Hangman Adam Page’s AEW World Championship

AEW/Lee South

“Hangman” Adam Page is scheduled to make the fifth defense of his second reign as AEW World Champion at WrestleDream, defending it against a former champion in his own right, reigning Trios Champion Samoa Joe. Page won the title at All In Texas in July, dethroning Jon Moxley and ending what had been built as a reign of terror under the Death Riders, having since seen off Moxley again, as well as another former champion in MJF at Forbidden Door, TNT Champion Kyle Fletcher at All Out, and then ROH Pure Champion Lee Moriarty on “AEW Dynamite.” And his feud with Joe came a result of their working together against the Death Riders, with Joe perceiving a lack of respect from the younger champion and deciding to call his shot, and Page, being the younger champion, accepting the challenge with a point to prove.

While there is every chance that Joe could turn up and do to Page what he did to MJF at Worlds End 2023, locking in the Coquina Clutch and taking the title, it does feel like the stage has been set for the champion to further cement his reign than for a new one to be crowned. That in itself begs the question — if not Joe, then who will be the next World Champion? And with that, who shouldÂbe the next World Champion? Well, short of a crystal ball, one could not honestly pretend to know exactly how things will pan out. But it doesn’t take the fun out of running through the options on the table and making a pretentiously educated guess, a breaking down of the belt held by Page and the immense field of options to inherit the mantle when and where the time comes for it.Â

MJF

AEW/Lee South

There aren’t very many that walk into a world title challenge knowing that they will have at least one more guaranteed shot, but that’s what MJF did when he made his challenge for the title against Page at Forbidden Door.Â

Having won the Casino Gauntlet match at All In: Texas, he goaded Page into accepting their title match without the need to exercise his contract under the threat of — wait for it — setting Mark Briscoe on fire, after Page had already goaded MJF into saying he would use the contract… It was messy, but the takeaway was MJF keeping his contract, though without the purported cash-in rule and it being declared he will have to give a week’s notice before the consequent title match. And that, at least from the outside looking in, looks like a remarkable amount of creative effort to keep a world title match saved for another day. Since losing to Briscoe in their Tacks n’ Tables match at All Out, MJF cut a promo that very much spelled some time away to reset, and it feels as though he will be returning for the World title when he does so.Â

It’s not as though MJF would be an out-there choice to dethrone Page; at his best he has been the best heel in the company, if not the entirety of wrestling, and his maiden run with the title saw him become the longest-reigning champion. Naturally, there is the fact that Page has already beaten MJF and had done so in such a convincing fashion, and that does make it hard to envision things going the other way. But so often does wrestling do the job of taking that route, for better or worse, and in the field of challengers it just seems as though MJF has enough going for him to be their logical next step.Â

However, just because one thinks he will, doesn’t mean one thinks he should. And that brings us to…

Eddie Kingston

AEW/Lee South

It has to be said before rationalizing this point that there were numerous options for this role, whether that be a former challenger in Kyle Fletcher, Page’s arch-nemesis and former champion Swerve Strickland, former WWE World Champion Bobby Lashley, or somehow yet to be World Champion Will Ospreay. But along with those options came their own unique and individual arguments against each case: Ospreay, for example, is sidelined indefinitely with severe neck issues, so while he may yet hold the title it would take a miracle – or a health & safety nightmare – to see him as the next champion.

Enter: Eddie Kingston, fresh off of his return to the ring at All Out and gearing for a fight seemingly every Saturday. To put it bluntly, time is running out for AEW to crown the “Mad King,” with his last injury wiping over a year off his career and coming at a time where it just started to feel like he was making headway as a potential champion. His journey has been earnestly inspiring; he’s by no means perfect in his approach or the objective best at what he does, but he’s someone who puts his all into being the best they can be — a very good and, crucially, very compelling wrestler. He could have been the one to end the reign of Moxley had it not been for said injury, but there is an inarguable value in putting him opposite Page for the title, whether as the working hero or the resentfully bitter heel, and his next shot should really be the one after so many opportunities.

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