By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
CBS Sports interview with Hangman Page
Host: Shakiel Mahjouri of Shak Wrestling (via CBS Sports)
Story available via YouTube.com
On AEW putting him back in a prominent position: “I did not expect to be in this position. As hard as I’ve tried. It’s been three years and I hadn’t gotten here. This is our biggest show in North America ever. I’m headlining it, and I intend to win the world championship. I’ve tried to work towards this for the last three years since I lost the championship. There are a lot of times I felt that was it for me, as far as these big opportunities. A lot of that boils down to me. Who I was deciding to be. The kind of attitude I had did not lead me to these opportunities, unfortunately. Or maybe in this case, fortunately, because now I have the chance. In some weird way, all of that will have been worth it.”
On fan obsession with Hangman: “I try not to spend too much time thinking about. That’s for them to decide. If you’re watching wrestling, whatever you like is for you to decide. I’m just going to work on Wednesday and do my job the best I can. I’ll let them tell you. I don’t know. I’ve wondered the same thing a lot.”
On his heel work: “It’s always important to me to make sure what I’m giving you is genuine. It’s true. It’s real. There are certain things about me that even at my lowest, I won’t betray. There’s nothing in it for me to betray those things. These aren’t necessarily conscious decisions. The me that you’ve seen is me. Whatever you take from what comes from it, that’s ultimately for you as the viewer to decide. I’ve tried to be me, for better or worse, a thousand times over.”
On his first world title reign: “I had worked so hard for so long to win the world championship. That’s where my vision was. That’s all I thought about. But I probably didn’t take a lot of time thinking about the morning, week, or month after. That’s a different challenge. There’s a different kind of drive a person must have to win something versus keep it. I think that’s the main difference. This time around, challenging for the world championship, I understand that difference more. Should I win at All In, maybe I have a different approach.”
His plans for second world title reign: “The world championship has been hidden inside a briefcase for the better part of a year. I think back to how wrestling felt for me when AEW was beginning, before it was a thing, and the early days when it was fresh, exciting, and new. The sense that we were working towards a common goal of creating the most interesting, compelling wrestling TV there was or would be. I think AEW has still managed to be that through these five or six years. The world championship was a physical manifestation of those things for me.”
On AEW’s progress in 2025: “It very much feels for me personally, week to week, like a lot of the same magic of those first few weeks and months of AEW TV. Wanting to work together towards a common goal. Wanting to make something exciting, new, fun, and fresh. The trajectory has felt upwards. I’m grateful to still be here and a part of it.”
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