Kenny Omega has discussed his ongoing story with Hangman Adam Page and says that he hopes when all is said and done it ranks among the elite stories of Omega’s career.
Omega will face Page at Full Gear for the AEW World Championship in what could be the culmination of a story that pre-dates the existence of All Elite Wrestling.
Hangman Adam Page first joined Kenny Omega in May 2016 when he first joined Bullet Club then led by The Best Bout Machine. Omega and Page remained on the same side during the infamous Bullet Club Civil War when the faction led by Tama Tonga expelled The Elite from the group.
Page could have had the best start to his AEW career when he wrestled Chris Jericho to become the first-ever AEW World Champion at All Out in 2019. A crisis of confidence soon began unravelling for Hangman as he seemed eager to distance himself from Omega and The Young Bucks.
Despite this, Page found himself teaming with Kenny Omega on AEW Dynamite in January 2020 and the two men unseated SCU to become AEW Tag Team Champions. During their reign, Hangman Page’s relationship with The Young Bucks became irreparable when he cost them a shot at the Tag Team Title.
This backfired on Page when the team he favoured instead, FTR, defeated Page and Omega to claim their first championship in AEW. The confidence crisis of Hangman deepened as even Kenny Omega now walked away from Page.
The drama between Omega and Page was far from over as at Full Gear 2020, the two men met in the final of the AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament. Omega defeated Page and earned a shot at Jon Moxley’s title while for Page, it was a case of ‘what might have been’ all over again.
Omega won the AEW Title from Moxley in December 2020 and his change of attitude was soon matched by The Young Bucks as The Elite ran the rule over All Elite Wrestling.
After a short hiatus following the birth of his first child, Hangman Adam Page returned to AEW television on the 6th of October as the surprise entrant in the Casino Ladder Match. Page managed to climb the ladder and claim the poker chip, putting him on a collision course with Omega once again.
Speaking to Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated the current AEW Champion Kenny Omega discussed his relationship with Hangman Page and lists the attributes that led to Page being recruited into Bullet Club five years ago:
“We don’t just bring just anyone into our group. If there is one area where the Bucks and I have really honed in, it’s realizing the types of people that have potential for greatness in professional wrestling. This industry has no set of rules or a template for what creates a star. All you need is that raw talent, and it was clear Hangman had that.”
“Hangman had a never-say-die attitude, incredible athleticism, and a very clean slate in terms of major injuries. He had this southern cowboy-ish nature, and a personality behind the scenes—one that people now see on camera—of a very lovable human being. We knew this guy was going to be an elite performer. And once AEW came along, we knew this company was meant for him.”
As far as the story between Page and Omega, the AEW Champion says he wants it to match the very best of his career:
“Both of us have put a lot of heart and soul into this. We haven’t been handed scripts or sat in production meetings to build this story. A lot of this comes from reality. Maybe we’ve sensationalized some of the details, but there is a lot of truth to the story we’re telling. There is real-life emotion attached to this clash.”
“After this pay-per-view ends, will I be able to take this story—the one that Hangman and I have told—and place it amongst some of my favourites? Can I hang the Hangman story on the mantle alongside the Okada story, the [Kota] Ibushi story, the Moxley story, The Elite story, and the Bullet Club Civil War? Will the Hangman story belong there? My hope is that it will.”