On the recent edition of Dynamite a match was set up between Omega and Danielson with the caveat being it's non-title. Fans seemed OK with this as they seem convinced that Adam Page should dethrone Kenny.

But should he really?

I'm of the belief that Adam Page has effectively done next to nothing to build his case since Full Gear.

Page was established as one of the top guys in AEW since Day 1 but hasn't done anything to get over that hump.

Let's review...

After Full Gear he starts teaming with Matt Hardy who all of a sudden becomes an overt con-artist and Page ends up beating him convincingly at Revolution.

Page suffers a shock loss to Cage but quickly beats him at Double Or Nothing.

Since then? The Elite acted like jack offs and comfortably beat Page and The Dark Order while promoting The Looney Tunes.

It just doesn't feel like Page has done anything to put himself at a level of a Jericho, Moxley or Omega. He's somebody who still seems like a year away and needs a program with top guys like Jericho, Moxley, Miro etc. just to establish himself as THE guy because right now he pales in comparison to guys like Punk and Danielson.

Dare I say both those guys should knock Kenny off his perch and then you do the Omega-Page stuff on the side and eventually return to a title program later on.

For me the title has always been a symbol. Who is the champion? Well it should be the biggest full-time star in which case would have to be Danielson.

Where are you guys with the current title situation? Also do you think AEW can do a better job of building talent and making them stars?

In my dream world Danielson beats Omega and plays up the best in the world card hardcore. Page goes through Omega, Punk and others to take the belt from Danielson.

Not really following AEW, so have no clue how wrong this line of thought might be for them, but...

I feel like the more established big names AEW has in its world title history, the better for establishing it as big itself. Jericho was good as first champion, feeling like he added a legend status similar to what Tito Santana and Don Muraco or a Jimmy Snuka did for early ECW. Jon Moxley made perfect sense as #2, coming off his wasted potential run as Dean Ambrose... But at least he was a former WWE World Champion. Maybe he's like the Terry Funk in his analogy?

Kenny Omega makes sense as like a Sabu, being more of a homegrown star in the sense that he wasn't ever in WWE yet has a legendary status and following based on his indy work.

Sticking with this analogy, I feel like Daniel Bryan and CM Punk should probably be leveraged as like a Shane Douglas and Raven. Guys who spent time in the "Big Leagues" but arguably weren't ever given all their due there. They're maybe past their primes, but the nostalgia factor and new environment is invigorating. And their names on paper will look important in hindsight.

From all accounts, it sounds like Adam Page is trending more like an RVD. Arguably should be world champ and is wildly popular... but maybe is relegated to TV Title status for some reason? Or maybe RVD is a stretch. Is Page more of a Tommy Dreamer? Is Darby Allin for of the RVD? Or maybe he's Sandman? I dunno...

Rusev probably should've come in as the Bam Bam Bigelow, but seems they've missed their shot with that. Plus, he was never THAT big in WWE. So maybe Bray or Braun ultimately works better in this role?

Maybe it's just based solely on his mouth, but I feel like MJF has it in him to be Taz. Heel so hard with take-no-prisoners verbal barbs that he eventually becomes the promotion's homegrown hero against outsider assholes?

Then there's Orange Cassidy as a Mikey Whipwreck stand-in. Maybe he has an unthinkable world title run to transition the belt?

For AEW, Page is their homegrown guy. From day 1 basically the story has been planted for Page's title win. He was the one guy from the Elite who never made it to the top before the fed was started and it seems the goal of the rest of the guys was to make sure the world knows he is a top guy. Page IMO when AEW was not ready to be a top guy, but his story in AEW def proved he is ready now with one of the most nuanced and heartwarming stories wrestling has done in a long time.

Great summary of why so many are behind Page is in this twitter thread.

MJF is the Corino of AEW. A chip on his shoulder loud mouth with tremendous upside. Old school heat magnet who still seems a little raw.

Page is the Stevie Richards of AEW. A good young talent about to enter his prime and trying his best to escape the shadow of a more famous wrestler. The entire Dark Order is Meanie, goofballs who the kids (or young at heart) seem to love.

There are no Taz' in AEW, not even Taz is Taz.

Fergus Ferguson

Hangman Page is certainly on the level just below the top guys, similar to where Darby Allin and MJF are. They've not had much recent exposure to the top stars, except for Allin facing CM Punk. MJF had a long feud with Jericho but I haven't classed Jericho as a top star in AEW for a long time, basically since he dropped the belt.

It's fine to build up your company with champions known for their work in other companies, your Jerichos and your Moxleys and your Omegas. But at some point you've got to pull the trigger with your own guys, the future. Is this the right time or do they need another year or two leaning on guys like Danielson and Punk? It's hard to say.

