Get the Belt, Cowboy | AEWeekly #171

Welcome to the #AEWeekly review discussion where PWM contributors reflect on the highlights of the last week in AEW. The eligibility week always includes the most recent episode of Dynamite and Collision, plus any social-media exclusives up until publication.

This week’s contributors are Abel [@loza3.bsky.social] covering Match of the Week, Sachin [@sachin0mac.bsky.social] talking Best Interview, Lauren [@sithwitch.bsky.social] exploring a key Story Beat, Emiliana [@emilianartb.bsky.social] with the Moment of the Week, and Sergei [@sergeialderman.bsky.social] editing and organizing it all.

 A page of links to prior installments may be found here: #AEWeekly

We'd love for this and any and all of our content to be the beginning of a conversation with our readers. To interact with any and all of our contributors please accept our invitation to join the Pro Wrestling Musings Community Discord. Then follow this link to the #AEWeekly Discord Thread.

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Anarchy in the Arena

"Baby, I’m an Anarchist"

by Abel.

During an AEW Pay-Per-View, it is never easy to pick the Match of the Week, as anyone making the judgment could be justified in choosing a plethora of matches on any given PPV. There were three to four legitimate matches that someone could argue for the honors--Speedball vs Okada, Ricochet vs Briscoe, Hangman vs Ospreay, and, of course, Anarchy in the Arena.

But, with all of that being said, Anarchy in the Arena (AiTA)has to be the Match of the Week. The AEW fanbase hasn't been this unified after a PPV since the “glory” days of 2021, and it feels as though the promotion is heating up once again. AiTA has gained some momentum outside of the wrestling world and has garnered the attention of the ever elusive “casual” fan. When a match is able to leave the confines of the sick world, it transcends the bubble we live in; that should be Match of the Week. Since this isn't going to be a specific an impossible beat-by-beat breakdown, here are my favorite moments from the match:

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10. Swerve coming out on a forklift and “Swerve Stomping” the Young Bucks 

9. All the themed gear

8. Hobbs puts Moxley through the table 

7. Swerve Stapling everyone 

6. The Young Buck put Kenny Omega through the table after being flipped from the top rope. 

5. Omega’s Balcony jump 

4. Marina Shafir spits in Kenny’s face, yelling at him to “DO IT!” It being Omega hitting her with a Snapdragon

3. Claudio throws Swerve through the speaker, killing the music

2. Willow reveals her “Big, Black and Jacked” t-shirt alongside Hobbs

1. Kenny Omega introduces “Bodies” to the Match 

When people talk about AEW being the alternative, this is precisely what they mean. Anarchy in the Arena is exactly what the AEW fans and wrestlers thrive in, and what separates it from any other promotion in the world. AiTA is having a time and moment in pop culture, and it's something AEW and Khan have all the momentum in the world right now to build upon.

Where to even begin with this damn match? The music, the gear, the spots, everything in this year’s AiTA was perfect. There is just so much to try and individually break down, which is the point. The chaos and -wait for it- anarchy of the match is supposed to feel like sensory overload, in the best way possible. You believe going into the match that these 12 people hate each other and will do anything to beat the absolute snot out of each other. 

I can only imagine how the crowd in attendance was feeling during the match. Phoenix, Arizona, was in this match for all 36 minutes, and did not let up for a second. There is no doubt they needed a cigarette after Swerve got the win. Specifically, when Kenny Omega introduced the song for AiTA 20205, “Bodies”. 

Drowning Pool’s “Bodies” not only fits perfectly with what AiTA is as a match, but it also harkens back to an era of wrestling that holds a special place for all of us--especially older fans-- that brings back that sense of nostalgia. That nostalgia will immediately resonate with those who watched this match and mark it as a seminal wrestling moment, especially for younger fans who are experiencing this wrestling phenomenon for the first time. 

One other kind of specific note to make about that match is that the women killed it. They didn't have much time, but they did extraordinary things with the time they had. Perhaps the most exciting parts of the match were when there was intergender wrestling between the 12 participants. Intergender wrestling works when 2 things stay consistent: 1) Don't belittle or put the women in unsafe spots, 2) Make it believable, and 3) Don't make it excessive. AiTA did all of those perfectly.  

The only downside to the match was an ounce of fantasy booking-- as it tends to do-- as EVERYONE was expecting Eddie Kingston to return to take on Gabe Kidd. While that would have been the perfect time for Kingston to exact his revenge, if he is not healthy, we are going to have to wait for the Mad King’s return. 

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Hangman Adam Page

“If you are going through hell, Keep going”

by Sachin.

