Line #34 Wrestling/AdamPage


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hangman_adam_page_2.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Hold my beer.]]
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4	Adam Page (born Stephen Woltz on July 27, 1991) is an American {{professional wrestl\|ing}}er currently signed to Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling. Prior to AEW, he also wrestled for Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling and Wrestling/RingOfHonor. In 2016, after years of floundering in ROH's midcard, he joined the infamous ''gaijin'' stable Wrestling/BulletClub. After two and a half years as a member of that group, he and several other Bullet Club members broke off and [[WebVideo/BeingTheElite formed their own faction]] called Wrestling/TheElite. The Elite (sans Wrestling/MartyScurll) would later leave to found their own promotion, AEW, where Page quickly developed into one of its top stars.
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6	While initially coming off as a somewhat bland babyface at the start of AEW (especially since he had to go up against Wrestling/ChrisJericho to be the first ever AEW World Champion). Hangman quickly gained momentum and popularity by the start of the next year, retooling his character into a FunctionalAddict "anxious millenial cowboy". Combined that with his partnership with Kenny Omega and their fantastic match against Wrestling/TheYoungBucks at Revolution, the well-received storyline between his falling out with the Wrestling/TheElite and subsequent friendship with Wrestling/TheDarkOrder, and his year-long CharacterDevelopment in AEW and Page has become one of the biggest stars in the company and when that company includes Wrestling/BryanDanielson, [[Wrestling/DeanAmbrose Jon Moxley]], and Wrestling/CMPunk that's quite the accomplishment.
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8	Page is a 1-time AEW World Tag Team Champion (with Wrestling/KennyOmega), a 1-time ROH World 6-Man Tag Team Champion (with Wrestling/TheYoungBucks) and a 1-time AEW World Champion. He was also the winner of the first ever Casino Battle Royal in AEW.
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10	----
11	!!Time For Some Cowboy Tropes
12	* TheAlcoholic: A lot of gags revolve around him drinking, and indeed his sudden appearances usually involve him entering and/or leaving holding a mostly-finished cup of beer.
13	* AntiVillain: The Decade at some level really did care for ROH's well-being.
14	* ArchEnemy: Swerve Strickland, especially ever since Swerve broke into Page's home and threatened his son. Page's hatred for Strickland after that became so strong that it surpasses perhaps even his desire to become AEW World Champion, with him making it his mission to prevent Strickland from ever winning the belt, and going as far as faking an ankle injury just so he could have an opportunity to attack Swerve by surprise with a crutch.
15	* AwesomeButImpractical: The Deadeye, a kneeling back-to-belly piledriver that Page used as a FinishingMove, is both cool-looking and looks pretty effective to put opponents down, but looks to be as complicated to apply as the name "kneeling back-to-belly piledriver" sounds to be. Understandably, after his standing in AEW began to rise, Page would switch to the relatively simpler but still cool-looking Buckshot Lariat, a slingshot somersault lariat.
16	* BadassTeacher: He was a high school teacher before he hit it big as a professional wrestler.
17	* BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame: At ''AEW Revolution 2023'', "Hangman" Adam Page beat Jon Moxley in a Texas Deathmatch via submission by strangling him with a steel chain. In the same match type at ''AEW Full Gear 2023'', Swerve defeated Hangman by knockout using a steel chain to strangle him, effectively putting him down for the count.
18	* BigGood: Following the departure of Cody Rhodes, he became indisputably the top good guy in AEW.
19	* ButtMonkey: Not in the ring; Hangman can hold his own fine, but he's often the target of hilarious "facts" presented on his name card on his way to the ring, or in the case of ''Revolution'', [[TakeThat having the upper part of the nameplate left blank]].
20	* CanonName: His fellow wrestlers continued to call him by his {{kayfabe}} first name Adam despite NJPW billing him as Hangman Page during his run there.
21	* CombinationAttack: Page and Omega have The Last Call (a combination of Hangman's Buckshot Lariat and Kenny's V-Trigger).
22	* {{Cowboy}}: Whenever Adam Page comes in, it's time for some [[AscendedMeme COWBOY SHIT]].
23	* CrowdChant: ''"COWBOY SHIT!"''
24	* DeepSouth: He is a proud "Mid-Atlantic Boy" from Virginia.
25	* DifferentInEveryEpisode: Instead of the usual kayfabe factoids, the information tab on Hangman Adam Page's entrance graphic changes every week to reflect some random thought in-character as the FunctionalAddict, such as "Days Sober: 0", "Social Distancing Since November", and "IDK Make It Say Something Like Happee Hawlidays".
26	* {{Expy}}:
27	** A hard man associated with nooses whose nickname takes the place of his first name in Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling when he's brought into Wrestling/BulletClub, much like [[strike:Luke]] [[Wrestling/DrewHankinson Doc Gallows]] before him.
