Adam Page | |
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![]() Page in 2022 | |
Birth name | Stephen Blake Woltz |
Born | [1] Halifax, Virginia U.S. [2] | July 27, 1991
Alma mater | Virginia Tech (BA) |
Spouse | Amanda Woltz (m. 2016) |
Children | 2 |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Adam Page "Hangman" Adam Page Hangman Page [3] [4] [5] |
Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) [6] |
Billed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) [6] |
Billed from | Aaron's Creek, Virginia [7] |
Trained by | Jimmy Valiant [2] |
Debut | May 24, 2008 [8] |
Stephen Blake Woltz [9] (born July 27, 1991), better known by his ring name "Hangman" Adam Page, is an American professional wrestler. As of January 2019 [update] , he is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he is a former AEW World Champion and AEW World Tag Team Champion. He is also a former member of The Elite.
Woltz began his career in 2008, working on the independent circuit as Adam Page. In 2011, he began to appear in Ring of Honor (ROH) where he stayed for seven years. In 2016, Page joined the villainous stable Bullet Club, having a big push in the promotion. After he joined, he changed his gimmick to "Hangman" Adam Page, a cowboy-inspired character. Along with Bullet Club members The Young Bucks, Page won the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship. Page also worked with the Japanese promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) since ROH had an agreement with NJPW. In 2018, fellow Bullet Club members Kenny Omega, Cody Rhodes, and The Young Bucks left NJPW and ROH to help start All Elite Wrestling, with the financial backing of Tony and Shahid Khan. Page would also depart ROH to sign with the upstart AEW, becoming one of the promotion's core talents from its inception. At AEW's inaugural event, Double or Nothing in May 2019, Page won a Casino Battle Royale to receive a shot to become the inaugural AEW World Champion, but he was defeated by Chris Jericho at All Out that September. In January 2020, he won the AEW World Tag Team Championship with Kenny Omega; in November 2021, he defeated Omega to win the AEW World Championship at Full Gear.
Stephen Woltz was born in the small community of Aaron's Creek in Halifax County, Virginia. [10] [11] He graduated from Halifax County High School in 2009. [9] His uncle is George Woltz, who co-created the Virginia tourist slogan "Virginia is for Lovers." [12]
Woltz began his professional wrestling career in 2008, debuting under the ring name Adam Page while competing on the United States independent circuit. In January 2011, he won his first championship, capturing the CWF Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship with Jason Blade. The following year, he became CWF Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion. Over the next several years, he wrestled for various regional promotions, winning multiple titles. [13]
In 2011, Page began working with Ring of Honor (ROH), becoming a regular competitor by 2013. Initially used in undercard matches, he gained more prominence in 2014 after joining the veteran-led stable The Decade. Page aligned himself with Bullet Club in 2016. [14] During an angle on the War of the Worlds tour, he attacked Chris Sabin with a hangman's noose, earning the nickname “Hangman.” [15]
Page’s association with Bullet Club elevated his position within both ROH and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). In ROH, he was involved in several mid-card feuds and, in August 2017, won the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship with The Young Bucks. [14] [16] He later feuded with Punishment Martinez over the ROH World Television Championship and reached the finals of ROH's International Cup tournament in 2018. [17]
Simultaneously, Page became a regular in NJPW as part of Bullet Club, appearing in events such as Dominion 6.19 in 2016 [18] and G1 Special in USA in 2017, [19] and tournaments such as the World Tag League 2016, 2017 and 2018 (alongside Yujiro Takahashi), and the G1 Climax 2018. He challenged Jay White for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship at Strong Style Evolved 2018, though he was unsuccessful. [20]
On September 1, 2018, Page appeared at All In, an independently produced event promoted by Cody and The Young Bucks. He defeated Joey Janela in a Chicago Street Fight. [21] Page would later join The Elite, a Bullet Club splinter group. His last appearance in NJPW was on the Wrestle Kingdom 13 pre-show where Page, Marty Scurll and Takahashi were the first team eliminated from the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship number one contender Gauntlet match.
