At AEW's Full Gear event on Saturday night, "Hangman" Adam Page and Kenny Omega etched a classic in the most important match in the young promotion's history.
Page, as expected, walked out of the main event as the AEW World Champion. But it was so much more than that— it was a testament to the fact pro wrestling can and should implement long-term booking to reward loyal fans and perhaps even make more casual onlookers into hardcore-types, too.
The slow, prolonged ascent of Page and the careful storytelling on Saturday night around the obvious jaw-dropping sheer wrestling performances of those two, is precisely where WWE stumbles so often with its own main-event scene. AEW leaning into these strengths where the big company on the block struggles is exactly why it has ascended so far, so quickly.
Saturday night was, after all, the culmination of two years of storytelling blatantly aimed at building Page as a homegrown top guy. He started as the fast-riser, fell out with his friends as they forged out championships and success without him, weaved in betrayal, revenge and even millennial-stylized musings like anxiety, if not depression.
All Elite Wrestling @AEWHangman turns @KennyOmegamanX inside out! #AEWFullGear https://t.co/ynIfUdVJky
And in the match that tied a bow on the entire story that literally started alongside AEW itself, Page even got the nod of approval from The Young Bucks—not interference from bitter friends—before he pulled off the finisher than won it. It was a nod that indeed, this is Page's time after an incredible journey.
It's an epic, five-star lesson that indeed, this sort of long-term storytelling is possible today. Were AEW not even a thing though, fans might think otherwise.
WWE just can't pull something like this off because it doesn't often even try with its main-event scene. Look at say, the anointing of Drew McIntyre as a top guy in recent years. WWE pulled off something special by bringing in Brock Lesnar at Royal Rumble to help prop him up. That was especially cool because McIntyre was the guy who at one point was Vince McMahon's chosen top guy, only to leave the company, remake himself in other companies and return.
The payoff after beating Lesnar? A year or so of a title reign, but never really getting a special Mania moment as champion in front of fans.
All Elite Wrestling @AEWSelf preservation on the part of @KennyOmegamanX to pull @RefTurnerAEW into the line of fire. #AEWFullGear https://t.co/sQU7Ihnppl
Even right now, Big E's reign as WWE champ seems to shy away from the long-term storytelling that could be had with his New Day counterparts. And Roman Reigns' Universal title has been hot potato'd to an embarrassing degree, with the likes of Goldberg derailing long-term names like Bray Wyatt's The Fiend in the process. There's a similar feel on the women's side, where Charlotte Flair has had the Raw and Smackdown women's belts six times apiece so far.
Seeing the above compared...is it really so hard to wonder why WWE has a hard time creating new main-event stars? Or why a competitor like AEW has been able to explode out of a niche into the mainstream faster than anyone would have dared predict?
It's not just about the inevitable thrilling end of the ride like Saturday night, either. It's about what comes next. While Big E's list of upcoming challengers looks shrug-worthy and it's clear no challenger will dethrone Reigns for more than a year until they can set up a possible match with The Rock, the possibilities are really endless with Page here.
It's just layers upon layers. How is Omega going to react to the Bucks signing off on a Page win? What about the Bucks and their relationship with Page? Or does Omega evolve and everyone reunites?
And as for Page specifically, the specter of an Omega rematch looms large. But so does the fact Bryan Danielson just got the best of Miro, securing a title match against Page. That's a feud worth building for a year or more, should AEW want to slow burn it.
All Elite Wrestling @AEWNow that's Cowboy S#!t! @theAdamPage #DarkOrder #AEWFullGear https://t.co/zEKOs7PLuT
Keep in mind plenty of others could emerge as contenders. There's a guy named CM Punk who only has so many years left. A heel like Adam Cole could enter the conversation at any moment. So could a beloved babyface, homegrown AEW talent like Darby Allin. Speaking of homegrown, MJF. Don't forget an eventually-returning Jon Moxley.
Because that's the point—it feels limitless (yes, that's a nod to free agent Keith Lee) because this wasn't random. Page didn't spend years toiling around tag-team purgatory and running through all of these matches already. He was meticulously booked and positioned for this long-term endpoint. And now, with a classic, historic moment achieved, AEW is free to set sights on the next batch of long-term booking.
In a way, it feels like AEW is only heading into its second act. Chris Jericho was the first champion and veteran presence necessary to lure in fans. Moxley was the second, the first major crossover star to make it work. Omega the third, a nod to the hardcore fans and a hello of an introduction to WWE-only viewers.
Now there's Page, the fourth, and a testament to the fact this long-term booking thing can work. And frankly, it should make WWE squirm a bit. Not that AEW cares much—they've just pulled off what pro wrestling is all about, reaffirming a blueprint can work in 2021 and beyond to unforgettable results.
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November 14, 2021 at 12:59PM
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