An Ode to the Anxious Millennial Cowboy
On Adam Page, the AEW breakout star and personality worthy of the wrestling world's attention.
Welcome to issue #6 of Throwdowns.
It is difficult in a time like this to find distractions. We all know what is going on outside, and while we are all hopefully safely confined inside, finding just the slightest things to occupy our minds during this will be more essential than ever going forward.
In this issue, I will once again write about professional wrestling. A source of entertainment that for almost the entirety of my life, has served as a cherished and reliable escape. My only hope is this small newsletter provides a similar feeling. With that said — Let’s Throwdown.
The run-in or save, is a simple, and widely used fictitious trope that has spanned many genres, era’s and mediums. Mainly, because it is so effective.
It has been seen in instances where a group of thieves circle a helpless citizen in a shadowy alley only for a masked vigilante to swoop in at the last second. Or in Westerns, when a herd of black-hatted outsiders trot into a local saloon and rough up the bartender before a hero intervenes. Professional wrestling is no different.
Most often executed when one or several of the company’s “babyfaces” find themselves outnumbered and on the receiving end of a beatdown from the “heels,” the conclusion typically sees someone rush down to make the save to the audience’s delight. Helping the faces combat the heels, good defeat evil and balance be restored.
Adam Page does this shit differently.
Photo courtesy of AEW
On a recent episode of AEW Dynamite, professional wrestling’s newest and hottest upstart promotion, this storytelling device was once again used. However, with a slight twist.
The “Inner Circle,” the company’s main heel faction, got the upper-hand over members of “The Elite,” which consists of several of the real-life founders of AEW and popular babyfaces on the roster.
Page, also known as “Hangman” (a nod to his in-ring cowboy persona), suddenly appeared at the top of the ramp signaling the storied tradition of what usually comes next. Until it didn’t exactly.
Since the inception of AEW and even spanning back to previous wrestling promotions, Page has been directly linked to The Elite. That is until recent splintering and in-house bouts have muddied the waters. He is however for the time being, begrudgingly still one of them.
So with what has become his signature beer in tow, and disdain painted all over his bearded face, Page did not execute the traditional run-in per se — but rather — a saunter-in.
His stroll and approach befuddled longtime, and legendary wrestling commentator Jim Ross (JR) who asks the question to the televised audience watching at home: “is he friend or foe?"
Page’s reluctance, lack of urgency (safely put his beer down prior to shenanigans) and middle finger before and after saving the day illustrates a layered characterization that is usually a rarity in the world of professional wrestling.
He is not a good guy, or bad guy, but rather a guy stuck in the middle. And this is exactly what makes him so compelling — and popular.
Jaded wrestling fans, those who have poured years into the product know the tropes. They know the cliches. They know who they are supposed to root for and root against.
This is why when Page was initially appointed the person chosen to compete for the promotion’s inaugural world championship against ultra-popular heel Chris Jericho, he was met with a lukewarm reception.
Before this current iteration of the “Hangman” gimmick, Page was more attuned to a traditional babyface who just so happened to do cowboy shit like ride horses and wear bandanas.
It was not that he was not popular, nor interesting, it just was only after he lost the match that would have made him the company’s first ever champion did he begin to tack on more dynamic layers.
Page began losing. He was no longer skyrocketed up the card, but rather forced to scrap together wins in order to get back to where he had fallen from. He also began drinking on screen. A lot. Everywhere from backstage vignettes, interviews and even during matches.
Page is nowhere near the first wrestler with a fondness of alcohol being a part of his on-screen gimmick as Stone Cold Steve Austin famously helped make bashing beers part of the social zeitgeist during WWE’s (then WWF) Attitude Era.
But unlike Austin’s portrayed usage, the role of Page’s drinking is more nuanced. Initially serving as a prop signaling his downward spiral, it eventually led to a new, do what it takes to win persona as he began securing wins in non-clean ways.
He also no longer took part in the Elite’s babyface celebrations, preferring to leave through the crowd and grabbing an audience member’s beer on his way out. A tonal shift to the character that set in motion where he is today.
His character arc peaked when he and fellow Elite member Kenny Omega, won the AEW tag team championships despite a lack of continuity and frequent mishaps during their matches. An accomplishment that the group’s more established duo The Young Bucks, had been unable to do since the company’s birth.
Soon after, Page began making verbal jabs toward the real life brothers’ inability to win the belts and further continued his separation from the group. This culminated when Page and Omega were booked to square off against The Young Bucks at the company’s most recent pay-per-view for those titles in mention.
In the build up to the match, all four men sat down for an interview which saw Page once again drink, but also articulate where his frustrations and shift came from. A level of reasoning that not only contained logic, but also once again blurred who fans should be cheering for as The Young Bucks uncharacteristically were the ones spatting out personal jabs. Citing Page’s stature in previous companies in particular.
When the teams ultimately did square off, the crowd were overwhelmingly behind Omega and Page, namely Hangman as they belted out “Cowboy shit!” in unison every time Page was on the offense.
Whether it was due to an appreciation to see a performer who ultimately did the right thing but had some jagged edges to him, or a desire to see him prove he was a not a “jobber” (a wrestler who often loses and is used primarily to make others look good) like he was deemed in the aforementioned interview, audiences and fans have undoubtedly gravitated to Page.
Omega and Page would go onto defeat The Young Bucks in a match many deemed one of the better tag team bouts in recent memory. If not all time.
Dave Meltzer, one of the profession’s most famous journalists and historians, awarded the match a rare six stars out of his normal five star grading system, and declared it as: "the best tag team match I have ever seen."
Within an era that is steadily gravitating to workrate and how many Canadian destroyers, 450 splashes and false finishes you can jam into a single match, the current character arc AEW is doing with Page is refreshing.
There is nothing outwardly unique in the approach, but it is rooted in reality. And more than anything else, has proven that fans care about this story and about Page alike.
In wrestling — and any form of storytelling — the moment your audience cares about the character, you know you have something good in your hands. And that is exactly what AEW and the wrestling world have in the cowboy.
This has been Throwdowns. If you enjoyed this, or any other post in the archive, please feel free to share it on social media or with your friends and family. It is greatly appreciated.
If you have any questions, concerns, feedback or want to send me recent work for consideration in future “recommended reading” installments, feel free to email me: Alexm.regla@gmail.com. As always, thank you.