Why Tony Khan Can't Afford To Blow It With Hangman Page At AEW All In: Texas (Opinion)

Sometimes, you just have to make your free throws.

Pro wrestling is unforgiving to those with the pen. Write a successful story, you’ll be held to that standard for the rest of time. Write a dud, and you’ll go down in the lore of the Fingerpoke of Doom, Bray Wyatt in Hell In A Cell and Claire Lynch.

You never want to be in that camp.

Creative is subjective. It’s a “choose your own adventure” story. Go down one path, you set the tone for the remainder of your journey. Choose the other, and the road leads 100 miles in the other direction. Rarely do you get a chance to turn back, and even if you do, your past decisions linger in the present.

On Saturday, “Hangman” Adam Page will face AEW World Champion Jon Moxley in a Texas Death Match at AEW All In: Texas. It is the culmination of a three-year detour back to the world title for the babyface Page, and the climax of a rocky reign at the top for the leader of the Death Riders.

It’s also a match that, under no circumstances, should Page lose. If he does, the moment very well may be looked back on as a monumental misstep for Tony Khan and AEW’s creative direction, one that has taken a positive turn since the opening months of 2025.

Set the DVR back to January, and the AEW program looks significantly different than it does now. Several new faces hadn’t yet found their footing in the company, many of AEW’s longtime core roster members were relegated to backseat roles, and pay-per-view or big show main events were filled with misdirections and telegraphed convoluted finishes in cavernous buildings. In a world where AEW prides itself as the alternative, its primary programming was resembling a lot of what we’ve come to expect from mainstream wrestling the last decade, for better or for worse.

As some asked to “restore the feeling,” the feeling at hand was inauthentic.

Khan has noted on several occasions over the last couple of months he took more reign over the product, indicating there are fewer voices in the room than there have been in the past. It’s a similar approach taken to the beginning of 2020, when many of the faces involved with writing the show at the time were sidelined in favor of Khan’s vision. What followed was one of the strongest eras of pro wrestling television in recent memory, with AEW’s TV run from the spring of 2020 through spring of 2022 leading to some of the biggest names in the industry making the jump to the growing startup.

But perhaps, most importantly, a clear main character emerged that the program became centered around: the anxious millennial cowboy.

“Hangman” Page’s rise as the central piece of AEW TV gave the audience someone whose journey they could latch on to, get behind, and learn a thing or two about themselves in the process. His story began with promise of stardom, backed by his best friends, and with plenty of reason for optimism. But in life, people change. Even their closest supporters may doubt them, and thus, they doubt themselves. They lose their identity, and above all else, they lose faith in the world around them.

The Dark Order, which had just suffered a massive real-life and creative loss with Brodie Lee’s tragic passing, rallied behind him to show Hanger that sometimes, you just need someone to believe in you to realize your potential. After reluctance, he learned to embrace the most unexpected of allies, and rode that momentum to finding himself once more, and ultimately, becoming AEW World Champion.

We have all faced similar obstacles in our personal or professional lives at some point. It was a relatable and digestible story, and one that made Page a man of the people. But a program gone awry with CM Punk led to one of the most infamous real-life blowups in industry history, and significantly altered the goodwill so many fans were offering Khan and the promotion. Live attendance took a hit, viewership dropped, and while AEW did manage to secure an incredibly important media rights deal that secured its distribution for the next several years, its public standing had changed.

The “Hangman” character took a dramatic turn in his own story following losing the AEW World Championship, eventually locking in an unconventional and perhaps unexpected program with another rising star, Swerve Strickland. What would follow would be some of the most shocking and extreme pro wrestling storytelling U.S. wrestling has seen in years, but it began to paint a clear picture of what was ahead: there was an avenue for a man who was losing everything to once again find it.

And here we are.

Regardless of if you believe AEW’s creative has improved over the last six month or not, one thing is undeniable. It has a clear direction, and that direction runs through “Hangman” Adam Page’s redemption arc. Four years later, he’s back in a similar role he found himself in, chasing a divisive champion with the future of the company (in storyline, and perhaps to some degree, a piece of reality) up for grabs.