There’s a special kind of magic in pro-wrestling that is hard if not impossible to find in any other form of media. Sometimes you just feel it. It's hard to articulate to others, harder to explain to yourself but regardless of that there's nothing like it and once you get a sample hit you know you are hooked for a long time.

The encounter between Adam Page and Will Ospreay at DoN was heavily promoted and it was one of those matchups that very easily could've gone the other way. It was hard to pick which promo to call the ‘Best’ but one thing was certain and that is - who is winning the ‘Best Interview’. 

When I think of my time in AEW, I'm so proud of the first few years. But 2023 something happened to me that turned my life upside down.

On the countdown to DoN, this is how Adam Page began his side of the story. Of course we have been aware for a long time what exactly has been going through Page's mind in regards to the ‘incident’ however this is probably the first time we see him speak about it in a calm and non-hysterical manner. 

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I was mad and I was ashamed of it cause it felt like it was my fault. Something had to be done about it. And I did.

Page is very much a show don't tell type of performer. We have been able to discern what has been going through Page's mind through his actions and his behaviour in the last year. However, acknowledgement of one's action shows signs of self awareness. Something Page has been lacking since his ‘heel turn' (frankly I don't even understand what's heelish about burning your enemy's house).

It didn't give me joy or happiness or closure, it just gave me nothing. I think about so many people that have paid the price for who I've been. Am I full of rage, anger, or am I a champion?

Will, You want to be the world champion. And you should, but that's a professional goal... but for me, this is my life.

This is something that's truly Real about this story. Something that makes me genuinely feel; which is how much Hangman needs it. 

Full disclosure I thought Will Ospreay should've won the match and that's because 1) I like Will Ospreay and 2) You (AEW) have wasted so much time with this Deathriders bullshit so can we please at least make a guy at the end.

However, one thing I didn't agree with in the slightest with my fellow Ospreay supporters was that “Hangman will be fine.”

Will he be? Probably. But at what point does the audience realise what the promotion has been saying for a while - Hangman is one of the top guys but he's not THE guy. At which point does Hangman Page give up and realises that no matter what he does it's not enough and stops giving a shit.

Hangman really needs it. Even though I wanted Ospreay to win, even though Ospreay wanted Ospreay to win. Hangman badly needed this.

I need to know that I can be the father that I am supposed to be. I need to know that I can be the husband that I am supposed to be. And I need to know that I can still be the man that I need to be, the man who can hold the AEW World Championship because it is the most important thing on this planet. Will, you want this? But I need it.

The first few lines of this particular paragraph was the sauce for some of the dumbest ‘cooking’ I saw in the discourse leading to this match: “Hangman shouldn't win. He should suffer more. Redemption doesn't come overnight.” 

First of all, this is pro-wrestling. Go read Crime and Punishment if you want to see a man’s slow and long descent into mental breakdown due to guilt and grief over actions caused by disillusions of history and the world. Pro-wrestling is at its worst when it pretends to be high arts. There's no need to over-complicate it; You slam the other guy on the mat and cover their body for a three count.

Also Hangman has done nothing but suffer since Double or Nothing 2022 (wonder what happened there) and yet somehow despite the fact that he never got his singles rematch for the world title or the fact that he was put in trios and casino gauntlets or multiman matches or that he lost every big match on PPV barring the two TDMs, he managed to stay afloat. He kept swimming and kept swimming and kept swimming through a sea of shit and miraculously came out clean. Many would have drowned but Hangman didn't. His secret? Look beautiful and be a phenomenal wrestler. Respect the audience’s intelligence and time and say just enough to keep them on the hook. Of course not all of this was by choice and he had to be this efficient and scrappy because not everyone gets that TV time, but whatever he got he made the best use of it. That's what a man can do anyways, you take what you get and you do what you can. And as Hangman Page would tell you, he is a man.

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Hangman Adam Page

"Get the belt back, cowboy."

by Lauren.

Hangman Adam Page and Will Ospreay both came into Double or Nothing 2025 with a tremendous amount of audience goodwill behind them. Hangman, coming off of two years of misery and self-sabotage, had been trying to pull himself out of his rut. Ospreay, the human golden retriever, had been making friends left and right after being abandoned by his former faction mates. For the past two weeks, support has been split almost down the middle.

Their match for the men's Owen Hart Foundation Cup–and with it, a shot at the men's World Championship at All In in July--was beautiful. The physicality of the match was fast and brutal, and was storytelling at its finest. From their entrances to the very last moment of the show, they held the audience in the palm of their hands.