AEW is getting more fans and more viewerships than ever so it feels like a good time to give your younger guys some real exposure. They're already doing that with Allin and MJF and Jungle Boy and Garcia. Does this mean it's about the right time to pull the trigger on Hangman?

I could see arguments both ways. Unlike Big Pete, I think he's ready. He's an excellent worker who barely has a bad match with anyone. He has credibility: like Darby, he never loses unless he faces an absolute top guy. He's over. The fans love him. He's had a long term story built from day one, where his primary enemies are The Elite.

I could see Hangman returning, winning a long-ish feud with Adam Cole to really cement him at that top level, then he takes on Kenny.

I do feel like Hangman is the right answer, but not the only right answer. Danielson dethroning Kenny would be great as well.

I'd love Omega beating BD by a hair. Only to have Page return & beat him.

Hangman. It absolutely has to be Hangman.

Sept 17, 2021 14:45:39 GMT Big Pete said:

MJF is the Corino of AEW. A chip on his shoulder loud mouth with tremendous upside. Old school heat magnet who still seems a little raw.

Page is the Stevie Richards of AEW. A good young talent about to enter his prime and trying his best to escape the shadow of a more famous wrestler. The entire Dark Order is Meanie, goofballs who the kids (or young at heart) seem to love.

There are no Taz' in AEW, not even Taz is Taz.

Not a fan you conparing page to stevie. Page will end up way bigger than stevie

Believe it or not, two companies that have almost nothing in common, from twenty years apart, don't have a roster that's a complete 1-to-1 corollary.

Depends if their goal is to be number 1 or to push newer talents. If you want to be number one give to Punk. He isn't the sole reason but is the main reason why AEW is now a threat to WWE. Bryan Danielson would also have a similiar but smaller effect.

Hangman if they want the whole pusher younger guys though it would have been better if his friends weren't the bosses.

And just because sometimes you want to see the world burn. I give it to Cody and finally turn him heel after he won it.

One thought I just had is that Punk and Danielson don't really need the belt, they draw a huge audience just by being there and wrestling.

I want MJF to beat Omega before Page gets a chance to, getting that huge heat of being the one that dethroned Omega (but he very obviously cheated to win and is a massive dick about it like usual).

Page stands aside and refuses to beat MJF because he's obsessed with the idea of taking the title from Omega. Meanwhile CM Punk takes the title off MJF in a tremendous program.

Omega vs Punk for the title. Omega wins.

Page then steps in and fulfills his destiny.

Sept 17, 2021 21:54:14 GMT nazzer said:

Sept 17, 2021 14:45:39 GMT Big Pete said:

MJF is the Corino of AEW. A chip on his shoulder loud mouth with tremendous upside. Old school heat magnet who still seems a little raw.

Page is the Stevie Richards of AEW. A good young talent about to enter his prime and trying his best to escape the shadow of a more famous wrestler. The entire Dark Order is Meanie, goofballs who the kids (or young at heart) seem to love.

There are no Taz' in AEW, not even Taz is Taz.

Not a fan you conparing page to stevie. Page will end up way bigger than stevie

I was thinking more Stevie circa Barely Legal 1997 where he was clearly being built up for a run only to join Raven in WCW and effectively put a glass ceiling on his career.

AEW and ECW are barely alike and the EVPs aren't basing their entire approach from ECW although they've clearly been inspired in some cases.

Sept 17, 2021 22:56:42 GMT Emperor said:

One thought I just had is that Punk and Danielson don't really need the belt, they draw a huge audience just by being there and wrestling.

I'm a big believer that the guy makes the title not the other way around. When you have guys above the title it diminishes the championship somewhat.

I agree that Page is a 'good' talent but when was the last time he had a great singles match? I'd argue he's only had the one against Kenny and let's be honest in the grand scheme of Kenny's career was it even in the Top 20 matches of his career?

I think the other aspect that's diminished the appeal is that Kenny is no longer invincible. We just saw him lose to Christian in a pretty underwhelming defence a month or so back. This idea of Page being THE guy no longer seems as urgent.

Sept 17, 2021 21:54:14 GMT nazzer said:

Sept 17, 2021 14:45:39 GMT Big Pete said:

MJF is the Corino of AEW. A chip on his shoulder loud mouth with tremendous upside. Old school heat magnet who still seems a little raw.

Page is the Stevie Richards of AEW. A good young talent about to enter his prime and trying his best to escape the shadow of a more famous wrestler. The entire Dark Order is Meanie, goofballs who the kids (or young at heart) seem to love.

There are no Taz' in AEW, not even Taz is Taz.

Not a fan you conparing page to stevie. Page will end up way bigger than stevie

I dunno, man... Stevie main-evented WrestleMania in the greatest pro wrestling video game of all time, No Mercy. Doesn't get much bigger than that.

