Ethan Page on Becoming NXT Champion, Leaving AEW, Joe Hendry, More – In the latest episode of Insight With Chris Van Vliet, Ethan Page opened up about his remarkable journey in professional wrestling, discussing everything from his swift ascent to winning the NXT Championship to the challenges of transitioning from the independent scene to a major promotion like WWE. He also shared amusing anecdotes, including a playful moment where he was featured in a song by Joe Hendry, and expressed his aspirations for dream matches against some of WWE’s top stars. Here are some key takeaways from their conversation:
On winning the NXT Championship in record time:
“I guess it is a record, if I’m wrong, it’s because that’s what I read on the internet. Fastest championship. Vic Joseph was saying this to me, he thinks that I have the most PLE main events consecutively in the fastest amount. I’m on a really good run right now.”
On receiving the offer from WWE:
“I took all those independent dates, and I was just kind of betting on myself, trying to, I guess, get some upward momentum back into Ethan Page. I’m very big on following trends and patterns and I could tell that I was on a downward tick, and there wasn’t anything that was going to change there. So I had to kind of change my environment to be able to change my momentum. I booked up, maybe I’m over exaggerating, but close to 70 shows for the remainder of 2024 and I did a great wrestling show in Winnipeg. On my layover from Winnipeg to Detroit, because I was landing in Detroit to drive for Revolver wrestling in Dayton, Ohio, I got a phone call from a number that I didn’t have my phone. They were like, ‘Hi, is this Ethan Page? This is so and so from the WWE.’ Yeah, sure! [They said] ‘We’d like to offer you a contract this long, this amount…’ I’m just like this is not real. I just go ‘Honestly, that sounds fantastic.’ They hung up on me. My phone rings instantly. ‘Hi, this is so and so from WWE.’ And I was like, whoa, wait, that phone call I just got was real? [They said] ‘Yeah and you agreed to everything, so we would like to email [the contract] to you, have it signed, send it over.’ I’m like, whoa, whoa. Then I’m calling my wife, ‘I think the WWE just offered me a job.’ I’m on my layover. Like, I’m about to land, and I have to go do this show. But yeah, I think I’m gonna work for the WWE.”
On being mocked by Joe Hendry:
“No [he didn’t tell me what was in it], I also said I don’t care. I was just like, go for it. Whatever you find, go for it. Don’t mention my kids and I don’t care at all. Then he showed that stupid video. I’m glad you brought this up, because I told my wife that I really wanted to brag about this. It just didn’t seem like a thing to say on social media, so I’m glad I get to do it on your show. My daughter is now a published photographer and a worldwide videographer. She filmed that video of me in the Bowser costume doing curls on Halloween, and then a video game magazine put pictures out of my Sega Genesis collection. I was like, Oh, it would be funny if my daughter took these photos. So I’m just saying she’s very talented for only being six years old.”
On his WWE dream match:
“It’s probably Randy Orton. Yeah, I would say that is the [dream]. I mean, one of the best ever [in the] past 20 years here. How many more does he have? I don’t know. I mean, if I look at him, I’m gonna think a lot, he looks like a million dollars. He’s the guy. I mean, he’s the bar as far as how you want to be as a wrestler, he’s great. The Rock is obviously numero uno. I don’t know how many more matches he plans on having. I don’t know how many Egos Edges he has left in his career.”
Ethan Page on Becoming NXT Champion, Leaving AEW, Joe Hendry, More
