AEW's 'Hangman' Adam Page on MJF, Being a Popular Heel, More Ahead of Forbidden Door

Sunday, "Hangman" Adam Page will step into the ring vs. MJF to defend his AEW World Championship at Forbidden Door in London.

This is a feud that has been building for several weeks, even before Page was done fighting off The Death Riders.

During last week's Dynamite, Hangman goaded MJF into using his Casino Gauntlet contract for the title shot instead of taking the coward's way out and cashing it in as a surprise.

We had a chance to speak with the world champion about what makes their feud special, why fans connected to his storyline with Swerve Strickland, AEW doing city residencies and much more.

Hangman on MJF

When people think of AEW, a lot of different wrestlers come to mind. Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, Darby Allin, Toni Storm and Willow Nightingale are just a few who have made big impressions. Two men who have been focal points almost since the company first launched are Hangman and MJF.

In the early days of AEW, MJF was part of Cody Rhodes' posse, which helped him gain a lot of exposure very fast, but Page was pushed even harder and almost became the first world champion in the company's history.

These two men have fought before, but this time feels different. We're seeing two guys who have grown and matured a lot as characters since their last big encounter, and Page views them almost as two sides of the same coin.

"Max has been a part of AEW since I have basically," Page said. "We are basically two day-one guys, two guys that fans, I think, saw a lot of potential in from the get-go. I think both of us felt like two guys that this company could focus on and be built around in its future.

"It's been six years at this point, which is hard to believe, but here we are in a match for the world championship. So it kind of feels like we have not only stepped up to our potential, but fulfilled it and then some.

"He's a hell of a talker. He's obviously young, he's extremely talented. For as much s--t as he gets, he's an incredible athlete and a great wrestler. I won't take that away from him. I won't lie about it. But deep down, as a person, I think he's a piece of s--t.

"In a lot of ways, probably, unintentionally from the both of us, been a little bit of a funhouse mirror of who I've been, and you could probably say the same about me in relation to him. We've kind of been the antithesis of each other. I don't think that's by design as much as it is just who our characters, who we are as people.

"It's been interesting to see how these six years have unfolded and led us to this moment where he challenges me for the world championship."

To hear Page's remarks about MJF's role in Happy Gilmore 2, you can listen to the video above.

Potentially Acting

Hollywood is an avenue that a lot of wrestlers pursue both during and after their careers in the ring. MJF recently appeared in Happy Gilmore 2, Wardlow is set to appear in the upcoming reboot of American Gladiators, and Adam Copeland has appeared in several films and TV shows.

Page, though, is strictly focused on his career in the ring. He's open to any opportunity but isn't seeking out anything outside of his current role.

"It's not really something I've seriously entertained," he said. "Like with any opportunity, I'm not just going to shut the idea of it down, but it's just not something I've seriously entertained or where my focus is.

"My focus really always has been and still is on being a professional wrestler. That is my career. That is my one and only real ambition in terms of work. Not to shut it out completely, but it's not something I've ever thought about."

Feud with Swerve

Swerve Strickland and Hangman have had one of the most violent and personal rivalries in AEW history, but the two seem to be at a point where they no longer desire to end the other's career...for now.

"When Swerve first confronted me in 2023, almost two years at this point, I think fans of the two of us were starting to have different feelings about us," Page said. "For me, there was a little bit of, I don't want to say apathy, but there was a little something where people felt and kind of knew.

"You could get the feeling through the screen that I wasn't all in it. There was some hesitation, some part of me that just wasn't in it in the way that I had been before. And I think people were kind of feeling that.

"That was for me. For Swerve, there was kind of a feeling, he had a lot of momentum. There was a feeling of like 'This is going to be a guy who is a star here. He's going to be a main event guy. He's going to be a world champion.'

"And he even called his shot and said as much, that he would be the first Black AEW champion, and he was. So I think those two things colliding at once was extremely exciting.