It’s the result of a more focused effort to return Page to the status of AEW’s main character, and the fans have joined in with it. AEW All In: Texas has seen a strong pickup in tickets sold since Page beat Will Ospreay in an all-time classic bout at AEW Double or Nothing to clinch the No. 1 Contendership, and there is a palpable buzz in the discourse about his return to prominence.

That’s why, after their bloody affair on Saturday, “Hangman” Page’s hand must be raised. He must save the AEW World Championship from its regulation to being a briefcase accessory.

AEW All In: Texas has to be the re-coronation of Page as the face of AEW. If it’s not, the decision will live in pro wrestling infamy, and moreover, likely leave a large and vocal group of the fanbase disenchanted at reinvesting in a program that has navigated shark-infested waters over the past 2.5 years.

The importance of goodwill cannot be overstated in wrestling. If fans know they will be rewarded for paying attention and investing, they will return. It is rare you come across a babyface with the near-universal backing of Page, and his authenticity connects at a level very few in the industry do. This is precious real estate in the business, something that only a few individuals (Cody Rhodes, Becky Lynch, etc.) have managed to receive.

Speaking of Rhodes, there are pointed similarities in his path to glory as well as Page’s. Rhodes’ WWE WrestleMania 39 loss to Roman Reigns was widely panned by both fans and critics at the time as a missed opportunity to make a top star. He managed, through his connection to audiences, to position himself for another main event opportunity the following year, but even that almost didn’t happen due to creative differences.

Not often do you get a make-good, and while WWE was fortunate enough to get one due to its legacy and long-term equity with fans, AEW may not be as lucky if it fails to crown Page as champion again.

It’s even likely the main event of Saturday’s show will play out similarly to WrestleMania XL’s, with cameos from stars of today and yesterday. And like WrestleMania XL, but unlike some of the early Death Riders matches, these run-ins will feel earned.

Additionally, while a strong villain can add equity to a chase, Moxley’s run as champion has reached an appropriate end. He is one of AEW’s most valuable assets and a Hall of Famer-worthy performer, but the current reign has been filled with mixed feedback from fans.

While many have speculated Darby Allin, who was an early instrumental piece of the Death Riders story, would be the man to take the title from Mox one day, that doesn’t appear to be the case following his Mt. Everest hiatus. It has been nearly a year since AEW has had heels chasing its top prize. Putting the championship on Page would allow for a fresh crop of bad guys to emerge, while diverging Moxley into his own story of collapse and rediscovery.

There are few people in business who love their product in the way Khan does. What started as a passion-fueled obsession became one of the most important entities to ever exist in pro wrestling, and Khan’s dedication to his craft shines through. It has earned him tremendous praise from those who enjoy AEW, but it has also made him a punching bag for those who position themselves in opposition, or often, the half-hearted stance of “wanting AEW to succeed.”

It’s the burden someone in his position must be willing to wear when they voluntarily take as much of a forward-facing role as he has. He has earned the right to celebrate the company’s historic accomplishments (and there legitimately are many), but also will forever be saddled with wearing its missteps. The outcome of the match will fall into one of those categories, and there is no in-between.

Either the guy the fans feel and identify with wins the big one once again, or they go home defeated over their hero coming up short on a stage that may never be replicated. And sometimes, as the Best Friends would say, you just gotta give the people what they want.

So whether you believe that AEW and Khan intentionally positioned themselves to be on the verge of another prolific moment in their six-year history, or you think it is a result of pure luck, the often unsolvable equation has its solution. AEW All In: Texas needs to go off the air with a bloodsoaked cowboy hoisting salvaged gold, confetti sticking to his sweat. Call it telegraphed, call it obvious, but it’s the right type of memory fans want to carry with them as the show fades to black, one that will be celebrated for years, just as Page’s first title win has been.

If “Hangman” fails and the Death Riders continue to deliver more of the same? Goodwill may give way to “good luck, Tony.”

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