For the past long while, Hangman's gear has had elements of fire, and more recently, embers and smoke. Sunday's gear was themed as a starry desert night, with brighter colors–in particular, the Owen Hart pink fringes--than he's worn in ages. He's not quite in the light yet, but he's working on it. Even his hair is lighter. Ospreay, of course, wore his Assassin's Creed inspired gear, though in recent weeks he has been straightening his naturally curly hair. (My personal theory has been that he has been wearing a less-flattering hairstyle in order to make Hangman look better by comparison.)

The two were equally matched in terms of skill and strength, with commentary even pointing out that it would probably come down to a question of mistakes. They destroyed each other, both in general and with their own signature moves. But as desperation and exhaustion kicked in, they both turned to other sources of inspiration. 

First, Hangman pulled off Christopher Daniels’ Angel's Wings against Ospreay. He attempted the Best Moonsault Ever, but hesitated, allowing Ospreay the advantage. Why hesitate? Maybe because of the residual guilt he still carries over ending Daniels’ career. In any case, Ospreay was next to look to other sources. He reached out to the moves of Kenny Omega, perhaps his greatest rival, and tried to use the moves that had been so devastating against himself. First the V-Trigger, and then an attempted One-Winged Angel. But Hangman, of course, not only won his AEW World Championship by beating Kenny; they tagged together as champions. Hangman is intimately familiar with Kenny's moves, and he slipped out of the One-Winged Angel, allowing him to catch Ospreay in Swerve Strickland's Big Pressure.

Swerve, the man who sent Hangman down his dark path, inadvertently became a sign of his redemption. First when he simply acknowledged that his actions had led to Hangman's own fiery revenge, then with Hangman deciding to let the past lie, and now with the use of his move. And ultimately, Hangman won with his own finisher, a final Buckshot Lariat.

As the crowd screamed in joy, Hangman walked to the Cup, leaving Ospreay hurt and dejected in the middle of the ring. And, in an echo of the past, Hangman turned around to walk back. This time there was no shriek of terror to stop him short, and this time he offered his hand to Ospreay. Perhaps not friends, but on the same side, with the same goal, of winning AEW back from current champion Jon Moxley. And this time, as the camera began to cut out, Hangman yelled in triumph instead of horror.

Hangman's talent is undeniable, and he has been on an emotional upswing, with the love of the crowd behind him. At All In, he has the chance to not only redeem himself for these last two years, but to redeem the belt as well. It has been hidden away in darkness for months, just like Hangman. And maybe, with some faith, both will shine fully in the light again soon.

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Hangman Adam Page

"In The End…Despite My Best Efforts To The Contrary…It Turns Out I’ve Won.”

— Arthur Morgan

by Emiliana.

After weeks of pleading my case to the ether known as the internet wrestling community (while directly naming Tony Khan as if he has ever read anything I have to say), the moment finally arrived.

Hangman Adam Page is the winner of the Owen Hart cup men’s tournament, and he will go to All In as number one contender for the AEW men’s world championship. To say that I’m happy is an understatement. The moment that Hangman dropped Will Ospreay and pinned him for the three-count, I slapped my hands together in a manner akin to Chief Raymond Holt doing the same gesture and shouting, “Hot damn!” only I was pretty sure I nearly broke my hand on the impact. That’s how much (big) pressure there was for me. I didn’t cry when it happened, but I got super emotional as my podcast co-host and I talked about the moment the next day on our podcast. I don’t think I’ve felt this good about a moment in pro wrestling in the past three years.

I often feel like I should talk more about the moment itself in these, but I just don’t think I can do this one in particular any justice. Go watch it if you haven’t. The build to this match, the story told out of the ring and inside it, almost felt confusing at first because, as someone who has lost trust in the company’s vision post-Double or Nothing 2022, I simply could not allow myself to believe that what I needed to happen could happen. But once you watch the match, once you become privy to the result, every confusing facet of the build clicks into place and you realize that maybe, just maybe, you were going to be given exactly what you wanted.

And yeah, you can read it in the last few AEWeeklys, if you’d like. How I said that narratively, the better option is Hangman, because not only is he such a phenomenal storyteller, but it would mean that AEW as a whole was healing, realigning itself back to the correct timeline, washing away the sins of the past and beginning anew. That a Hangman reaching the main event of All In was the reinstallment of hope, that everyone has the chance of redemption, that the trust that was lost could be reignited. And I wanted to believe! I wrote it all down because I knew this is what was best, that it made the most sense, and yet I just had no faith. Because why should I? Every time I thought I could trust, they failed me.

But now. Now it’s different. Like the hope in Hangman’s eyes has been lit afire, so has mine.

Forget what happened before. Everything can be forgiven. We got one shot left. Let’s make it count, cowboy.