"Outside of the personal things that happened between us, that just in itself was exciting to see unfold for fans. And the personal things that unfolded between us, they were difficult. It was difficult for me as a person to keep coming to work every week and deal with. And on the flip side, soon after, I know it was difficult for him.

"It was something extremely personal that in some ways we didn't have a choice but to let it play out in front of the world. But in some ways we did allow it to. We welcomed people into our lives in a very intimate way. I think people appreciate that."

The Popular Heel

Page spent part of his feud with Swerve as a heel, but there has always been a contingent of AEW fans who have supported him every step of the way.

You would often see signs saying "Hangman did nothing wrong" in the crowd during episodes of Dynamite.

While Page appreciates the support of the fans now, he felt differently at the time.

"I think, at that point, a large part of me resented it," he said. "Because deep down I knew the things that I was doing were wrong. I knew that it was the wrong path deep down. But it was the only thing that I thought was going to give me any catharsis.

"It was the only thing that I felt was going to work for me, but it was not the right thing. And to see the fans who have supported me during my entire AEW career still support me then, it reminded me that I was not being an example for them that I should have been.

"Someone like Christopher Daniels pulling me aside and trying to snap me out of it a bit, it was a reminder that I was better than this and everyone else knew that I was better than this, but I just couldn't allow myself to be that, so I resented it, yeah."

Men's World Championship

In most wrestling promotions, the men's main title is simply referred to as the World Heavyweight Championship, while the women's title is designated as the Women's World Championship.

Many fans have noticed that Hangman has gone out of his way to call his belt the men's world title, and it's an intentional move on his part.

"It's an important distinction because it does put them on the same level," he said. "Our women's roster in AEW is incredible. They are just as, and in many cases, more talented than many on the men's roster.

"I think our fans connect with them in a way just as equally as they do with us. To have two divisions, a men's and a women's division, but to have to call one by the Women's World Championship and the other as if it's the more important one, you don't make the distinction.

"I feel like that's not how we present our rosters on television, so why should we refer to the championships in that way either? I'd like to think at least that we don't present the men and women as being on different playing fields in AEW.

"It's just a personal choice that I hope other people take up, and I've noticed it happening a little bit and I hope that continues."

Residencies

AEW has experimented with residencies and holding several weeks of shows in one city, and it has led to some interesting results.

The recent residency in Chicago saw AEW occupy the Aragon Ballroom, a venue that gave the show a unique presentation compared to most arenas and allowed the company to tell some stories during that time.

"When you're touring and you're on the road in a different city every week, the things that you may do on Dynamite, when you follow it up the following Dynamite and the thread continues, it's not in front of the same people," Page said. "But I do think you get a little bit different reaction, a little bit different investment when they're the same people seeing the story unfold.

"It allows something like me and Jon Moxley having a rematch to brew in front of the same audience every week and culminate at the end of the residency. Opportunities like that are really cool, and that's kind of how I was brought up in wrestling, too.

"I wrestled in a place in Burlington, North Carolina that ran shows every two weeks, but it was the same building, the same crowd, so you kind of got that real personal investment from those same people watching every week.

"That's kind of how I learned a lot about wrestling, so to be able to do that in Chicago was cool, and I really appreciated getting to do it in such a unique and intimate building, as well.

"As much as I loved doing All In Texas in front of 30,000 or whatever it was, that is an incredible experience in itself, but there's something very special that I enjoy as much or even more than that big stadium setting in a small, unique setting like we had at the Aragon Ballroom.

"It was also cool because it was a direct flight every week, so that made travel a lot easier on me. It was great. I kind of hope we do this more often."

Magnum Hangman

With curly blond hair in a stylized mullet and a thick mustache, a lot of fans began noticing a resemblance between Hangman and pro wrestling legend, Magnum TA, which was a comparison Page enjoyed despite not intentionally trying to replicate his look.