Sept 17, 2021 22:09:43 GMT KITN said:

Believe it or not, two companies that have almost nothing in common, from twenty years apart, don't have a roster that's a complete 1-to-1 corollary.

I don't believe it!

I just don't see Page winning it now, considering the landscape has changed so dramatically and the time off. The chase is over.

I think when the stars align properly with a real babyface unit of Darby, Punk, Sting and Christian and JX galvanising as one.. Darby is likely to take the strap from Kenny.

Darby is getting a huge rub from Sting and Punk it's obviously for a reason.

And considering the size difference between Kenny and Darby, Omega will look like a real beast in comparison.

I started paying attention to the full AEW product near the start of this year and really plugged in 100% in recent months, and I know that's corresponded with him taking some time off, but I have literally hardly seen Adam Page. I can vaguely remember a match he had with Brian Cage (who coincidentally has also disappeared) but that's about it, so it's always felt a bit odd to me that everyone was assuming he'd be the next world champion.

I know there's more to it than that, and they have built a long term storyline, but there would be tons of people who tuned in recently who wouldn't even know who he was while Punk, Bryan, and Darby have been front and centre. Maybe it doesn't matter and they're able to get Hangman hot again when he returns but it seems pretty far fetched to this viewer, at least.

Sept 20, 2021 6:22:34 GMT @admin said:

I started paying attention to the full AEW product near the start of this year and really plugged in 100% in recent months, and I know that's corresponded with him taking some time off, but I have literally hardly seen Adam Page. I can vaguely remember a match he had with Brian Cage (who coincidentally has also disappeared) but that's about it, so it's always felt a bit odd to me that everyone was assuming he'd be the next world champion.

I know there's more to it than that, and they have built a long term storyline, but there would be tons of people who tuned in recently who wouldn't even know who he was while Punk, Bryan, and Darby have been front and centre. Maybe it doesn't matter and they're able to get Hangman hot again when he returns but it seems pretty far fetched to this viewer, at least.

Sounds like Page is definitely Stevie Richards then.

Luchasaurus should be the one.

Sept 20, 2021 6:22:34 GMT @admin said:

I started paying attention to the full AEW product near the start of this year and really plugged in 100% in recent months, and I know that's corresponded with him taking some time off, but I have literally hardly seen Adam Page. I can vaguely remember a match he had with Brian Cage (who coincidentally has also disappeared) but that's about it, so it's always felt a bit odd to me that everyone was assuming he'd be the next world champion.

I know there's more to it than that, and they have built a long term storyline, but there would be tons of people who tuned in recently who wouldn't even know who he was while Punk, Bryan, and Darby have been front and centre. Maybe it doesn't matter and they're able to get Hangman hot again when he returns but it seems pretty far fetched to this viewer, at least.

Page is out as he just had a kid.  So they wrote him off for a while so when he does return his rise will be red hot, instead of an on and off thing while they wait for the right time to give him title.  Now he can sit at home until they lock a date for the title change, then book out so he returns and just gets more and more momentum going.  He will likely have a fairly long leadup to his match with Omega were he proves he has what it takes finally to beat Kenny.

My biggest concern is that Omega continues to hold the belt for longer than is necessary. I like Page and I’ve enjoyed the Page story, so I would be cool with that and cool with Danielson or Punk. But my patience is wearing thin with this Omega run. To me he’s one of the least compelling main event acts on the show. Not entirely because of him, to be fair. But combined with Callis and the Elite, I really get a TNA vibe from it all.

Sept 17, 2021 21:48:39 GMT KING KID said:

Reminds me of Donkey Kong 🐵

Again, cannot stress enough, Adam Page is not Stevie Richards. AEW is not ECW. Fabricating parallels where none exist is a pointless endeavor.

It's not a parallel until Page forms his own version of Right to Censor.

Danielson or Punk seem like the obvious choices. I see nothing special in Page.

The premise of Page's run is really interesting. I don't think I've seen a Pro Wrestling company ever try and make their own version of Icarus aka the guy who flew too close to the sun and crashed and burned. It highlighted one of the strengths of the genre which is character development as we got to see Page go from this poster boy to this depressed free spirit sharing the company of a fallen titan.

They've done the best they can to tell that story but if any story was more impacted by the pandemic than it was clearly that. Had the pandemic never hit, I could see a lot of things coming to a head at Blood and Guts which would have been this powder keg match for the Elite. Instead Page missed the majority of the build up and they changed the match entirely to be more of an upper to help combat the early stages of the pandemic.

It really is a testament to the idea that fans are still curious given how stop start the whole thing is and how weak Page's booking has been while TK has kept Omega-Page apart.

The wheels are in motion for Page's return. Dissension in the Dark Order keeps growing and soon should lead to all out fighting. Once that passes it's peak, I assume Page returns to reunite them. Then once they are healed they push Page to try one last time for the title.