'Hangman' Adam Page

[mizfan]

Sounds like weak sauce to me!! But yeah, they could probably do that if they thought it was necessary, haha.

[Oliver]

I guess they could always pay off the Page/Omega stuff without the title on the way to Page getting the title. A contendership bout between the two or something?

[Prime Time]

In part, though, that is the test isn't it? You can't have that core fanbase be happy all the time with everything and grow simultaneously.

Besides, while I'm sure some people won't be happy about it I still have a hard time seeing it being a huge difference. I'm not sure it's 'derailing' it (in fact I'm fairly sure it's not) if you do basically the same thing only the belt has been transferred elsewhere (Page would still get put over by Omega, after all), and quite a lot of this core fanbase have so much emotional investment in AEW that the majority.... eh, I think they'd honestly just roll with it.

If it was someone like Braun Strowman coming in, maybe a different ball game - but I'll give them their due here, they've invested very wisely in the people they've picked up in the last couple of months. They are all people who will improve what is there and could broaden the appeal, but equally none of them are talents that the fans won't accept. CM Punk, Danielson, Black, Ruby Soho.... they'll all play well to that crowd.


So to summarise all of that, I don't see it being a dealbreaker for the core fanbase even if it doesn't play as well as sticking with an OG/the original guy. And the potential upsides are still going to be bigger with a couple of these other names. We were saying in the Punk thread not long ago that he has 'it'. And however far they can get Adam Page to go, and they can probably get him to the top of the card for the best part of a generation, but even so he's never going to have 'it' like that. That carries certain risks by itself.

[mizfan]

It wouldn't sink them but I truly think shunting Page aside from the title picture in favor of folks coming in will cost them something with their core fanbase. It wouldn't sink them of course, might not make a big difference in the long run, but I think it would be a mistake to derail one of their most heavily invested stories. Maybe it's just a question of individual enjoyment, as you say, I suppose we'll see in time.

[Prime Time]

Ah I see a bit better now. I don't agree really but think we're coming at it from different angles so it was unlikely that we ever would.

You're obviously entitled to the aesthetic aspect of thinking it's better if the title is involved at both ends - and I can see why you might think that and it's certainly neater - but at the same time, that doesn't strike me as something that will make a blind bit of difference in the grand scheme of things.

The relative positions of Omega and Page are such that putting him over without the belt will still make him, if it's done properly. And if it's not done properly, the belt won't save it. And in either case, it's unlikely that it would be done well enough that Page goes from where he is now, to there being no risk of his being overshadowed by people who are far better known outside of the bubble.

So in short - while it might affect individual enjoyment, in terms of it actually making a difference to AEW if the belt is on the line when Page comes back against Omega I'd say the chances are slim to none. And there may even be more risks in going that route, even if it's more 'neat' to stick to that plan.

[mizfan]

I think the way they've built the story up with Page, the title changing hands in that match is essential. It all traces back to when Page failed to become the first after promising he would do so, so it's got to climax with him taking the title, and with Omega being his chief antagonist I think it's the way to go. There will never be a better opportunity to make Page as a permanent main event guy, and I believe based on his popularity (scoring particularly well with women, if I remember right) he's well positioned to take that step before the end of the year.

[Cannon]

Any of them are a better option than Kenny but the risk in picking Page is he and the title get dwarfed by bigger stars if they go with him before he's been brought to that level.

[Oliver]

I think, arguably, none of the possible Omega matches mentioned (Page, Punk, Danielson) 'need' the title on the line, because the latter two are obviously unique and the first option has been built up well. But, would they run a non-title Omega singles match with either of them? I doubt it. And if not, then would they take the title off of Omega before they set those up?

Sometimes the (relatively) straightforward option can be the best one, and in this case that option is Page.

[Prime Time]

In my eyes there's no other way to go than putting Page over Omega for the title, anything less would be a big mistake I think..

You reckon? I'm a lot further away so have to factor that in but from a distance, I can't see it making much of a difference if the belt is on the line when that match comes up or not.

[The Cook]

Unless Hangman suffers some sort of serious long term injury I agree he absolutely has to be the one to take the title from Omega.

I'm sure Punk will eventually turn heel but not any time in the next year.

[mizfan]

In my eyes there's no other way to go than putting Page over Omega for the title, anything less would be a big mistake I think. The idea of having Punk go heel seems almost unthinkable, god knows he could pull it off but it seems like it'd be steering so hard against the tide. Though maybe in time things would look different.

[King Kong Sundae]

If that is the case the title matches could end up as Page Vs Punk and or Danielson instead then

[The Cook]

It appears that the only reason he isn't dethroning Omega at All Out is because Page is about to become a father for the first time and so has requested some time off. So all I see is it being pushed down the road to the next show, Full Gear, which would be even more poetic as that's the show where Omega beat Page last year to become no.1 contender against Moxley.

It'll mean the first Omega vs. Punk/Danielson matches won't be for the title but that won't dilute the quality. And as someone else somewhere else pointed out, a babyface World champion who loves a drink is the perfect opponent for a certain straightedge guy to violently turn heel against

[Prime Time]

There's been an assumption for a while now that Adam Page would eventually be the man to beat Kenny Omega.

With CM Punk coming in - and the rumours about Bryan Danielson to follow - what do you think the future has in store for Page now? Is he still going to be the guy down the line? Or is that now so far off in the future that who knows where he'll end up?

[SirSam]

Yeah they kinda paused that story when lockdown first happened presumably to wait for the crowds to come back and also because Hangman didn't make the Lockdown taping.

I think they now know that crowds will be a long time so seem to have picked things back up.

The tension they are building with FTR is really cool. They could go a whole lot of directions and each one would be believable.