Hangman Page and CM Punk. On one side of the ring, we had a 13-year veteran and reigning AEW World Champion; on the other side, we had a 20-year-plus veteran who is a former WWE & ROH World Champion. Before their epic battle was set to take place on May 29th, 2013, this is their journey to their first-ever match against one another.
Hangman Page and CM Punk –
The Millennial Cowboy BATTLE The Best In The World
On Sunday, May 29th, 2022, AEW World Champion’Hangman’ Adam Page will defend his championship against the Best In The World, CM Punk. After Punk’s victory over MJF in a brutal Dog Collar match at Revolution 2022, the fans wondered what would be next for CM Punk. Punk, however, knew what his next target would be.
On the March 23rd, 2022 edition of Dynamite, CM Punk defeated Dax Harwood in his first match after his brutal war with MJF at Revolution 2022. However, he made his intentions clear by taunting the world champion, Adam Page. He did so by signaling a noose around his neck, referencing the ‘Hangman’ nickname of the champion.
Punk even taunted a belt motion around his waist on the ropes. He showed his desire to become the AEW World Champion. Even though Adam Page was currently bashing heads against Adam Cole at the time, he was taking notice.
Hangman Page and CM Punk: Climbing Up The Ranks
CM Punk continued to get the attention of Adam Page by picking up wins in AEW against Max Caster. On the March 30th edition of Dynamite, he went as far to state in a post-match promo that he doesn’t care if it is Page or Cole; he will be coming for the AEW World Championship. He continued to gain wins in order to climb up the AEW rankings.
During that time, Punk collected wins against; Penta Oscuro and Dustin Rhodes. After the Dustin match on the April 20th, 2022 edition of Dynamite, the champion finally came face-to-face with CM Punk. With the intensity between the two men would be felt by the audience.
On the April 27th, 2022 edition on Dynamite, the match was made official between Hangman Page and CM Punk for the AEW World Championship for Double or Nothing 2022. After the bombshell announcement, CM Punk cut a promo where he stated that he would be in a fight on May 29th.
Page responded the following week with a scathing promo about CM Punk and how he won’t be having a ‘Bret Hart tribute’ and will beat the hell out of Punk, building the hatred and intensity in this feud.
Punk continued to get under the skin of Page after defeating his stablemate, John Silver, with Hangman’s Buckshot Lariat and extending a hand, to which Adam Page responded by ‘flipping the bird’ in his face. Page returned the favor after his victory with Punk’s iconic GTS over Konosuke Takeshita on the May 18th, 2022, edition of Dynamite.
He once again took a shot at The Best in The World. This elicited Punk to rise from the commentary desk and have one more heavily intense face-off with the champion before their title match.
Hangman Page and CM Punk: A Huge Test for The Hangman
The champion now has his most significant challenge ahead of him from a man that made his long-awaited return to professional wrestling after seven years. CM Punk was trained by guys such as Fit Finlay, so he is no stranger to grappling with his opponents. With his love for old-school wrestling from the likes of Bret Hart and the NWA, Punk has faced some of wrestling’s most notable names, such as Samoa Joe and John Cena.
After leaving the WWE in 2014, by his own admittance, Punk had lost his love for professional wrestling. It wasn’t until All Elite Wrestling came along so did Punk’s resumed passion for the sport. It would allow for him to be freer with his promos and wrestling style, allowing for a more technical approach. This would allow him to be able to tell brutal and compelling stories.
Both elevating future stars like Daniel Garcia and creating rivalries with guys like Eddie Kingston and MJF, Punk was now gunning for AEW’s richest prize. The man looking down the barrel is ‘Hangman’ Adam Page. However, there is also a great air of unpredictability as it is very unclear who will come out on top. Does Adam Page prove himself as a true world champion and overcome CM Punk to continue his reign?
Or does CM Punk win the AEW World Championship and add to the title’s lineage?
The AEW World Championship
Adam Page won the AEW World Championship from Kenny Omega on November 13th, 2021, at Full Gear 2021 since he has put on heralded matches against Bryan Danielson.
He went on to have a brutal blood-soaked Texas Deathmatch against Lance Archer on the February 9th edition of Dynamite and a hate-fuelled rivalry against Adam Cole, dealing with the shenanigans of him and ReDragon and going at it in the main event fights at Revolution and on the April 15th edition of Rampage.
On May 29th, 2022, at Double or Nothing, Hangman Page and CM Punk will stand across the ring from each other in a match for the first time. CM Punk is going in with the motivation to prove that he is still the Best in The World and become the world champion.
While Hangman Page’s intentions are set on remaining the AEW World Champion and protecting AEW from CM Punk, it is reminiscent of the story of the prodigal son. Page has been in AEW since its inception, and yet Punk is heralded coming in all the while it was Hangman Page working to elevate the promotion and its perception.
