“Hangman” Adam Page has been one of the key figures in All Elite Wrestling since its creation. Page has been featured in numerous high profile storylines and is even a former AEW champion.
Adam Page took his first major step in his career as a wrestler in Ring Of Honor on May 9th, 2016, during the first night of the War of the Worlds tour, Page joined the heel faction, Bullet Club, by turning on Colt Cabana, The Briscoes, and The Motor City Machine Guns during a ten-man tag team main event. Page hung Chris Sabin with a hangman’s noose and on that day became known as “Hangman”.
In regards to this new Gimmick Page said in a interview with The Pittsburgh City Paper,
I found out that I was joining Bullet Club and going to work for New Japan just a few weeks before it happened, and it was something that kind of took me by surprise. I hadn’t anticipated going that direction, but it was a great surprise. It caught me off guard, and one of the things that was suggested to me, since Adam Cole was joining Bullet Club, was that I have some sort of different name. Someone from New Japan suggested the name Hangman Page, and I’d take the gallows from Luke Gallows and fill that role a little bit.
Looking back it’s something I wish I wouldn’t have done, or I would have done differently. But I think at the time, I was rushed to get gear ordered, to figure out who I was going to be, what I was going to be. And at this point I’ve figured it out, but with just two weeks notice? I had the noose for awhile, and I tried to be as sensitive as I could about in every way I possibly could, but I still had people writing me who were kind about it, but who had family members that had committed suicide and it made them uncomfortable, or maybe the racial connotations of me carrying a noose were uncomfortable, and I get that. I tried to be really sensitive about it, but it was something I wanted to get away from. I still carry a big untied rope with me to the ring, and honestly I kind of carry it out more now out of habit than anything, and I’ve kept the name because it’s kind of a cool sounding name, and at this point people connect it with me. It’s just become my name.
Adam Page became AEW champion during the Full Gear PPV on November 13th, 2021. It’s hard to say how differently Hangman’s run as champion would have gone had CM Punk not signed with AEW.
It was easily observed at the time that when CM Punk signed with AEW a huge influx of new fans started watching the program and coming to live shows who had no prior exposure to Page and the other AEW originals. These new fans were simply there to support CM Punk. There is no doubt that this shift had a negative impact on the storylines that AEW had been telling since its inception in 2019, the main one being the Hangman arc.
Don’t get me wrong, it was clear that CM Punk was good for AEW and many good stories came from his presence in the company, But it is truly a shame that the situation between Punk and Hangman was not managed better behind the scenes.
Most recently Page has solidified his reputation for being one of the most violent wrestlers on the AEW roster. His feud with Swerve Strickland took the in-ring violence to levels that have rarely been seen in mainstream wrestling and a potential heel turn was teased for the former AEW World Champion before his mysterious disappearance.
It is unknown when we will see Adam Page again in AEW and there is even greater uncertainty regarding what his mental state will be upon his return.