Ascension or Redemption? Ospreay VS Hangman

The following is an imagining of a meeting between nameless Pro wrestler potentially signing with AEW and Tony Khan

TK: "Come on in and have a seat, so what do you think you can bring to my company?"

Talent: *Generic self-assured promotional response*- "Ayeee Tony I can bring you da numbers da ratings da money I'm going to be da next big thing! " (Why is he Italian? I don't know shut up)

TK:"Okay so it sounds like you want it all! You want to be the face of my company... So, how much are you willing to suffer??" 😈

😳

AEW's landmark PPV ‘Double Or Nothing’ is right around the corner. In what might as well be a co-man event, one of the marquee matches of Hangman Adam Page vs Will Ospreay for the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Cup finals, where the winner gets a shot at the AEW World Heavyweight Championship at Y’ALL IN. (ALL IN Texas) 

Ascension or Redemption?

AEW's marketing has made no bones about how important this match is with beautiful graphics that ask the question: “Ascension or Redemption?” It's clear that through the slogging anti-story that has been the reign of Jon Moxley and the Deathriders is poised to draw to a close when he takes on the victor of this week's PPV.

That's a question that comes loaded with very high stakes, because whoever dethrones Moxley will not just be the new AEW World Champion, they will be the face of the company heading into a brand new era. They will bring the AEW World Championship back into the spotlight which has been absent almost a year. 

So which will it be Ospreay (OSPR3AY!) or Hangman? 

It's a beautiful problem to have because both have history with Moxley, although more points scored to Hangman in that category. Both are worthy contenders, both deserve their shot to carry the title- Hangman for a second time, and Will for the first time. Both are capable of being the face of the company. 

So what other criteria do we have to look at? The wide public doesn't really have access to sales information so hard to say who's out selling, the smart money would probably be on Ospreay. He's the hottest thing in wrestling right now and the newest signee. A lot of fans want him to take the reins and take AEW to the ‘Promised Land’, fulfill that destiny that he knows is his. 

A certain Scumbag™ made a similar promise before only to deliver a very lackluster first title reign, more on that in a minute. 

Hangman's title reign, though relatively short, was filled with great hard fought battles and only two real rivalries. [Counting only Adam Cole and Brian Danielson as after he lost to CM Punk they never interacted again] So that begs the question:

What does it take to be the face of AEW? 

The Main Character

Anybody who's a dedicated fan knows, and probably even heard from the mouth of MJF on AEW TV as well as Ospreay, that there is a prevailing sentiment that Hangman Adam Page is the main character of this company and its most important storylines. Undoubtedly sourced from some throwaway lines on BTE where the Bucks joked about creating AEW for Hangman to ascend and be the face of, thanks to rapid Hangman girlies (myself included) like a self-fulfilling prophecy that has become true. (Argue all you want, but you can’t deny when he’s on TV it feels like ‘..yeah this show is about this guy’)

Hangman Adam Page does not go on TV and bullshit the audience. He doesn't pander. He speaks from the heart and everything he says is true, regardless of the intensity of his delivery. He's always been real with us. 

Okay so that's not super captivating for a baby face, so what is it? What is it that keeps us all hanging on to the Hangman? Some people have pointed out to me in years past that his story seems to be one of tragedy which means he is destined to suffer. He might get close to the championship but he might not ever hold it again. It might mean loss after loss after loss until he's ready to morph into something else, maybe a true villain? (At his worst, he’s only been an unhinged maniac) 

This template fits so well for not just him but many other stars in AEW who have become beloved by the fans through this virtue of suffering. Look at Orange Cassidy, in the run-up to his first championship win of the All Atlantic Title and his entire run as champion, was marked by how physically he exhausted himself. He defended that championship every single week in hard fought battles that left him bruised and broken by the end of it. At which point he still did not take a break, not until he suffered actual injury 

And what was the result? The people saw exactly what kind of man he is, a workhorse, somebody who fights through the pain but physical exertion is not all that TK asks of his talent. If you want the fans to love you, you have to get their sympathy and what better way than to suffer emotionally?

Orange Cassidy lost the only things in the entire world that he seemingly cared about, his Best Friends -first betrayed by Trent and then stabbed in the back by the only woman he's ever shown any affection to, your goddess and mine Kris Statlander. (whyyyyyughhh?)

Even Kenny Omega who was already beloved by the fans and treated as one of AEW's premiere and biggest superstars, not only gave every ounce of his being physically in the ring but having to suffer the breakup with the Elite and being betrayed by Don Callis.

Then you have guys like MJF, who probably have figured this pattern out due to his own neurodivergence. He has no doubt tried to replicate and engineer his own suffering which only gave the fans a false sense of endearment to him once he was saddled with somebody more charismatic and lovable like Adam Cole. Ultimately this formula of suffering to be the main character did not work for Maxwell. He's still on the outside looking in, still featured as a special attraction. He does not suffer enough to be the face of AEW. 

If when you consider suffering as a prerequisite, Will Ospreay severely lacks in that department. He suffered the betrayal and backstabbing of the Callis family members which is arguable about how much he was really in, but it hurt no less to be betrayed by your best friend. He lost the International title in a three-way match as he could not control all the elements in that decision (also the DCF cheated). He had to suffer battling his best friend almost to the death and realizing that there was no reconciliation for their conflict. As Kyle screamed “I hate you!”, on his knees in a pool of his own blood, a swift end was the only closing for their story. I will say he suffered that though. 

But in his short time in AEW that is all he has suffered. He gives his all, physically, every night. He just hasn't been in there long enough to develop enough blood feuds and deeply personal stories that challenge not only his body but his soul.

Hangman Adam Page has had to battle those demons on camera in the ring and behind the scenes for his entire 5-year AEW career. 

It's a good problem to have, because logistically you can go either way with this feud, assuming the end result is a very predictable win over Jon Moxley and a new champion. 

I'm not very superstitious and the last thing I want to do is jinx the man, either way you'll have Ospreay’s fans upset or you'll have Hangman's diehards upset. But I don't think Ospreay has suffered enough to truly be the “main character”. I think he can afford to wait another year for his title run I think now is Hangman's time because we all need a little redemption. And who has bled and died more in that ring for AEW than the man who didn't even want to be in the position that his fans have thrust upon him? This main character that's so undeniable in Hangman Adam Page

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