"That was not really intentional," he said. "I just felt like I was changing as a person and I kind of wanted to change my appearance some. I'd had a mustache similar to that one time before just for the hell of it, and I kind of thought I would try it again.

"I liked it. I actually came to really like it. I appreciated that comparison. He was from Virginia as well. He's one of the biggest "what ifs" in wrestling. He's somebody who I kind of shared a lot of similarities with.

"There was one Dynamite, and I watched it back and through the ad break I could still hear commentary, and I think Tony Schiavone and someone on commentary were talking and he said 'He reminds me a lot of Magnum TA.' And as soon as he said that, I hit a belly to belly suplex. I wish I could find the clip.

"I've met him a few times before. I did get to talk to him some at last year's Revolution, so that was kind of cool. I got a good picture with him. But yeah, I appreciated the comparisons."

A Cowboy and His Horse

Pro wrestling has featured countless special entrances over the decades, but few stand out in AEW the way Page did when he entered the arena on a horse for his match at All Out 2019.

While it may have been a fun thing, it's not something Hangman plans to do again anytime soon.

"When I did that at the very first All Out, I kind of swore to myself I would never do it again," Page said. "It went well, it was fine, horse was fine, it had lived its whole life training and performing and it was very used to that kind of environment.

"But with a live animal as large as a horse, and as unpredictable as animals can be, it felt a little too dangerous to want to take a risk on again. I've ridden a horse for a number of things since then, but they've been outside of the arena setting with fans all around, and that probably feels like something I will stick to."

MJF brought up Seabiscuit during a recent exchange with Page, and Hangman reminded him that in the end, Seabiscuit won. However, he has yet to see the story play out for himself.

"I've neither read the book nor the movie [laughs]. I would say from general experience, the book will be better than the movie."

The Former Teacher

During much of his pro wrestling career, Page also worked as a teacher. While he may not get to see as many of his former students as he would like, he has managed to keep in touch with a few who are also wrestling fans.

"Not as many as I would like to, to be honest," Page said about keeping in touch with students. "I'm not very active on any social media, so I don't really have much of a way for people to reach out to me. I've kind of lost touch with a lot of former students. There are a handful that I do keep in touch with and who come to shows.

"There's one couple, I had taught her maybe my last year teaching, and I've stayed in touch with them. They would hit me up to come to a show and in California, and then a few months later they hit me up for a show in Texas and I'm like 'What the hell is going on?' Her husband is in the military, so they were moving all the time.

"But yeah, I do get to see some people every now and then, and that's been really cool. I haven't been able to keep in touch with them as much as I would like to, so if you're out there, hit me up."

Page was fortunate to get out of the teaching game before the rise of ChatGPT and other AI services.

"I'm very glad that I was out of teaching before that became a thing," he said. "And for what I taught and the way that I taught, I don't think it would have been too large of an issue for my classes.

"But I'm not remotely informed enough to have a strong opinion other than my deepest sympathies go out to the people who have to think through this, because the technology and the capability of stuff is always going to be ahead of understanding how to deal with the implications of it."

Review

We usually end our AEW interviews with a movie review, but Page opted to discuss a documentary series instead.

Many of us have grown up with David Attenborough's voice sealed in our memory from the countless documentaries he has narrated, and Page wanted to discuss A Life on Our Planet.

"This is not a movie per se, but I'm a big David Attenborough fan," he said. "This documentary is maybe four or five years old at this point, but his documentary, I think it's called A Life on Our Planet, is essentially his life story throughout his career.

"David Attenborough was working in his 20s and now he is nearly 100, so he has spent an entire life exploring, watching, learning, observing, documenting Earth. And it's the story of his life and what he has seen and what he has noticed and observed about Earth and the way it has changed in his lifetime and what the implications for that are."

You can also hear Page talk about his battle against English Ivy on his property and the skull his parents randomly found on their property a few years ago in the video below.

Quotes were edited for conciseness and clarity. You can hear Page's full responses in the videos on each slide.