW
AEW World Champion MJF defends against Hangman Adam Page in a Texas Death Match where if Page loses, he can never challenge for the title again
Think about what that actually means, not as a pro wrestling contrivance, but as a story. Hangman spent two years crumbling, crawling back from the edge, reclaiming his moral compass, and eventually pulling the World title back out into the light. Now he walks into a Texas Death Match where losing doesn’t just cost him a championship match. It costs him everything, permanently, forever.
There’s a world where that’s interesting. This is not that world. It’s a booking inconvenience masquerading as drama, and it diminishes something that didn’t need help. The jubilation of Hangman freeing the title from that briefcase last summer is something only he could evoke. Few performers can tell that story. Fewer still can deliver that finale with the proper weight. Adding a “never again” clause is a solution to a problem that didn’t exist.
MJF, for all of his exhausting excesses, has been genuinely great lately. He’s cut the corny name-calling and started delivering his promos with actual meaning. The cowardly, overcompensating heel is still there, but his worst inclinations are being curbed, and the result is a real pro wrestling antagonist.
A Texas Death Match is the complete antithesis of what he is as a wrestler. There is no worse stipulation, no worse opponent. He didn’t burn down a man’s house. He didn’t stick syringes into anyone. MJF is desperate and has done gross things to stay at the top, but Hangman, with everything to lose, is a different beast entirely.
Hangman should win. Any result that doesn’t end with him leaving LA with the belt is misguided. His reign after All In wasn’t the best, but the solution is not to exile him from the title picture forever — it’s to do better this time. MJF losing in his first PPV defense should send him spiraling, and that’s a story worth telling. Give us that story.
If you’re planning on attending AEW Revolution in L.A. this Sunday, you’d better have your tickets in hand—CEO Tony Khan announced tonight that the venue is sold out.
“Thank you all who watch AEW!” Khan wrote on social media. “It’s one of my favorite weekends—AEW Revolution is this Sunday! Revolution will be sold out with a live gate over $1 million this Sunday! See you this Sunday for the PPV.” He went on to plug the Andrade El Idolo vs. Mascara Dorada match on Collision that will take place one day prior.
Crypto.com Arena has a capacity of up to 21,000 for wrestling shows.
AEW Revolution 2025 updated lineup | This Sunday | Los Angeles
Main Card
Marina Shafir vs. Toni Storm – Everyone banned from ringside
AEW Trios Champions Kazuchika Okada, Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis defend against Kevin Knight, Mike Bailey & Mistico
AEW Women’s World Champion Thekla defends against Kris Statlander in a two-out-of-three falls match
Brody King vs. Swerve Strickland
Bandido vs. Andrade El Idolo
AEW Continental Champion Jon Moxley defends against Konosuke Takeshita in a no time limit match
AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) defend against The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)
AEW World Champion MJF defends against Hangman Page in a Texas Death Match where if Page loses, he can’t challenge for the World title ever again
AEW Women’s Tag Team Champions Babes of Wrath (Harley Cameron & Willow Nightingale) defend against Megan Bayne & Lena Kross
Roderick Strong, Orange Cassidy & Darby Allin vs. The Dogs (David Finlay, Gabe Kidd & Clark Connors)
On the road to AEW Revolution, Hangman Page will be in action on Dynamite this week.
We are now less than two weeks away from Page’s Texas Death match against AEW World Champion MJF at the Revolution pay-per-view. AEW has announced that Page will wrestle on Dynamite this Wednesday against an unnamed opponent. MJF is also set to compete on the show in a World title defense against Kevin Knight, who is one-third of the AEW Trios Champions with Page & “Speedball” Mike Bailey.
#AEWDynamite LIVE, 8/7c TBS + HBO Max TOMORROW NIGHT!
Despite MJF’s best efforts, the stipulation for next month’s World title match between he and Hangman Page will indeed be a Texas Death Match.
Page and MJF appeared in an in-ring segment during Wednesday’s Dynamite to decide the stipulation to accompany Page’s stipulation that if he loses, he will never challenge for the AEW World title ever again.
