AEW fans and many pro wrestling fans were very happy that Hangman Adam Page finally got his hands on that AEW World Championship, beating Kenny Omega for it at Full gear back in November of 2021.
And it was just like that that his run as World Champion in All Elite Wrestling would begin, and what a run it was, lasting all the way until CM Punk would uncrown him at Double or Nothing 2022.
via CM Punk Fan Channel on YouTube
Recently Page went into just what it was like to be at the top of the company. He made some of the following statements while speaking to Nick Hausman of Wrestling Inc. (link below quote). Here are some of those statements:
“I never realized the pressure of being world champion and that might seem to someone watching, like, ‘Oh, you defended it once every three or four weeks, how hard could that be’?…I don’t know that I handled (the pressure) of anyone who’s ever handled it, but it’s my first time. I think it made me, you know, a better person, a better wrestler…
I let (the pressure) get to me more than I thought I would…I thought I would win the championship and I would be happy, that I would be the perfect version of myself, and I wasn’t, either. It’s not like I didn’t talk to (the Dark Order) every single week, because I did. But you know, maybe sometimes I was too busy or stressed to do those BTE bits every week…
I let that pressure, I guess a friendship, a lot of friendships and I guess that’s, you know, the cynic in me wants to say that’s something that maybe comes with being champion, but I think as a personal thing, maybe that’s a bit of a failure or something to work on.”
As always, he’s being very hard on himself, but oftentimes, that’s the only way to strive to be the absolute best a person can be. Finding that balance is perhaps one of the hardest things to do in any sport or art form, and Page is certainly on his way in that regard.
But if you ask this writer, despite the pressure, despite the slips he may have made if any while on top, it was one hell of a run regardless and I can’t wait for the next one.
Sasha Banks spotted with new look—working on proper exit from WWE with lawyers
And speaking of yet another top individual in the industry of pro wrestling who has sometimes succumbed to the pressures of said industry, one Sasha Banks has been spotted recently, and she looks a tad different than she did the last time you may have seen her.
She was spotted at a photo shoot with none other than a close friend of hers, Superstar Samuray Del Sol (Kalisto). She’s done away with the blue hair look and seems to be sporting an all black hair color. What’s most important about these images though, is to notice the smile on her face. She seems to be at peace with what’s happening right now, proud of her walkout, as she should be.
via Mothers Milk on Twitter
There’s no official statement thus far from WWE confirming her release, despite loads of speculation online, but Dave Meltzer from the Wrestling Observer has stated that his sources tell him that Banks, or rather Mercedes, is working on the terms of her release form WWE with her team of lawyers.
Is an AEW debut in her future? It would make sense and truthfully it would be apropos and a way to stick it to WWE for the treatment she received towards the end there. We’ll keep you posted, dear readers.