"Hangman" Adam Page - The Cowboy's Promise

Hello, lucha fans! Welcome to Lucha Corner, where I bring you mucho wrestling! I'm Francis aka francisthewitcher. And today I have a new subject I'd like to talk about. As someone who loves all about creativity and imagination, I thought I could at least touch subjects about storylines and gimmicks in pro wrestling. 

So for this occasion, I'm going to talk about what happened at Collision last week when 'Hangman' Adam Page made a return to AEW.

Last time we saw him, we witnessed him suffering a devastating defeat against MJF in the Texas Deathmatch at Revolution, where he also lost the stipulation that he would never challenge for the AEW World Championship again. 

After that day, Adam Page remained missing for four months as reports confirmed that he needed to take some time off. During his absence, many fans have been wondering what was going through his mind. Some thought that maybe he was isolating himself, others believed that he's recovering mentally after losing his last chance to ever challenge for the AEW World title.

The better question was if he would ever come back to AEW with his head high after failing what he had promise to the fans. On June 15, Adam Page returned to social media by posting a picture of his garden on Bluesky.  

 

So last week, Tony Khan made a surprise announcement that Hangman Page was going to make a return on Collision, and the fans were anxious to see what was gonna be Hangman's statement after his last appearance at Revolution.

When Collision started, Hangman immediately came out, made his way o the ring, took the microphone and faced the crowd. He talked about how his hobby as a gardener became therapeutic for him to plant a seed and watch the flowers blooming. 

Most people found that inspiring. I thought the same thing, but at the same time it led me to believe there was a hint behind what he said. What if the gardening is his some sort of escapade not just to forget about his biggest failure? But also to keep him from letting his demons take over him like the last time? I'll talk about that later. 

He continued by saying he took the chance Collision took place in Roanoke, Virginia, to come and let the fans know that he always wanted to be the man of word. While the stipulation he agreed with MJF and lost at Revolution wasn't something it was under contract either verbal or written, he's intended to fulfill his promise. 

Which he announced that he's not going to challenge for the AEW World Championship ever again.

Understandably, the fans weren't happy by his decision, but Hangman assured them that Kenny's major victory as the new champion inspired him to stay on the track. And to do that, he announced he got sight on the TNT Championship, the National Championship, the International Championship, and of course, the Continental Championship. 

He concluded his by claiming that his new goal is to find the answer about himself without the AEW World Championship, and by winning either one or all the champions he named, might be the only way to figure it out. Hangman promised his fans that he's going to find something else to do.

But now let's go to the important question that I'm sure the entire AEW fanbase are asking... Is Hangman Page going to keep his word?

Let me put it this way, if Hangman would achieve of getting those other titles, or even becomes a multi-champion... would it be enough for him to fulfill his new purpose? Think of this way, the AEW World Championship has always been some sort of the holy grail for the AEW locker room to yearn the opportunity to hold the belt even if their reign would last shorter.

Hangman Page worked so hard to get the chance to face Moxley for the title by participating last year's Owen Hart Tournament, even by facing the favorite who was none other than Will Ospreay. At All In Texas, Hangman Page not only was able to defeated the champion, he also took the belt out of the briefcase and we've seen him shedding tears of joy while he was holding the big prize.

It's not about how the other titles don't have the same value as the world championship, but the question is, could Hangman feel the same joy he felt last year if he wins the International or the Continental title?

I have no doubts that Hangman is willing to live with the sacrifice he made, but it is unknown if somewhere, that spark anger and frustration still remains deep inside the Cowboy. Maybe Hangman is aware of that and he's trying to keep that anger in check, which is why he's looking to win the other titles.

And the only explanation for that is this. Let's take a look back in 2024, when Hangman had a gruesome feud with Swerve Strickland. 

It started all the way back to WrestleDream 2023, when Hangman and Swerve faced each other and  collided in a single match, and when Swerve took the victory by playing dirty. But the feud started to escalate when Hangman watched Swerve breaking into his house and went to his baby's room, taunting him while he was looking over his baby, seemingly threatening to his family. 

This brought Hangman develop a deep hatred as he swore himself to deliver a vendetta to Swerve for trying to drag his family into their conflict, but one time he failed to fulfill the promise when he lost again at Full Gear 2023 in a Texas Death Match.

However, this didn't stop Hangman from getting his revenge as he became more and more fueled with anger. When Hangman returned in 2024 to participate the Owen Hart Tournament, after he was also suspended by the EVPs, everyone saw Hangman has changed. Not only that, his measures to avenge Swerve also became very extreme to the point he even burnt Swerve's childhood house.   

In the end, he finally fulfill his revenge after he defeated Swerve on September 7 at All Out 2024 in a Lights Out Steel Cage Match. But in a sense, Hangman knew from the beginning that after everything he has done and how much he had to give up to finally get back at Swerve, it would only make him feel more empty. 

He even hurt other people he looked up to, such as Christopher Daniels when he defeated him in a Texas Deathmatch at Maximum Carnage 2025.   

So let's go back to the question. Will Hangman Page be able to keep his promise? Because if we think about it, the temptation to become an AEW World Champion once more must be too hard to resist, and what if winning all those titles won't be enough to make him feel like he actually achieve something? 

I think it's going to be a huge test for Hangman Page, whether he can really be the man of word or not. But the mind of a human being is so complex in many aspects.  

One thing for sure is that for now it's going to be a personal struggle for the Cowboy Sh*t, and who knows if this could lead to Hangman growing more and more desperate just like the last time.

Only time will tell.