The storytelling of AEW (How AEW brought me back part 2)

My previous entry detailed how AEW reignited my interest in pro wrestling after nearly a decade. I had watched their second ever Pay Per View event and been reminded about the spectacle that is sports-entertainment.

I had roughly a month before the debut of their weekly TV show "Dynamite" to catch my self up on what I had missed in the wrestling world for the past 5-10 years.

I learned about "the Elite." A group of wrestlers that had made a name for themselves in Japan. Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks, and "Hangman" Adam Page. They had built up a huge following through their weekly travel vlog "Being the Elite" which not only detailed their lives travelling from show to show, but also allowed them develop their and storylines and work on their character work.

I worked my way from the first episode, watching as many as I could before Dynamite started. It gave me great insight to the wrestling world outside of WWE. The independent scene, the smaller promotions like RoH and PWG. It also introduced me to New Japan Pro Wrestling. A name I vaguely remembered from watching WCW back in the day.

These guys had worked their way to prominent spots in NJPW. Kenny in particular. Putting on not one. Not two. Hell, not even three, but FOUR classic matches with Kazuchika Okada that many say changed the industry forever. I would eventually watch them and can confirm that they lived up to the hype.

Fast forward to Dynamite and I felt I was up to speed on everyone's character and storylines. I was ready.

The show was great. It had a a bit of everything like the PPV I had previously watched. New interesting characters, various exciting styles of athleticism. Kevin Smith was surprisingly ringside with his buddy Jay Mewes. (Chris Jericho had a role in Smith's latest movie so they were were ringside guests.)

This felt like the wrestling show I had wanted all those years ago. I couldn't wait for the next week's episode.

Fast forward a few months to February 2020. It's another PPV, this one called Revolution. Kenny Omega and Hangman Adam Page had been struggling in singles matches and circumstances led to them teaming together in matches. They worked well together as a team. It wasn't long before they won the tag team championship.

For this show they were defending their titles against their friends and tag specialists The Young Bucks. The build up to the match had been somewhat amicable. They were all friends and respected each other but Hangman Page felt like an outsider. He had felt distant from the rest of the group and even wanted to leave them.

He was clearly going through his own stuff after losing his opportunity to become the inaugural champion against Jericho. Often drinking beers from the crowd after matches.

Nevertheless, Page and Omega were able to work through their own issues and defend the titles in what has been called the greatest tag team match in North America. The story telling throughout the match, even after it, when they teased either the Elite turning on Page, or even Page turning on Omega was fascinating.

The story of Omega and Hangman had been set up and would help establish Hangman Adam Page as what I felt was the "main character" of the ongoing All Elite Wrestling story. A story that would help myself and others deal with the COVID lockdowns that would happen not long after Revolution.

The rest of the 2020 shows had to run without crowds. Removing a core component of the live show. An active, responsive crowd. The industry relies on feedback from the crowd to let the promoters know what's working, usually by chanting whoever's catchphrase or yelling "this is awesome" during an epic match. Now AEW wrestlers would have to rely on their storytelling and character work.

And during 2020-2021 no one did that more than Hangman Adam Page. AEW told a fascinating story about a man that had been spiralling downhill since losing his first title opportunity. From pushing away his friends in the Elite to his constant drinking in camera. This was a man on the edge.

It seemed like he would finally pass the tipping point when he and Kenny Omega lost the tag titles and Kenny distanced himself from Adam. Opting not to attempt to regain the titles but to focus on his singles career and entering a tournament to win a shot at the AEW title

The story had entered a new chapter. Hangman also decided to enter the same tournament. The two would eventually meet in the finals at Full Gear 2020. By this point Omega's character had shifted to a more cocky version, destined for greatness. Page was more anxious millennial cowboy than ever.

Omega would win the match and eventually win the title in cheap fashion, becoming the bad guy in the story. Hangman would go on his own road to redemption, eventually making friends with a cult (stay with me here) called the Dark Order.

Dark Order had originally attempted recruiting Adam while on his downward spiral. They were a heel faction at the time so the story beat was clearly for Hangman to resist and overcome them while on his journey. Then the the real life event of leader Brodie Lee passing away changed that. Dark Order had become popular despite being villainous, mostly from Brodie's aura and character work being compelling viewing.

Brodie's passing resulted in the group being presented less like bad guys and more as a group of friends. Instead of trying to recruit and indoctrinate Adam, they simply acted as a support group for him.

I've already gone on too long about this story so I'll avoid covering all the story beats (check out the YouTube channel Outside Interference for an awesome breakdown of the. Eventually Hangman Page would regain confidence in himself and have his final confrontation with Omega for the title. From late 2019 to 2021 we had watched this long-term story unfold, but I was glad I had gone back and watched Being the Elite because I felt like the story had lasted much longer. Hangman's journey felt like an anime saga. Starting at a small point and building up along the way to a huge climax.

It was this style of story telling that made me appreciate AEW. There are many times when they have used past history, often from different promotions, to build up rivalries between competitors. So far none have yet to reach the peak that Hangman's journey reached, but I still look forward to any future storylines they have in store for us.