The Elite, Darkness, and an Anxious Millennial Cowboy

What makes a person good? And, the more important question is, what makes a person bad? Do your past actions define you, or does personal growth rectify anything done before? In wrestling, there are usually clear black-and-white lines between the good and bad guys. “Heels” and “babyfaces” have existed since the beginning of wrestling, and some have managed to make careers out of playing a particular side. Scott Hall’s Razor Ramon character was beloved by the crowd because he was a “cool” bad guy; Bryan Danielson overcoming the Authority who dubbed him a B+ player and winning his first WWE Championship was one of the biggest babyface storylines in recent memory. Wrestling is defined by the characters in it and the parts they play.

Wrestling is also defined by actions. Seth Rollins turned on his Shield brothers on June 2, 2014, an action that still holds consequences over 8 years later. In their most recent feud, Roman Reigns told Seth “I will never forgive you for what you did to us.” Wrestlers like Kevin Owens, who infamously has turned on all of his tag team partners for his entire career, have trouble finding people who trust them. Despite Kevin apologizing for his actions, his numerous betrayals ultimately culminated in Sami Zayn recently turning on him. Kevin had extended an olive branch to Sami, wanting his old friend to turn on The Bloodline before they did on him. Sami was the final nail in the coffin to make Kevin go down during their Wargames match; for the first time in their two-decade relationship, Sami turned his back on Kevin.

Here’s the beautiful thing about pro wrestling: if you follow a character long enough, you can watch as they grow and flourish. Their accomplishments and accolades feel even more special because you’ve followed them for so long that it feels like you know them personally. You begin to learn and understand the best parts of them, but also the darkest parts of their personalities.

“Hangman” Adam Page is one of the most popular wrestlers in All Elite Wrestling. He is an ally of the Dark Order and a former member of the Elite. More importantly: Hangman is our resident anxious millennial cowboy. The story of Adam Page winning the AEW World Championship from former tag partner Kenny Omega was a loved underdog story.

The Elite had begun harassing Hangman for months, insisting that they had taken pity on him when he joined, and how he couldn’t keep up with them in the ring. Kenny was particularly cruel to him, blinded by the arrogance of being “the Belt Collector '' and being the Best Wrestler in the World. His greatness made him forget how good others could be, underestimating his former friend. So when Hangman defeated him, it was huge. Everyone, from fans to those backstage, was extremely proud of him.

Photo credit: VICE

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The story of Hangman and the Elite goes back to Japan when Hangman joined Bullet Club on May 9, 2016. By this point, Kenny and the Bucks had successfully kicked out AJ Styles and were leading the Club themselves for a few months. Wanting to make a name for himself, Hangman had turned heel by turning on Colt Cabana, The Briscoes, and Motor City Machine Guns during the night one of ROH/NJPW’s War of the Worlds show during the ten-man main event. This was Hangman’s second heel run in his career, having previously turned heel in October 2014 by joining The Decade and then turning face again at Death Before Dishonor XIII in July 2015. To show off his commitment to his second heel run, Hangman hung Chris Sabin with a hangman’s noose before leaving the ring. This is where he gained the “Hangman” nickname.

Kenny Omega once said that he thought everyone was “dying” to be in Bullet Club, and I think for his generation of Bullet Club that was true. While Bullet Club is still around and making waves with leader Jay White, it is my belief that the Bullet Club is no longer the hot faction that everyone is dying to be in. People are still joining because they know the success that Bullet Club members have had and still do have. It is also one of the easiest ways to establish yourself as a heel and try to get immediately into the title scene. I believe people are now aware of the darkness of Bullet Club but are willing to make that sacrifice for success.

The thing with Bullet Club is that you have to be a specific type of person to be in it. Good guys have never fit in Bullet Club. Kenny Omega had to betray his golden heart and smile, leave them behind in the body of Kota Ibushi, to fully fit into Bullet Club, to become the Cleaner. When Kenny turned his back on Ibushi by choosing AJ Styles over him, Kenny was able to become the person to control the Bullet Club. The Kenny that wrestled in sync with Kota Ibushi in DDT was too weak to be in Bullet Club, he had to become darker to succeed. So Kenny betrayed his heart and soul in an effort to be the Best Wrestler in the World in Bullet Club.