28	** People have also drawn parallels between Page and Wrestling/StanHansen. Both are big, surly southerners decked out in cowboy paraphernalia who use a lariat as their finishing move and had a successful run in Japan.
29	* FinishingMove: Buckshot Lariat (a slingshot somersault lariat), the Deadeye (a kneeling back-to-belly piledriver).
30	* ForeignWrestlingHeel: As is the norm for Bullet Club members in NJPW.
31	* FunctionalAddict: Hangman is rarely seen without a drink in his hand, has mentioned sitting at home with a bottle of whiskey while not working, and regularly drinks beer during matches, yet is still more than capable in the ring. Subverted as time went on during his "being kicked out of the Elite" storyline, as his addiction has become a clear coping mechanism for his insecurity and what he turns to whenever saddened or frustrated. It took him becoming friends with Wrestling/TheDarkOrder to find something resembling inner peace.
32	* FunnyBackgroundEvent: In episode 149 of ''WebVideo/BeingTheElite'', Brandi and Cody Rhodes are trying to shoot a promo at the Jacksonville Jaguars practice facility for AEW's Fight For The Fallen pay-per-view. Hangman Page is running up and down the football field as part of his "Full Gear Challenge". A few seconds later, Cody and Page are shooting their own promo while Brandi is trying to take a 360 photo.
33	* GoodIsNotSoft: Despite being one of the top babyfaces in AEW, Page is more than willing to dish out the violence when it comes down to it as seen in his wars with Jon Moxley and Swerve Strickland.
34	* GratuitousSpanish: One of the silly nameplate facts given to Page when he and Kenny Omega faced off against the Lucha Brothers said, "''¿Cómo se dice yeehaw?''" ("How does one say yeehaw?").
35	* GrievousBottleyHarm: During the Stadium Stampede match at ''Double or Nothing'' 2020, Page and Kenny Omega had to break ''five'' bottles of "a little bit of the bubbly" (from a bar inside the stadium where the match took place) over Jake Hager's head to take him out of the match.
36	* TheGunslinger: As part of his NewOldWest motifs, his trademark moves are named after marksman terms: "Buckshot Lariat" ("buckshot" being a term for a shotgun shell) and "Deadeye".
37	* HeroicSelfDeprecation: Hangman, despite being established as one of the top wrestlers in AEW, did not consider himself worthy of being in The Elite with Omega, The Bucks and Cody.
38	* HisOwnWorstEnemy: Progressively becomes this during his time in AEW throughout 2020. His own feelings of inadequacy drive a wedge between The Young Bucks and himself, culminating in him sabotaging his friendship with them, which resulted in Kenny Omega breaking away from him after the two lose the tag titles. He's self-aware of how much he's burned bridges with the others and filled with self-loathing when he's not drunkenly lashing out at others.
39	* HonoraryTrueCompanion: To the Dark Order. He's not an official member (even refusing membership when offered, saying that he still wasn't ready after his break-up with the Elite some time earlier), but has their support regardless. ''Fight for the Fallen 2021'' solidified this as Hangman and the Dark Order made their way to the ring together as a posse under a remix of Hangman's music, all wearing the Order's black and purple. As for the chyron, [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness it forgo its usual mocking of Page]], simply mentioning his winning record for the year and identifying them all simply as the Dark Order.
40	* ItsAllMyFault: Hangman blamed himself for him and the Dark Order losing to The Elite and therefore also losing their respective title opportunities at ''Fight for the Fallen 2021''.
41	* ItsPersonal:
42	** Explained on the December 14 2022 edition of ''Dynamite'' that the reason he was so intent on getting his hands on Wrestling/JonMoxley after suffering a concussion in their October 2022 AEW championship match, was because he couldn't remember his son's name for over an hour due to the concussion.
43	** His feud with Swerve Strickland turned into this, particularly after Swerve invaded his home and threatened his son.
44	* IWorkAlone: On the August 4 2021 edition of ''Dynamite'', he refused to let the Dark Order continue getting hurt and losing their title opportunities on his account and cut ties with them. He insisted that his problems with the Elite were his alone and that he should be the one to fix them. He softened a bit after getting another shot at the Championship at the Casino Ladder Match later that year; the Dark Order came out into the ring to celebrate with him after he won the Championship from Kenny Omega, and they would later come to his aid during a later Championship match against Wrestling/AdamCole when his friends from Wrestling/{{the Undisputed Era}} attempted to interfere.
45	* KickTheDog: He filmed BJ Whitmer while he stalked Steve Corino's wife.
46	* MidBattleTeaBreak: In the middle of the Stadium Stampede match at Double or Nothing 2020, Jake Hager finds Page at the stadium bar and just casually sits down to have a whiskey with him. Of course, when Hangman finishes his drink, he immediately attacks Hager.
47	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: "The Hangman".
48	* NewOldWest: Page appropriates a lot of Old West motifs to his character, often being likened to "the sheriff" of AEW.
