The ending to AEW Dynamite saw a potential reunion, three years in the making.
At the culmination of the main event match between The Elite, House of Black and Jericho Appreciation Society, a brawl broke out backstage between the Blackpool Combat Club, Adam Page and the Dark Order.
This spilled out to the ring. After House of Black won the match, retaining their AEW Trios Championship, the BCC butted heads with The Elite in the ring.
However, stood between them was none other than “Hangman” Adam Page.
The former AEW Champion had history with everyone in the ring. He had just finished a long-term feud with Jon Moxley, the assumed-leader of the Blackpool Combat Club. They battled in some gruesome matches, including the always bloody Texas Death Match.
However, it is the Elite where his true history lies. He had been a part of the group for many years, all the way back to their Bullet Club days in New Japan and to the formation of All Elite Wrestling.
The group splintered during the time Page and Kenny Omega won the AEW Tag Team Championships, and after they lost the titles, the group split from Hangman.
This led to a year-long rivalry between Omega and Page. It culminated in a terrific match at Full Gear 2022, which saw Adam Page beat Kenny Omega for the AEW Championship.
During that match, the Young Bucks gave Adam Page a hopeful nod, indicating that a Hangman/Elite reunion was only a motion away.
The Elite vs Blackpool Combat Club
As “Hangman” Adam Page stood between the Blackpool Combat Club and The Elite, it evoked a feeling from the Page/Omega vs Young Bucks match from Revolution 2020.
After putting on one of the greatest tag team matches ever, the four men stood in the ring together. At times it looked like Page would attack the other three, or the three would attack Hangman. It never transpired, but it was an iconic image from the post-match.
This was felt on Dynamite. As the four men stood in the ring again, in the same formation as last time, electricity filled the arena. However, this time it was a feeling of hope, not betrayal.
I think it’s finally time for each man to forgive the other. The Bucks already offered an olive branch once before, trying to recruit Adam Page for their trios team. He refused and stuck with the Dark Order, but the sentiment was always there.
With Blood & Guts coming up in a few months, it looks like the perfect time for Adam Page to rejoin the Elite, for a huge Elite vs Blackpool Combat Club match inside the Blood & Guts match.
This would be the third Blood & Guts match in AEW history. The War Games-inspired bout was brought into the company in 2020, although due to COVID could not take place until the following year.
The Elite have never been part of a Blood & Guts match. However, they were originally planned to take part in the first ever one in 2020, with the team of Cody Rhodes, Adam Page, Kenny Omega, Nick Jackson and Matt Hardy set to take on the Inner Circle.
That match was ultimately cancelled, which you can read about in depth below.
The Elite vs Blackpool Combat Club would give both teams the chance to battle for the first time, in a huge five vs five match.
It is expected that the Blackpool Combat Club would put up it’s four members – Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta – up against the Elite, although they may require a fifth member.
This would be if The Elite – comprising Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks and Adam Page – were to bring in a fifth man to the proceedings.
Fans have theorised that recent free agents Kota Ibushi or Jay White could sign for AEW and join the group, or even have Adam Cold feature in his first match in a year at the event.
AEW has yet to officially announce if the Blackpool Combat Club vs The Elite match will take place inside Blood & Guts. It’s likely the two teams will do battle in a big multi-man match at Double or Nothing 2023, although you would hope that the feud does not last until Forbidden Door 2, in June this year.