Similarly, to prove to the world and most likely himself that he belonged in Bullet Club, Hangman attempted to destroy all good aspects of himself. By hanging Chris Sabin, Hangman was metaphorically hanging his past behind him. Bullet Club members have a darkness inside them that can be difficult to explain if you’ve never seen it. I believe the majority of people who join Bullet Club have to abandon some of their morals to fit in, and those habits can be hard to break no matter how far you run from them.

Bullet Club members essentially sell their souls to join, destroying all good aspects of them so they can prove to the world that they can fit in. Hangman and the Elite were no exception to this rule, and I think that helped them gravitate to one another. Bullet Club has always been filled with gaijin (foreigners) supported by devoted goons, and it also had subgroups within it of people who were close.

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Bullet Club has dominated NJPW for years, and the Elite were determined to not let that change anytime soon. Kenny had become a sort-of tyrannical leader of Bullet Club, including later ‘canonically killing off’ Adam Cole after he began questioning Kenny’s leadership. Through Bullet Club, Kenny became the first, and so far only, gaijin to win NJPW’s G1 Climax. This would lead to the legendary matches Kenny had with Kazuchika Okada. Kenny Omega is in the eyes of many people the Best Wrestler in the World.

The Bucks would also have accolades in their own right, becoming multiple-time IWGP tag team champions, holding a record of seven reigns. They would also become ROH World Tag Team Champions three times, NJPW NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions three times (twice with Kenny), and two-time ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions (twice with Hangman and once with Cody Rhodes). They are in the eyes of many people the Best Tag Team in the World.

Under the Elite, Bullet Club is successful as they always are. It seems everything is going perfectly for Kenny, Hangman, and the Bucks. Until Kota Ibushi comes back to Japan. Kenny becomes determined to prove to everyone that he doesn’t care about Kota Ibushi. If he can get that one great final battle against Ibushi, Kenny can put their relationship in the past. So he orders Bullet Club to leave Kota Ibushi alone. They seem to listen until Cody Rhodes gets involved.

Bullet Club is defined by betrayal. They famously will turn on leaders to get a new one, starting with Prince Devitt. Towards the end of Devitt’s run with NJPW, the Young Bucks turned on him; they helped AJ Styles make his presence felt in NJPW, targeting Okada and calling him the young “boy” he knew in TNA. The Bucks later helped Kenny kick AJ Styles out of the group when it was announced after Wrestlekingdom 10 that Styles, Karl Anderson, and Luke Gallows signed with WWE. The only leader to my recollection that has not been turned on was Karl Anderson. Anderson momentarily ran the Japan faction while AJ Styles, who was temporarily unable to get to Japan, was in charge of the ROH Bullet Club members.

Despite the success the Elite had in Bullet Club, it is hard to argue that Kenny is the greatest leader ever of the faction. Bullet Club had splintered and cracked under his rule, creating a divide that is still felt to this day. Kenny Omega’s relationship with Kota Ibushi has defined their careers since Kenny first laid eyes on him; the Golden Lovers reunion drove a never-before-seen wedge between Kenny and the Young Bucks. This eventually formed the Bullet Club OGs and the Elite into an intra-faction civil war. Two leaders in the regime against Kenny and the Bucks had been Cody Rhodes and Hangman Adam Page.

Cody and Kenny are great opponents because they are so similar: they cannot handle being Second Place, and both men have to be known as the Best Wrestler in the World. By following Kenny’s direction in Bullet Club, Cody was seeing himself as Second Place and he felt that as a Rhode he deserved more glory. So Cody had decided to try to take Bullet Club out from under Kenny and he used Adam Page’s desire for a title to have someone in his corner. Cody knew that he wouldn’t have the Bucks, who famously will follow Kenny to the ends of the earth, wouldn’t be in his corner; so he used the next best thing.