49	* OddFriendship: How exactly did a hard-drinking modern-day cowboy end up becoming best pals with [[Wrestling/DarkOrder a wacky band of weirdo adult goths]]? Your guess is as good as ours--but it's endearing as hell.
50	* OneSteveLimit: The reason why Page dropped the "Adam" from his name in NJPW. Page and Adam Cole joined the Bullet Club at roughly the same time, and NJPW management felt having two Adams in Bullet Club would confuse the Japanese fans who were largely unfamiliar with both of them.
51	* PlotTumor: All but called it by name when running down BJ Whitmer for derailing the Decade with his Steve Corino obsession, saying "when there is a cancer you cut it out!" to his metaphorical purging of Whitmer from his life.
52	* PowerStable: The Decade, Bullet Club, The Elite.
53	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Page's rant to BJ Whitmer at ''Supercard Of Honor X''.
54	* RedBaron: Hangman.
55	* RoaringRampageofRevenge: Page against BJ Whitmer, as he blamed Whitmer for the fall of Decade and had been abused by him throughout the group's existence anyway.
56	* RunningGag:
57	** Hangman Page wearing "full [wrestling] gear" in situations where the rest of BTE is wearing casual or dress clothes. Cody and the Bucks insist that he lose weight prior to AEW's Double Or Nothing pay-per-view. The "full gear" gag was written into the Episode 141 intro. The same episode featured Page's "Full Gear Challenge". [[spoiler: It finally pays off in Episode 152.]]
58	** The text above Page's nameplate being changed to various silly things, much to his frustration. Examples include, "Drank a bottle of whiskey at home alone last Wednesday", "IDK make it say something like Happyee Hawlidays", "Has been drinking" ([[https://twitter.com/theAdamPage/status/1214536322402131969 which got popular enough to make it onto a shirt]]), and, "Not gonna pay Private Party that $12".
59	*** This had [[ThrowTheDogABone a heartwarming payoff]] during his entrance for his World Championship match against Kenny Omega at ''Full Gear 2021'' where his nameplate instead said '[[SoProudOfYou "We're proud of you" - Graphics Team]]'.
60	* RunningGagged: The nameplate gag was finally retired beginning with his world title defense against Adam Cole at ''Revolution 2022''. From then on, the nameplate displayed more traditional statistics about Page.
61	* SanitySlippage: His feud with Swerve would cause this, thanks to Swerve's psychological torture and Hangman's inablility to beat him in a match. By the time of ''Revolution 2024'', Hangman's desire to regain the AEW World Championsip and hatred of Swerve had devolved him into an irrational and nearly psychotic savage.
62	* SmugSnake: During his rivalries with Andrew Everett and ACH, Page proved their equal in agility but not in sense or finesse. His shooting star shoulder block was pretty much the definition of AwesomeButImpractical.
63	* TagTeam: With Wrestling/KennyOmega as of late 2019.
64	* UnknownRival: At BJ Whitmer's suggestion he called out Jay Briscoe, on shows where Jay Briscoe was not present in order to paint Briscoe as a coward when he naturally did not come out to answer them. When Briscoe was present though, Page went out to confront him, [[GenreBlind against Whitmer's wishes]]. Briscoe, accepted the challenge but didn't even know who Page was, much less that he'd been trying to challenge him for weeks.
65	* VitriolicBestBuds: With the rest of The Elite. Despite their constant bickering and Hangman's attempts to distance himself from the stable, Page always has his friends' back when they need him the most.
66	** Subverted. He was this until the vitriol overtook the best buds, resulting in The Young Bucks telling him off for screwing them out of a tag title shot and kicking him out of The Elite. Kenny Omega would distance himself as well afterwards, having grown tired of his actions and wishing to focus on the single division again going forward.
67	* WeUsedToBeFriends:
68	** Decade came after both him and Cedric Alexander. Alexander resisted, Page, not so much. Unlike [=TaDarius=] and ACH there was no make up, Page remained loyal till Decade crumbled from within.
69	** Also with Wrestling/TheElite. The webseries "Being The Elite" especially showed off how chummy he was with the group. On the wrestling shows, however, his low self-esteem and the tendency for the Bucks to belittle him led him to betray them and cause them to lose a chance to face him and Omega for the AEW tag championships. All the other members dismissed him after that and have nothing nice to say to him.
70	** In the lead-up to Page's final confrontation with Kenny at ''Full Gear 2021'', he sought out Matt and Nick and sincerely apologised to them for screwing them over (while simultaneously [[GoodIsNotNice threatening to ruin their lives if they screwed him during the match]]). At the climax of the match, the Bucks came out when it looked like Page was about to beat Omega, but instead of interfering they just watched. Right before Page delivered the final match-winning Buckshot Lariat to Kenny he locked eyes with Matt, who just gave him a small approving nod.
71	*** They would eventually reconcile by May 2023, as Page would rejoin the Elite to aid in the fight against the Wrestling/BlackpoolCombatClub.

Context Wrestling / AdamPage