Hangman Adam Page is one of professional wrestling’s greatest success stories. In AEW, stars are championed for qualities that extend far beyond the wrestling ring. Hangman, a former AEW World Champion, is one of those. His AEW career is built on relatability. In the early days of AEW, he became the “Anxious Millennial Cowboy,” continuing to play a part in his on-screen character.
Now more than ever, professional wrestling has become the main event. Whether that be due to streamers capitalizing on its increased popularity or people looking for an escape from the uncertainty of the world around us, wrestling is that. All Elite Wrestling prides itself on being an inclusive space for its fans. Hangman’s wrestling career began over a decade ago while he was working as a teacher. Once he made it into The Elite’s version of Bullet Club, his wrestling career began to take off.
He was a huge part of Being The Elite (R.I.P.), which uploaded weekly vlogs and skits of the group and their friends. When AEW was founded, he and Chris Jericho fought to become the inaugural AEW World Champion. People didn’t believe in him then, but because of his undeniable desire to keep showing up, he quickly became a fan favorite. In 2021, he finally won his first singles title in AEW. The title run was shockingly and frustratingly short-lived. Now, three years later, he’s won the 2025 Owen Hart Cup Tournament with the opportunity at singles gold again.
”You know, that’s what it felt like then, honestly [fans embracing him again post-AEW title run]. It feels like that again in many ways. Obviously, I am a different wrestler than I was then. I am a different human being, I guess, than I was then. But I am, ultimately, immensely grateful to be in this position to challenge for the World Championship at our biggest show of the year. Our biggest North American crowd ever; to challenge for the championship there is incredible. I’m proud of it, proud of the opportunity, and I hope to make the best of it.”
He often faces criticism for his style, triggering toxic dudebro meltdowns. “Have people never heard of Porter Wagner? I mean, look at that man. Google that man and look at him! I’ve just, in a lot of ways, tried to be who I am and in whatever way that resonates, if it does, it does. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t, you know? But I at least had the pride of being myself through it all.”
This is one of a million things fans adore about Hangman — he’s not afraid to speak out about important issues. At AEW Grand Slam: Mexico, he cut an entire promo in Spanish. Sometimes, these personal circumstances bleed over to his gear choices. “I know the gear I wore when I won the World Championship from Kenny [Omega], the first go-round, I had designed based on the children’s book that I wrote.
I’ve probably had quite a few other instances where gear was inspired by my personal life in some ways. I’ve managed to hold on to most of that stuff. I still have it. The butterflies, I think I may have those jeans somewhere. I don’t know — I didn’t find them, I made those or had them made. I can’t even remember why other than I thought it’d be cool. But I might have ’em somewhere. I’m not sure. I think I just sewed some patches onto some jeans and I say that — I didn’t sew ’em on. I don’t know how to sew! But I think that’s all it was, yeah.”
Over the last year and a half, Hangman Page has gone from a top babyface to an anti-hero. His unforgettable feud with Swerve Strickland first saw Strickland break into Hangman’s home and threaten his family. He didn’t believe Hangman had what it took to be “the” guy in AEW. The cowboy retaliated by setting fire to Swerve’s House, and their feud came to an end (at least for now) at All Out 2024. Many call them “wrestling soulmates.”
”No, no, no. I don’t, I don’t believe in that [fans calling them wrestling soulmates]. I don’t. I mean, you said it. He is someone who, to prove a point, broke into my home. He’s someone who threatened my family’s safety, who had nothing to do with any of it. You’re right, I found his childhood home. I burned it to ash, and I nearly killed him.
I mean, I thought about him, I did. Once I had done that, I kind of realized that the catharsis that I thought it would give me didn’t come. And I thought it would hit instantly; I would feel relief. I’d feel like it was done, and it just didn’t come at all. I kind of realized that I had spent two years chasing the wrong thing, I guess. He said quite a while ago that he had put it behind him, and I kind of had to make that decision as well to put it behind me to focus on something worthwhile, because the past two years had not been worthwhile.”
But, is the enemy of my enemy my friend? Is there any way that Hangman would accept help from Swerve come AEW All In, ala Cody Rhodes’s Avengers-style moment at WrestleMania 40? “I made a promise to win the World Championship and I made a promise not to need or accept help from him because I can’t — I couldn’t do that.”
In that time, Hangman Page has come back to himself… sort of. That shift began at AEW All Out after he defeated Swerve by any means necessary. The fans, so quiet you could hear a pin drop, gasped when he took a step off the ramp back toward the ring. At that moment, he began to unravel. Hangman Page and Moxley will do battle at AEW All In Texas, where Hangman looks to dethrone Mox and his tyranny once and for all.
This is not his first dance with Moxley. Per this week’s AEW Dynamite, Moxley and Hangman Page will go toe-to-toe in Texas Death once again. Page notes that this match feels different than their other encounters due to the high stakes.
“The stakes for this match — Jon Moxley has had the World Championship locked away in a briefcase for the better part of a year. And when AEW started, I made it my goal to win that championship. I mean, I was probably one of the first people to ever see what the championship would look like, and I made that my professional and personal goal to win that championship.
To me, that was a physical manifestation of what I felt all the wrestling was about. It was about the best in-ring competition that any of us could offer. It was about the creativity that we all had, but it was also about the way we looked after and cared for one another, treated one another and that championship. [The title] is a manifestation of all of those things, and to have that locked away inside of a briefcase–I feel it is not even my goal as much as someone who has benefited so much from professional wrestling and AEW–it is my responsibility to beat him and take that championship.”
AEW All In takes place at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas on July 12.
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