When Jay White rejected Kenny’s Bullet Club offer and won the IWGP US title from him, Adam Page came out demanding a title opportunity right after the match ended. Kenny was angry that he was “betrayed” by Hangman, only to get told by Cody that he needed to get over losing. Kenny had told Cody the same thing recently, that Cody needed to get over losing to Kota Ibushi, so this was another stab in the back. Cody and Hangman, all fake smiles and devilish plans, agreed to leave the ring. They then attacked Kenny, bruised and battered, only to run away when Kota Ibushi came to protect him.

Eventually, Kenny forgave Adam for the betrayal, and they would move on as a tag team in AEW. Kenny and Adam Page would win the AEW Tag Team Championship from Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky on January 21, 2020. Hangman and Kenny lost the AEW Tag Team Championships to FTR on September 5, 2020. Kenny Omega is a character defined by his need for success and the desire to be known as the Best Wrestler in the World. He cannot handle anything that might make anyone doubt his talents. So he began lashing out at Hangman.

AEW’s graphic teams would often give the wrestlers lower thirds as they entered the ring. The ones about Hangman often made jokes about his drinking. The Elite would attack Hangman’s alcohol problems, signaling him as the weakest of the group.

Photo credit: Twitter user AdamPages

Hangman is a character that has struggled with his fears of inadequacies. It’s why he and Kenny are such good foils to one another. Kenny is also a character that is defined by his fear of inadequacy. Kenny will peacock around to mask his fears and hide behind his accolades to act like he’s not worried. Hangman openly talks about his struggles, his fears, and his worries. You can see it on both of their faces, but Kenny sees this as a weakness. Hangman’s fears overwhelm him, but he knows it’s important for us, the viewers, to see them.

Hangman, unlike the Elite, is not a very egotistical wrestler. He wants to have success, but it’s not an ego-driven thing. Wrestlers like Cody, Kenny, and the Bucks are ambitious because it gives them meaning. They want to leave legacies as being the Best in the World at what they do. Hangman is ambitious because it proves what he’s doing is important. All wrestlers are a little bit egotistical: putting yourself out there because you think you’re talented enough to be listened to involves a small ego. Me writing this article deciding I know the inner workings of Hangman’s mind because I watch him on tv is an ego thing. But Hangman is not driven by his ego anymore. Bullet Club members are cocky and arrogant because of the success and lineage within the Club, the Elite are cocky and arrogant because they’re seen as the Best in the World at what they do. When he was in Bullet Club, Adam Page was cocky and arrogant because he was surrounded by the best and won titles.

In AEW, all that Bullet Club bravado in Hangman is gone. Hangman is an anxious millennial cowboy trying his best and wants to make people believe in him. While the award and accolades over the years have made the Bucks and Kenny more arrogant, it’s had almost the opposite effect on Hangman. He feels like he does not deserve the awards given to him through Bullet Club and he has to now earn everything on his own.

What I think is interesting is how another former Elite member is trying to emulate what Hangman did by leaving the Elite, but this version is ingenuine. Adam Page was kicked out and grew into a stronger person. Adam Cole joined Bullet Club on May 8, 2016, and quickly formed a subgroup with the Young Bucks called ‘the Superkliq.’ Adam Cole and Adam Page would also team up occasionally, referred to as ‘Adam Squared’ by Bullet Club fans. A little over a year later, Adam Cole was kicked out of Bullet Club on May 12, 2017. Kenny had become tyrannical in his reign at this point, lashing out against all that opposed him. And Adam Cole, who had been making threats against the Young Bucks, was trying to undermine Kenny’s leadership. So Kenny and the Bucks took him out.

Despite the friendship between Adam Cole and the Young Bucks, they listened to Kenny when he told them that Adam Cole had to go. The Bucks will choose Kenny Omega over anyone, they will go wherever he goes. So when Kenny felt disrespected, they agreed to take Adam Cole out.

