PPVPreview WrestleDream 2024: Jay White versus Hangman Page

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Switchblade Jay White versus Hangman Adam Page

Six years ago, on March 25, 2018, Hangman Adam Page faced Switchblade Jay White for the IWGP United States Championship at New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Strong Style Evolved show.

Jay White was clean shaved at the time, the golden gaijin child of the NJPW Dojo system. Debuting against Hiroshi Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom and defeating Kenny Omega for the US Championship, it was clear the company put all of their eggs in his basket at the time. He was brimming with confidence and conviction at the time, something that he’s carried to this day.

Hangman Adam Page on the other hand? It’s the Adam we know (pre wonderful mustache) but it’s an Adam Page struggling on the microphone, meandering about how Jay isn’t going to represent the US Championship.

When Jay White gets the microphone? He absolutely destroys Page. He accuses him of being in the Bullet Club and Young Bucks shadow, unable to break from the alliances that got him into New Japan Pro Wrestling in the first place.

“You’re constantly in their shadow,” said Jay White back in 2018.

Jay laid out all of the problems with the Bullet Club and issues in Adam Page’s personal and professional life to properly focus and defeat Jay White for the title.

“I’m going to beat you and show you you’re just not ready to step out into the spotlight yourself.”

Jay White did beat him. Jay White was right.

It’s now 2024. Jay White and Adam Page are both in All Elite Wrestling now, which didn’t exist when that promo happened. Adam Page is a former AEW Men’s World Champion. Jay White only has a Trios Championship to his name. Back then, Adam Page was stuck to the Bullet Club, stuck to The Elite, stuck to the Young Bucks, and much of his time in AEW has been similar with The Elite. Now he’s on his own, his own man, in his own spotlight.

Jay White, on the other hand? He can’t leave Bullet Club behind. He had to start Bullet Club Gold in AEW. The Bang Bang Gang is just an extension of Bullet Club, and it includes Juice Robinson, another former Bullet Club member in NJPW. Whenever people talk about adding new members it’s usually other Bullet Club alumni like El Phantasmo instead of someone new like Bandido. Jay White is almost always with Juice and The Gunns now.

Jay White is now constantly in the shadow of the Bullet Club.

His best match in the company was with Juice Robinson against FTR on AEW Collision last year. His closest shot at the AEW Men’s World Championship was his match with Maxwell Jacob Friedman at Full Gear, which had much to do about Bullet Club Gold getting in MJF’s business. But in my opinion, the best Jay White has looked in AEW? It was the Continental Classic, where Jay couldn’t have the Bang Bang Gang by his side. When he finally had to stand alone. He didn’t get to the final, but it showed his potential as someone loved by the fans.

Hangman Page is on a much different road, having been unable to prevent Swerve Strickland from becoming AEW Men’s World Champion he instead had a hand in costing him the championship to Bryan Danielson, before finally getting his revenge in the main event of All Out. Since then he’s had to fix loose ends like Jeff Jarrett and has been one of the most feared men on the roster. He still isn’t any closer to the AEW Men’s World Championship, and didn’t even show up for Dynamite on the go home show.

That all went to Jay White, who defeated Cody Chhun before officially challenging Hangman at WrestleDream.

“You’re one of two wrongs I have to right Hangman” said Jay White, possibly referring to anyone from MJF at Full Gear 2023 to Jon Moxley from the Continental Classic.

Jay White is already looking past Hangman, which is a terrible mistake on his part, but Jay White will forever see the Hangman Page from 2018 that essentially looked past himself when he asked Jay if he was going to keep defending the US Title on US soil after beating him.

Jay White up until the Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament had Hangman Page’s number in one on one competition. He beat him at Strong Style Evolved, he beat him at the G1 Climax, and he beat him on Title Tuesday 2023. He even beat him in the IWGP World Heavyweight Four Way at Forbidden Door 2022, a match which had Hangman Page more focused on facing Kazuchika Okada than Jay White, only for White to beat Okada for the title before the show.

These are two men constantly looking past each other when they should be looking directly at each other. Jay White and Hangman Page were meant to be rivals. I’ve been wanting this to be a proper feud for years now. Every time they wrestled each other it was like adding gasoline without lighting a match. The ground is now soaked in gasoline, a puddle formed, begging to be lit.

I originally wanted Hangman Page to go after Orange Cassidy instead because I didn’t want a situation where either Jay White or Hangman Page has to lose. I still don’t want that situation, but there is one way I’ll take it: AEW seeing this as another opportunity for a long-term Hangman Page feud.

In 2022-2023 it was Hangman and Jon Moxley and it was the best feud in the company while it ran. In 2023-2024 it was Hangman and Swerve Strickland and it was quite possibly the best feud the company has run in its five year history. For 2024-2025, AEW might see this as the time to do it again with Hangman only this time with Jay White. In 2022, it was Hangman who needed rehabilitation. In 2023, it was Swerve needing to ascend. In 2024, it’s Jay needing rehabilitation as a top guy and Hangman needing someone worthy to feud with while Bryan Danielson is getting his gold watch run with top heel Jon Moxley and can’t go for the AEW Men’s World Championship. He also can’t go back at Swerve, who looks to be returning at WrestleDream and likely having something with a particular Hurt Business.

So even if Jay is talking about a second thing he needs to take care of before going back to the top of the card? It would be better if White and Page make this the first match in a series of many. Fight again at Full Gear. Fight again in the Continental Classic. Fight again at World’s End. Prove to AEW President Tony Khan and everyone else that you two are the best at this in the business and you two should be the one’s fighting for the AEW Men’s World Championship instead of another ROH Oldtimer run.

Six years ago, Hangman Adam Page was the young boy of The Elite trying to prove he could stand on his own. Today he does. Six years ago, Jay White was the IWGP US Champion standing tall in CHAOS as his own man. Today, he can’t escape the shadows of his past. He can’t escape Bullet Club. He can’t escape the fact he hasn’t been as successful in AEW as he was in NJPW. And he can’t escape Hangman Adam Page, who tried to noose Juice Robinson. It’s now Jay White who can’t escape the shadow, and Hangman Page who lights the fire everyone can see with. There is no match on WrestleDream I’m looking forward to more, and I hope this is just the beginning of Hangman versus Switchblade in AEW.

Photo by All Elite Wrestling

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