Hangman Page On Being In The First AEW World Title Match: It Was Too Fast, I Knew People Wouldn't Buy It

While "Hangman" Adam Page was only a minor member of Bullet Club in Ring Of Honor and New Japan, The Anxious Millenial Cowboy was presented as a star as soon as All Elite Wrestling was founded, first winning the Casino Battle Royale at Double Or Nothing 2019 before facing Chris Jericho at All Out in the first AEW World Title match. 

Many fans didn't get behind Hangman during his rapid rise to the main event picture and Page admitted on Oral Sessions that he thought him being in the first AEW World Championship match was "too fast" and "too soon." He also doesn't believe it was a part of some grand scheme for him to eventually win the gold. 

"I wouldn't even talk about, at least my journey to the AEW World Championship as some kind of grand scheme that was hatched on day one or something like that because it never was. At least to me, it was never that way. When AEW started and I realised I was going to be suddenly like - I was just the guy losing all the Bullet Club multi-man matches. I was, not to say a 'nobody,' but I certainly wasn't like the main event guy who was suddenly going to be main eventing the first-ever title match in AEW," Hangman began.

"I knew people wouldn't buy it and I knew it didn't matter what I said, it didn't matter what I did in the time between, it was too fast, it was too soon. I knew people might - they would be forgiving, they would go, 'Oh yeah, okay.' But I knew deep down they wouldn't buy it. It felt like I got off on the wrong foot and I wanted to rectify that and it felt like the only way you can is to be vulnerable and to let that loss and that disappointment come out, you know what I mean? Over a long time and every week we would get to TV and it wasn't like some grand scheme of, 'How do we get back to Adam Page winning the world title?' I just would think, 'How do I feel about this? What would I feel about this?' And, 'Okay, let's do that this week.'"

While Hangman wouldn't win the championship at All Out, he would rise to become All Elite Wrestling's top babyface over the ensuing two years before defeating Kenny Omega for the world title at Full Gear in November 2021. 

Speaking after Hangman's title win, AEW President Tony Khan revealed he knew the promotion's first four world champions would be Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley, Kenny Omega and Hangman Page from the beginning.  

H/T to POST Wrestling