MJF offered a coin flip where if Page won, he got his wish for the Texas Death Match. If he lost, MJF would get his own stip: a one-way no DQ match where Page would get DQ’d if he tried using anything while MJF could do whatever he wanted.
He then flipped a coin which ended up on heads and he got his match. However, Page asked to see the coin which MJF refused as he tried to leave. However, both JetSpeed and Brodido didn’t allow that to happen after blocking his exit.
Tony Khan then told Tony Schiavone that because MJF used a rigged coin, the Texas Death Match stipulation would hold.
It will be Page’s seventh such match (5-1) and first since last July’s All In Texas where he won the World title for a second time. It will be MJF’s first such match and the fifth defense of his second title reign.
Current AEW Revolution card | Sunday, March 15 | Los Angeles
AEW World Champion MJF defends against Hangman Page in a Texas Death Match where if Page loses, he can’t challenge for the World title ever again
AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) defend against The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)
AEW Continental Champion Jon Moxley defends against Konosuke Takeshita with no time limit
NOW IT'S OFFICIAL FOR #AEWREVOLUTION!@The_MJF defends the AEW World Title against Hangman Page in TEXAS DEATH!
John LaRocca and I return with a brand-new Fight Game to discuss some of the most interesting topics in pro wrestling.
We gave out their thumbs up and thumbs down before focusing on the major stories of the week including two big pieces of business coming out of AEW Dynamite; the Hangman Page and MJF face-to-face, and the main event featuring Swerve Strickland beating Kenny Omega.
We also talked about Finn Balor’s presentation as the top contender for CM Punk’s belt and how it’s a little lacking.
The stakes have been raised for the AEW World title match between MJF and Hangman Page at next month’s Revolution pay-per-view.
The two had a face-to-face confrontation on Wednesday’s Dynamite where Page said the title match needed something a bit more like a stipulation. MJF had no interest and insisted on a simple “professional wrestling match.”
Page insisted and then offered up that if MJF agrees to a stipulation of his own choosing, he will never challenge for the AEW World title again ever if he loses.
MJF quickly agreed, but said he needs a week to figure out what he wants to do as he doesn’t shoot first and ask questions later like Page does. The former champion then said the stipulation he wants is a Texas Death Match which MJF didn’t seem too thrilled about.
The match will be their fourth ever singles meeting with Page leading the unofficial series 2-1.
Current AEW Revolution card | Sunday, March 15 | Los Angeles
AEW World Champion MJF defends against Hangman Page with stipulations to come
AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) defend against The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)
A face-to-face and the Brawling Birds are part of and updated AEW Dynamite lineup.
It was announced on Saturday that MJF will meet Hangman Page in a face-to-face after both were successful at Grand Slam Australia. In the main event, MJF retained the title over Brody King. But as he was celebrating, Hangman Page came out with his title contract and signed it, placing it on MJF’s feet as the champion began talking a big game. Page turned around to leave but then faked MJF out which caused the champion to fall to the floor.
Earlier in the show, Hangman Page emerged victorious over Andrade El Idolo, establishing himself as the next contender for the AEW World title after many AEW stars, including Swerve Strickland and Kenny Omega, expressed interest in a future title match.
The Brawling Birds, Jamie Hayter and Alex Windsor, will also make their television debut. The two have appeared in vignettes together in recent weeks establishing themselves as part of the women’s tag team division. They made the save for Kris Statlander on Dynamite after she was attacked by all three members of the Triangle of Madness.
Page defeated Andrade El Idolo at Grand Slam Australia, pinning him after hitting the buckshot lariat. With the win, he will now head to Los Angeles for AEW Revolution on March 15 where he will challenge MJF.
AEW held a mini-tournament to decide MJF’s opponent for LA next month. Andrade defeated Swerve Strickland and Kenny Omega to get the chance to face Hangman Page, who defeated Mark Davis ahead of his match in Sydney.
Page lost the AEW World title to Samoa Joe at Full Gear thanks to interference from Hook, who turned heel and joined The Opps. However, that title reign ended after a month when MJF won a fatal four-way match, defeating Joe, Swerve, and Page to win the title for a second time. He will defend it later on Saturday when he faces Brody King, who quickly defeated him on a recent edition of AEW Dynamite in a title eliminator match.