When Adam Cole came to AEW and realigned himself with the Elite, he was seeking revenge for being kicked out a few years prior. Adam Cole had his own success in another wrestling company and so he decided that he was too good for the Elite. With Kenny recovering from injury, Adam Cole knew it was time to strike, so Adam, Bobby Fish, and Kyle O’Reilly attacked the Young Bucks on August 3, 2022. He finally got his revenge for being ‘canonically killed off.’

Adam Cole and Hangman would feud for Hangman’s AEW Championship. Adam Cole thought he had the advantage because while Hangman was kicked out of the Elite, Adam betrayed them first this time around. What Adam Cole didn’t consider was that it was a very different Hangman than Adam Cole previously knew. Adam Cole fits in with Bullet Club because of his ego. Hangman no longer fits in Bullet Club because he has grown beyond the Club. The Hangman that Adam Cole knew was insecure and didn’t know how to handle it.

This Hangman has gone through believing that he wasn’t good enough for the fans – and then he learned that they believed in him and believed that he was good. This Hangman doesn’t associate with the Elite and is now friends with Dark Order, not for the power they can bring him but because they support each other. However, Adam Cole is the same. Adam Cole has always surrounded himself with top guys and makes friends in high places; he tries to manipulate everyone into giving him what he wants.

Hangman is objectively more dangerous now than ever. Hangman Adam Page has learned to stand alone, he doesn’t need friends to cheat for him anymore. Adam Cole still hasn’t learned how to do that.

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My friends that don’t watch wrestling will sometimes ask why I like certain wrestlers. For guys like New Day or Mox, it’s an answer that’s easy for them to understand: they’ve been my favorites for a long time and have special meaning to me. With Hangman, they can be confused. Sometimes people who like wrestling don’t get Hangman either. They all see him as “just a guy.” I don’t see what’s not to get.

Hangman Adam Page works because he isn’t larger than life. He’s not Superman, he’s not some god. He’s our anxious millennial cowboy; Hanger has struggles and worries, but he tries hard to not let them overtake him. We see ourselves in Hangman and he sees us in him. That’s why he works. He works because he is so human. He’s in a company with a luchador-dinosaur, a very nice, very evil ‘demon’ who puts curses on people, huge powerhouses, and battle rappers; Hangman is someone that could objectively get lost in the sea of characters in All Elite Wrestling. But he doesn’t: he’s an anxious millennial cowboy, so terribly human, and that’s why we love him.

Wrestling is a special thing. You can have all the talent in the world, but what can make or break you is how the crowd reacts to you. If they don’t buy your story, then it doesn’t matter what you can do because they’ve made their minds up. But, if they believe in you, if they believe in your story, then you’re guaranteed to have people stick by you no matter what. Hangman’s story of overcoming the Elite is important to his character. Adam Page turned on all of his previous beliefs to join Bullet Club. So when they turned on him, Hangman felt lost. He didn’t believe in himself and the words of encouragement from the Dark Order fell on deaf ears. He listened to the Elite: he was washed-up, a loser, and he wasn’t cut out to hang with the Elite. They must have taken pity on him and just let him ride their coattails.

But then Hangman listened to the crowd.

The crowd believed in him. They cared about him, to the crowd Hangman wasn’t just a washed-up drunk that the Elite took pity on. They care about him. They believed that he could beat Kenny.

The crowd made Adam Page believe in himself again. Because they saw something golden in him, so Hangman began to believe that he had to be worth something. If the crowds would turn on Kenny for him, then he must be something special after all.

I think what’s so special about Hangman is that he is so open about the things that bother him. There have been and will be plenty of wrestlers that make their characters larger than life, locking away all of their worries and fears for the public to never see. But Hangman openly tells us about them — Hangman feels everything, and he tells us about it. He’s angry, he’s hurt, he’s upset, he’s depressed, he’s anxious, the medicine isn’t working, he’s tired — but he’s still here. Hangman Adam Page is a character that is above all so terribly human and it works for him.

Photo credit: Twitter user @AdamPages