Hangman Page was in the middle of his hottest run and seemingly on track to face Kenny Omega at AEW All Out.
He wasn't at AEW All Out, taking time to be with his significant other as she gave birth to their child.
Since the start of the company in 2019, Page has been positioned in major storylines as AEW has told the story of a man who seemed to have everything, wanted more, lost it all, and found himself along the way.
Speaking to Men's Health, Page discussed the real-life nature of the storyline and his anxieties that have played out on television.
“I wouldn’t even say [the story] has borrowed from my real life, as much as it is [real life],” Page said. “Each step of the way, I’d ask myself, ‘How do I feel about this right now?’ And I’d just give you the truth. Anyone in this age range understands, not just the surface-level anxiety, day-to-day, but larger anxieties about the way that our world works around us, the way that our world is maybe starting to fail us, and that we are not rising to the challenge. I think that our generation is very familiar with both those kinds of anxiety, certainly myself included."
Speaking about his relationship with Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks, where Page felt inferior, he said, "I’ve come to terms with how I’ve felt, and I think only then do you start to feel differently about the dynamic. There’s no amount of money you can pay for therapy like this, to hear thousands of people clamoring for you.”
AEW has been open with real life issues on television, addressing Jon Moxley entering inpatient rehab and Eddie Kingston bringing up his struggles with mental health.
Page said about AEW being open about those things, "Ten, 20 years ago, you would never walk away from a top spot, for any reason. You would let your life crumble around you before you walked away from that top spot. Knowing AEW is a different kind of place, a different environment, I think has helped people be more honest with what they need in their lives.”
Hangman Page is set to challenge Kenny Omega for the AEW World Championship on Saturday at Full Gear.
Fightful will have live coverage of AEW Full Gear beginning at 7 p.m. ET with the Buy-In show. You can view the current lineup for the event by clicking here.
