There’s no way AEW puts its world title strap on Adam “Hangman” Page, not with potential title matches with Kenny Omega defending against Bryan Danielson and CM Punk, right?
Tony Khan is doing everything he can to get you to believe he will, talking up “Hangman,” a Halifax native and Virginia Tech alum, in his pre-show presser on Thursday.
“It’s a great story because there’s something in front of him, an obstacle that certainly he’s never conquered, and nobody’s been able to conquer. I think everybody’s really looking forward to seeing what’s going to happen at the pay-per-view between Kenny and ‘Hangman’ Page,” Khan said,
Page is eventually going to be the AEW world champ.
Eventually doesn’t necessarily have to mean Saturday night.
Not with Danielson facing Miro for the next shot at the world champ, in the final of the World Title Eliminator Tournament, which was obviously set up with the idea in mind of giving Danielson a shot at the title, after his 30-minute draw with Omega on “Dynamite” in New York in September.
Punk, for his part, is still working hard elevating mid-card guys, this weekend having fun with Eddie Kingston, in a new feud that we can hope goes on a little while after “Full Gear,” just to get more worked shoots on the mic on TV between Kingston and Punk.
We also get another installment in the Fix Cody Rhodes Tour, with Rhodes being teamed with PAC in a thrown-together tag match against Malakai Black and Andrade El Idolo.
All they’re doing there is delaying the inevitable heel turn for Rhodes, who is so much better on the dark side that it’s head-scratching he’s not made the turn yet.
Maybe, just maybe …
Nah, won’t happen. Not yet.
Details
Date: Saturday, Nov. 13, 7 p.m. (Buy In), 8 p.m. (Main Card)
Cable TV: Available on all major U.S. & Canadian providers, including Xfinity, Spectrum, Contour, Fios, U-verse and Optimum, among others (U.S.); Rogers, Bell, Shaw, SaskTel and TELUS (Canada)
Satellite TV: DIRECTV and DISH
Digital Streaming: Bleacher Report (web, mobile, Roku, XBox, FireTV)
Select Movie Theaters: Joe Hand Promotions (Find a theater near you)
International Markets: FITE
The Card
The Buy In: Nyla Rose and Jamie Hayter vs. Thunder Rosa and Hikaru Shida
Another thrown-together tag match. Would rather have seen Shida and Sareena Deeb continue their feud. Something must be up behind the scenes for that one not to be on the card. Winner: Thunder Rosa and Hikaru Shida.
Cody Rhodes and PAC vs. Malakai Black and Andrade El Idolo
It would make sense if this is a building block toward a Cody heel turn that something happens between him and PAC that causes them to lose, with Cody taking the fall. Winner: Malakai Black and Andrade El Idolo.
Darby Allin vs. MJF
Intriguing, in that this one could be more anticipated, but has suffered in the lack of build. Following the formula, MJF should go over, to set up rematches down the line. Winner: MJF.
Eddie Kingston vs. CM Punk
No way CM Punk takes the L here, but he’ll put Kingston over as a legit heel. Winner: CM Punk.
Jurassic Express and Christian Cage vs. Adam Cole and The Young Bucks
We need some tension between Cole and The Bucks for the eventual reformation of Undisputed Era as a rival faction. It helps Jurassic Express to get over here. Winner: Jurassic Express and Christian Cage.
Minneapolis Street Fight: Inner Circle (Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, Jake Hager, Santana, Ortiz) vs. American Top Team (Men of the Year, Junior Dos Santos, Andrei Arlovski, Dan Lambert)
Time-filler, or time-waster? If the result isn’t a win for the heels, with Lambert going over in chickenshit heel fashion, it’s a time-waster. Winner: American Top Team.
World Title Eliminator Finals: Bryan Danielson vs. Miro
Miro was a late add after Jon Moxley had to bow out before the semifinals to begin alcohol rehab. This was set to be Danielson-Moxley, which would have been a show-stealer. Miro makes this Danielson as the little guy underdog facing insurmountable odds against the oversized Miro, except that Miro just lost clean to Sammy Guevara. Another thrown-together match, but at least we give Danielson a legit reason to have a title shot. Winner: Bryan Danielson.
AEW World Tag Team Title Match: Lucha Brothers (champs) vs. FTR
I love the angle with FTR being the AAA tag champs going into this one. Could we dare hope for another AEW title run that could lead down the road to a series with The Young Bucks? Winner: FTR.
AEW Women’s Title Match: Britt Baker (champ) vs. Tay Conti
Britt ain’t losing until we get a series with her and Thunder Rosa. Good buildup for Conti in this one, though. She looks legit. Winner: Britt Baker.
AEW World Title Match: Kenny Omega (champ) vs. “Hangman” Adam Page
Here’s where I swerve you. After prattling on and on about Omega needing to be there to defend against Danielson, eventually Punk, he needs to do the job here.
“The Best Bout Machine” puts on a seven-star match with Page, puts him over in the best way possible, and then we get a nice buildup for Page-Danielson early next year, as Punk racks up wins against the mid-card guys to set himself up for the winner. Omega gets some time off, bides his time, and by “All In” next May, he’s there for Punk.
I’m getting ahead of myself, but that’s how I’d book it.
Sorry to get your hopes up, but I don’t see Khan passing up an Omega-Danielson match for the Jan. 5 “Dynamite” debut on TBS. He could break 2 million if he goes that route.
Winner: Kenny Omega.
Story by Chris Graham
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