The Hangman Show | AEWeekly #170

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.

There was a perfect storm of issues this week, so a number of our usual contributors were not available, however even just two sections of AEWeekly are well worth your time! This week’s contributors are Abel [@loza3.bsky.social] covering Match of the Week, and Emiliana [@emilianartb.bsky.social] with the Moment of the Week, with 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.

gifs lovingly crafted by Emiliana

Will Ospreay & “Hangman” Adam Page vs Josh Alexander and Konosuke Takeshita

"The Enemy of my Enemy is my Friend…"

by Abel.

"Hangman" Adam Page and Will Ospreay have taken over the spotlight and have been the central focus of AEW on the road to Double or Nothing, so it's no surprise that both men were in the best match of the week, a few days before the critical Pay-Per-View. But it wasn't just the two that helped deliver the award this week, as usual suspect Konosuke Takeshita and newcomer to this award, Josh Alexander, all had something to do with the fantastic match at Dynamite: Beach Break. This tag team match showcased the men's roster and proved it is the deepest and perhaps best ever. 

The "alliance" tag team matches in AEW are always so good. The "can they co-exist in a tag match before they face off?!" is a trope as old as wrestling itself, but AEW has found a way to add an extra element to them that makes them exciting. Hangman, who acts like a spurned lover, is still loved by everyone, and no matter what he does to Ospreay or anyone else, he is still significantly over with the crowd. That element allows them to play around with some in-ring storytelling that the usual "face" wouldn't be able to. 

This crescendoed during the spot of the match when both Hangman and Ospreay nearly decapitated each other, barely missing their finishing moves on each other. Again, while nothing new in these matches, the staredowns and tension building between each miss was great in-ring storytelling, and incredible athleticism was displayed by both men, to stop at that exact moment. Page and Ospreay's portrayal of tension and storytelling added an element of excitement to their upcoming match at DON. 

The position of this match on the card was great. AEW is leaning into hot start matches for their TV shows, which is nothing new for them, but matches like this highlight how effective that booking technique is. Get the crowd while they are hot for the show's start, instead of drawing out a 30-minute in-ring promo that might take the crowd out of it. That is a good way to know your crowd.

The Owen Hart Cup seems to have found its sweet spot in AEW. The finals being at Double or Nothing is nothing new, but the amount of time between the semifinals and final now gives ample time for AEW to tell a fantastic story within the tournament. The fever pitch for the Owen Hart Cup Foundation finals is at an all-time high, and this match helped with that. 

After the match, one of the best pictures that encapsulates the spirit of All Elite Wrestling was taken. Takeshita drove his knee to the back of Hangman's head, which prompted his forehead to kiss Ospreay right in his mouth. The viciousness portrayed in the snapshot was fantastic. 

Regardless of who wins at Double or Nothing, the build has been fantastic, and we are all excited about May 25th.  

gifs lovingly crafted by Emiliana

Hangman Adam Page x Will Ospreay

"Teacher’s Pet"

by Emiliana.

In a week filled with interesting moments, we once again find ourselves looking down the barrel of Hangman Adam Page and wondering just how exactly he manages to make everything so cool.

Yes, we got to see a one-legged man completely trip up Ricochet in a way that was wonderfully comedic and marvelous. Yes, we experienced, as we do once in a blue moon, a moment of MJF vulnerability (catalyzed perfectly by Renee, thank you, queen) that would have felt earned if maybe it didn’t take more than a month of iffy segments with the Hurt Syndicate to reach it. Yes, we saw the return of Mina Shirakawa and her mesmerizing, rhythmic dance moves to AEW television.

But alas, I am a Hangman truther first and human second.

Nothing raised my blood pressure nearly so much as the ire in Hangman’s eyes as Ospreay’s forearm stilled merely an inch from the cowboy’s face. There is just something about the way they built this moment up in the match, with Hangman and Ospreay seemingly on the same page before the bell rang, if only timidly, as Hangman made a positive impression on Ospreay by signing the shirt of a young child in the front row. One could see that Ospreay noted it to Hangman when he walked into the ring, because the Aerial Assassin said something that seemed to make Hangman smile.

Once the bell rang and the match began, it was a slightly different story, however. They each tried to one-up each other, getting on each other’s nerves. Probably one of my favorite moments was when Hangman tagged himself in at a moment Ospreay wasn’t expecting, and you could see the look in Ospreay’s face turn annoyed as Hangman started yelling at him to take out Takeshita. Some might call the Hangman bossy, I just call him a school teacher. But with only two years on Ospreay, the better comparison is probably like a high school senior telling a sophomore what to do. Of course the sophomore already knows what to do, it’s not like they’re a freshman, but ugh, sure, whatever, they’ll do what the senior says before they get shoved into a locker (this is always a funny thing to me because, at least at my high school, teenager-sized lockers didn’t exist).

It was moments like these which landed them into the predicament of Hangman almost giving Ospreay a Buckshot Lariat, which then proceeded into Ospreay nearly pulling the not-so-Hidden Blade and slashing Hangman’s throat with it. I don’t know what was more spectacular — the unbridled rage in Hangman’s eyes or the possible look of fear in Will’s as Hangman towered over him. Either way, chef’s kiss.

Watching that moment over, I was so fully locked in to the two beautiful, blond, heaving men on my tv screen that I had apparently missed Don Callis calling for Ospreay to finish the job, reminiscent of when Ospreay was part of the Don Callis Family. Where in last week’s face-to-face we got to hear Don Callis remind Ospreay that Hangman is a monster, the most mentally unstable person on the entire roster and was not to be trusted, Callis spent most of the commentary this time around talking up how Will wasn’t exactly a Saint, either. Always fun to see natural-born heels work both sides.

Gotta say, it isn’t often I can call myself satisfied when it comes to the emotions brought forth by a Will Ospreay angle, but luckily, this is also a Hangman story, and boy, he really knows how to hold a person by the hand and work them up to an A (see: MJF feud). The good thing is that Ospreay is the kind of B-grade emotions student that is willing (hah) to learn and do better. He’s still a puppy after all, and you can teach him new tricks.