Ethan Page talks about his upcoming I Quit Match with Tony Nese.
Ethan Page thought he would be headed to Ring of Honor to capture gold. Instead, he has been embroiled in a rivalry with Tony Nese. With each man having one win over the other, they will have a rubber match at Ring of Honor's final pay-per-view event of 2023, ROH Final Battle. That match will be contested under I Quit rules as Page looks to put Nese behind him once and for all.
Speaking about the rivalry with Tony Nese in a new interview with Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp, Page would say that he is proud that he and Nese were able to bring a weekly storyline to the new era of Ring of Honor television when so much of the program is built around straight wrestling matches.
"I’m happy that the fans got a weekly, connected, congruent story on the Ring of Honor app. That was a big part, to make sure we added as much value to people paying for that subscription as possible. They’ll be rewarded with getting the actual pay-per-view on the app. That’s the coolest," he said.
The I Quit Match was made official during a contract signing on the December 7 episode of ROH and Tony Khan was in the ring for the contract signing, overseeing the chaos. Paige says that he learned only moments beforehand that the AEW and ROH owner was going to be involved in the segment.
"I found out minutes before. Truthfully, he is one of three authority figures, and he was the only one of three in the building that night. That’s how the chips fell, and now we have Mr. Tony Khan in the middle of the ring, which added a little extra motivation too. It was amazing for me to be able to look him in the eyes in the middle of an arena and tell him my goals were to be one of his champions, and someone to carry his company, and be a face for the brand of Ring of Honor. It ended up being a pretty special night for Ethan Page and Ring of Honor," he said.
Asked if he got any feedback from Tony Khan following the segment, Page said he was too distracted with the attack he suffered during the contract signing to be worried about anything else.
"I’ll be honest, I was so mad about the protein powder, that was a disgusting mess. If you go back and watch the footage, Tony Nese’s knee catches me directly in the cheek, and that was a straight walk to the doctor for Ethan Page," he said. "I’m good. It sent me into the Kenny match a little (iffy), but that’s the performer that I am. I will always check and make sure. We’re good. My man, that knee, not a fan."
Asked if he would have worn a mask if there was any major damage done by the knee of Tony Nese, Page says he would have considered a Cody Rhodes-esque mask.
"Maybe the Cody Rhodes (mask). There is tons of options. Whatever doesn’t cover my face, I’m okay with that."
As for the I Quit stipulation itself, Page credits the idea to Tony Khan and he believes it's the perfect way for this story to reach its conclusion.
"It was Tony. He wanted this. I think it’s a perfect, fitting way to end this," said Page. "The crazy thing never came to my mind the way things were working their way out, and yet, to me, it is the perfect final point of this, especially the way Smart Mark has been constantly reminding me that I quit all of these things in my and my career, and he’s telling me apparently I’m going to quit this fitness journey too. To be able to add that stipulation and use those words and make those words mean what they mean, it’s awesome to be able to do the promo I did last week where...I had been taking L after L after L. This is a thing, it’s very public, if people watch what I’m doing, I’m losing a lot. It’s not something I’m happy with.
"To go into a match knowing that the only person that can lose is me, I have to actually say ‘I Quit,’ and no one can force me...unless they play some audio a la Mankind. [Laughs]. There is AI now, they’ll be able to do it, no problem. I don’t need to give these carnies any ideas," he continued. "To be able to go into a match know, for Ethan Page, the only way he loses is if he chooses to. I haven’t had that option in any match I’ve had. I can get knocked out, I can get submitted. I have to say these words and I know I’m not going to. Knowing I’m going to win. No one can convince me otherwise. I’m going to win Friday at Final Battle."
Fans can check out the full card for the upcoming event at this link. Watch ROH Final Battle 2023 exclusively on HonorClub on Friday, December 15.
Check out the full interview with Ethan Page embedded above.
