AEW Tag Team Title Match: Kenny Omega and Hangman Page vs. The Young Bucks
This was a story that’s been brewing for quite some time now. AEW has had a problem with Hangman Adam Page. He’s been booked to look like the next best thing at times, at other times, he’s looked lost in the shuffle. This match was looking to be one where his partnership with the Elite would explode. The Young Bucks won the right to face Omega and Hangman in a Battle Royale on Dynamite two weeks ago. Babyface vs. Babyface matches are usually incredibly hard to book. Luckily for AEW, the Chicago crowd would show who they were behind right from the get-go. Page got a thunderous reaction from the crowd. The Young Bucks got a tepid, possibly negative reaction.
Page and Omega had to be synced up for the entire match or else the Bucks would pick them apart. Adam Page started off against Matt Jackson. Page showed just what he thought of the Bucks by spitting on Jackson. He targeted Jackson’s injured back early on. What a concept, the Bucks actually selling an injury (I joke, the Bucks are fantastic)! A series of hard hitting spots followed.
Nick Jackson entered the match and locked Hangman in a Sharpshooter. After some earlier tension and not 100% effort when Omega was in the ring, the Bucks teed off on Kenny. That heel attitude was showing fully at this point. Page exploded into the match and took out both of the Bucks with a moonsault to the outside.
Where It Went From Good To All-Time Great
Omega ate a face-full of Superkick from the Bucks, then Page was hit with a Canadian Destroyer for a 2.99999 count. A series of near-falls involving, a 450 splash, a crossface chicken wing, a V-Trigger, a superplex, and a Tiger Driver ’98 led to a fantastic segment between Matt and Hangman. Jackson locked in Hangman with three fisherman suplexes on the outside ramp. That wasn’t enough to take out Page from the match for good though, Matt and Nick hit Page with the IndieTaker on the ramp. They then focused their attention on Omega in the ring.
The Bucks added insult to injury by hitting Omega with his own move, the Golden Trigger. He kicked out after one and made his comeback. The brothers had a quick aside to stop Matt from losing his cool. It gave Hangman enough time to re-enter the match and prevent the Meltzer Driver. Remember that table I was mentioning earlier? Hangman Page BLASTED Nick Jackson through it with a powerbomb. The champions then hit Matt with a Buckshot/V-Trigger for a close 2 count. The crowd was exploding at this point.
Omega couldn’t get Matt Jackson up for the One-Winged Angel, so Page delivered it in a stunning moment. Nick Jackson broke up the pin at the last minute. Matt Jackson ate a Buckshot Lariat from the Hangman, and they finally got the 3 count and retained.
After the match, Page made it clear he was done with the Elite, but left with his tag-team partner.
AEW: Revolution Grade: A+
This was a 30 minute clinic on tag-team wrestling. Sure, you might cringe when you see people kicking out of piledrivers and Canadian Destroyers. That doesn’t really matter as the story told here was a fantastic one. The Bucks, Page, and Omega put on a classic, match-of-the-year candidate here. This was a showcase for what AEW is all about in the wrestling world. It paid off months of storytelling and gave us another chapter for Omega and Page, wherever that will take us. This one is a must-watch.
