Adam Page's Shameless Country Star Tribute Was Peak Cowboy Energy

When AEW first formed back in early 2019, it almost seemed like it was destiny that a member of The Elite would become AEW's main character, given that the stable helped Tony Khan found the promotion and all. Of course, the expectation was that it would be either Kenny Omega, Cody Rhodes, or the Young Bucks that would take up the "main character" mantle, not "Hangman" Adam Page. Sure, Page was a beloved member of The Elite and a budding, popular star in his own right, but a look back at the first year of AEW will show that he was still a fair distance behind his stablemates. Fast forward six years later, however, and Page has overtaken them all atop the AEW food chain, not only becoming the promotion's World Champion for the second time, but also its undisputed protagonist.

There's plenty of reasons that happened, such as Page's classic rivalries with Swerve Strickland and Jon Moxley. But the biggest factor most would argue is Page's persona. That would seem odd at first glance given Page's "Hangman" moniker would suggest the character a killer, but it's misleading in the same way the "Hitman" nickname was for Bret Hart, another wrestler fans grew to love and admire. Like Hart, Page is a bit of an everyman, a down to earth, sensitive, flawed man just trying to do the best he can, someone who has failed just as much as he's succeeded. He's relatable, as if his other nickname, the "Anxious Millennial Cowboy," didn't give it away. But it also doesn't hurt that Page is willing to embrace that cowboy part of himself, and not just the macho, guns blazing side. This was never more evident than during the early stages of Moxley, where he paid tribute to a country music star many wouldn't have thought of at first glance.

The scene was "AEW Dynamite" on September 28, 2022, ironically enough during what many consider the "low point" of Page's AEW tenure thanks to backstage turmoil involving him, CM Punk, and the rest of The Elite. But Page was rising up the ranks again, having earned an AEW World Championship shot at "AEW Rampage: Grand Slam," one week earlier. Moxley himself had won the title back on "Dynamite: Grand Slam," defeating Bryan Danielson in the Tournament of Champions final, putting him and Page on a collision course for the first time in their AEW careers. And collide they would a week later, when Page came out to confront Moxley after his victory over Juice Robinson, and did so while wearing a pink t-shirt of country music icon Dolly Parton. Needless to say, many "Hangman" fans couldn't get enough of it.

Ugh Hangman looks so preeettttyyyyyyyyy and we're getting him vs Mox!!!! pic.twitter.com/dgaBN67y3k

— 🍉 Athena Ω (@athenawrestling) September 29, 2022

This is wrestling though, so there were some fans who were left scratching their heads at why Page would wear a t-shirt of a female country star, a pink one no less. But overall, Page's fashion choice highlighted why so many fans fell in love with him to begin with. He was unapologetically himself, willing to be vulnerable, and willing to do something that those stuck in the past would roll their eyes at. When one really thinks about it, isn't that the most cowboy thing one can do? Others would surely argue that Page would do significantly more obvious "cowboy s**t" in the months after, when he and Moxley knocked each other silly (sometimes legitimately) before they settled their differences in their first Texas Death Match clash at AEW Revolution. But in terms of peak cowboy energy, the "Hangman's" shameless, yet endearing, tribute to Parton on that September night trumps it all.