Former AEW Champion “Hangman” Adam Page revealed that he turned down a WWE contract before signing with AEW, despite signing for the company being a dream of his growing up.
Adam Page rejected the WWE contract in 2018, along with other AEW originals like Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks (The Young Bucks famously turned down a multi-million dollar contract from Triple H). While usually it would have been a no-brainer to sign with WWE, Adam Page instead joined forces with Tony Khan to try his luck with the new upstart promotion, All Elite Wrestling.
Adam Page seriously considered joining WWE
While it would have been a huge deal for Adam Page to sign for WWE (with him most likely having a run in NXT before joining up with Omega and The Young Bucks on the main roster), “Hangman” claimed “it didn’t feel right” when he was offered the deal, but that “It was something for me that I heavily considered“.
Adam Page spoke to Brian Campbell on State of Combat about when he was courted by WWE. Adam Page revealed he rejected WWE’s contract offer along with his friends and instead went on to become a legend in AEW.
“That was an option for me at one point. It was something for me that I heavily considered, but you know, it didn’t feel right for me at that time, and I really couldn’t say enough how pleasant everyone was to deal with with the talks and negotiations. It was very professional, and honestly, they were not on the bottom of the list, either.
“They were more after me than most I would say. They put a lot more effort into me and time than others did, so it was a real consideration, but I guess when I was a kid that was [what] you wanted to do—you wanted to grow up and be in the WWE because it’s the biggest thing ever—but it just didn’t feel right and didn’t become a goal for me anymore.”
“It wasn’t something that became an interest to me because of the name brand alone. When it came down to it, doing this other thing seems so much more rewarding and fulfilling.”
Did He Make The Right Choice Rejecting WWE?
While he could have made more money in WWE (they were offering huge contracts to anyone at the time, to stop them joining AEW), Adam Page made the right choice joining AEW. He rejected WWE due to AEW being “more rewarding and fulfilling”, things which we can attribute a work-life balance and creative freedom towards.
The work-life balance for Adam Page in WWE would have been non-existent. Last year, he managed to take time off during the absolute peak of his popularity for the birth of his first born child, missing out on a potential championship match with Kenny Omega at All Out.
He returned later on, winning a ladder match to earn a title shot and went on to defeat Omega at Full Gear. He was allowed to continue his personal life and keep his spot, because the story naturally concluded with Adam Page winning the AEW Championship.
The would not happen in WWE. They seem allergic to long-term storytelling and, up until his surprising retirement, suffered from Vince McMahon’s “New Toy” syndrome. Once Adam Page was out of sight, WWE would forget about him and push somebody else instead and forgetting the whole story.
If WWE was booking the Adam Page vs The Elite Saga, Page would have gone off on paternity leave, Christian Cage would have beaten Kenny Omega at all out, then dropped the belt to MJF on Dynamite, who would go on a Miz-like run, lose all his matches and look like a massive loser, before Adam Page returned and feuded with The Blade on AEW Dark for 6 months.
Adam Page to WWE would also have limited the creativity that Hangman clearly loves in AEW. He is given free reign in his promos and matches in AEW which helped him craft some of the most beautiful moments in wrestling history. His match with Omega and The Young Bucks and as well as his promo prior to AEW Full Gear 2021 are better than anything Adam Page in WWE would be allowed to do.
Adam Page Became A Huge Star In AEW, While WWE Fails To Build New Stars
“But Roman Reigns” is the go-to response when the case of WWE’s lack of stars is brought up. But lets face facts. In the 10 years since Roman Reigns’ WWE debut, WWE have done their very best in squashing down anybody not named Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns and stopping them from getting to the top.
And that has been quite a feat, with names like CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Ryback, Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler and many, many more being sacrificed to the pair that have dominated the main event scene.
Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns has bene done to death and yet it continues to be the only main event feud that WWE can think of when it comes to big shows. WWE are adding to their three Wrestlemania main events with this years Summerslam, so you can understand why Adam Page would struggle in WWE to reach the heights he did in WWE.
Would Adam Page be able to overtake Roman Reigns as the top star in WWE. He certainly has the talent. But backstage in WWE, Adam Page is not the name Roman Reigns is. The fact he turned down a WWE contract, compared to the ever-loyal Big Dog, marks against Page and he would never be seen in the same light, as a “WWE Original” so to speak.
If Adam Page is to sign a WWE contract then he has to be content always being in second place. For a man with so much ambition and talent, that must be tough pill to swallow for AEW’s Cowboy Superstar.
Will He Join WWE In The Future?
Adam Page could join WWE in the future. Cody Rhodes proved that anyone could leave AEW for WWE when he made his triumphant return to the company at Wrestlemania38. His defeat of Seth Rollins destroyed any doubt of AEW talent being treated badly in the company.
This had already turned AEW stars heads. MJF’s AEW contract has long been a topic of conversation and now the young starlet seems intent on running down his deal and moving on to the WWE. He even ended a promo by shouting “Fire Me! Fire Me!” toward Tony Khan on his last appearance on AEW Dynamite.
If huge stars like MJF and Cody Rhodes can make the jump from AEW to WWE, Adam Page doesn’t seem like an impossible dream. He already admitted earlier in this article that it was a childhood dream to wrestler for the WWE (As it likely was for most of the AEW roster) and with a new baby to feed and clothe, he may follow the money and make his living as WWE’s resident Cowboy.
I don’t want to see “Hangman” Adam Page join WWE and leave AEW, but I can understand why he would – especially with Vince McMahon gone and Triple H in charge of creative. It could be a new, fresh product that could usher in a new wave of wrestling popularity, and he would be a fool to at not at least consider being a part of that, even leading the charge like he did in 2019 with AEW.