In January 2019, Adam Page was announced as one of the first signees of the newly established All Elite Wrestling (AEW), joining alongside other members of The Elite (Cody, Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks). [5] He was originally scheduled to face Pac at AEW's inaugural pay-per-view event, Double or Nothing; however, the match was canceled due to creative differences. [22] [23] Page instead entered the Casino Battle Royale as a surprise entrant, where he last eliminated MJF to earn a future shot at the AEW World Championship. [24] At All Out on August 31, Page was defeated by Chris Jericho in a match to crown the inaugural AEW World Champion. [25]
On the premiere episode of AEW Dynamite , Page lost to Pac but avenged the loss at Full Gear in November. Shortly thereafter, Page began teaming with Kenny Omega. On the January 22, 2020, episode of Dynamite, the duo defeated SoCal Uncensored (Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky) to win the AEW World Tag Team Championship—the first title change in AEW history. [26] They successfully defended the titles against The Young Bucks at Revolution. [27] During their reign, Page began displaying signs of dissension and isolation from The Elite in storyline.
The Elite entered a feud with The Inner Circle, culminating in a Stadium Stampede match at Double or Nothing in May 2020, which The Elite won along with Matt Hardy. [28] However, storyline tensions within the group escalated, and Page was removed from The Elite by The Young Bucks after costing them a tag team match. [29] At All Out, Omega and Page lost the tag titles to FTR, ending their reign at 228 days. [30] The team subsequently disbanded. [31]
Page entered a tournament in October to determine a new number one contender for the AEW World Championship. He defeated Colt Cabana and Wardlow to reach the finals, [32] [33] where he was defeated by Omega at Full Gear.
In early 2021, Page was involved in a storyline with The Dark Order, who attempted to recruit him. [34] Although he declined their offer, they continued to support him during his matches. At Revolution, Page defeated Matt Hardy, and at Double or Nothing, he scored a victory over Brian Cage. [35] [36] Page then resumed his rivalry with Omega, who had since become AEW World Champion. Page and The Dark Order faced The Elite in a ten-man tag match at Fight for the Fallen, but were defeated, costing them future title opportunities. [37] Page was later written off television to take paternity leave. [38]
Page returned at Dynamite’s second anniversary in October, winning a Casino Ladder Match to secure a future title shot. [39] At Full Gear, he defeated Omega to win the AEW World Championship. [40] His first title defense against Bryan Danielson at Winter Is Coming resulted in a 60-minute time-limit draw. [41] Page won the rematch on the January 5, 2022, episode of Dynamite. [42] He later retained the title against Lance Archer in a Texas Deathmatch [43] and against Adam Cole at Revolution, despite interference from reDRagon. [44] Page again defeated Cole in a subsequent Texas Deathmatch. He lost the AEW World Championship to CM Punk at Double or Nothing, ending his 197-day reign. [45]
Page returned on the June 8 episode of Dynamite, defeating David Finlay and expressing interest in the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. [46] After Jay White won the title from Kazuchika Okada, a four-way match between Page, Cole, White, and Okada was announced for Forbidden Door, where Page was unsuccessful. [47] He later competed in the AEW World Trios Championship tournament with Dark Order members Alex Reynolds and John Silver, reaching the finals at All Out, where they lost to The Elite. Page also took part in the Grand Slam Tournament of Champions but was eliminated in the opening round by Bryan Danielson.
Page won the Golden Ticket Battle Royale at Grand Slam and challenged Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship on October 18, but suffered a legitimate concussion during the match, which was stopped prematurely. [48] He returned on November 30, reigniting his feud with Moxley, who was no longer champion. [49] This culminated in a victory for Page on January 11, 2023, and a subsequent win in a Texas Deathmatch at Revolution, where he became the first wrestler in AEW to make Moxley submit. [50]
In May, Page rejoined The Elite to feud with the Blackpool Combat Club (BCC), leading to an Anarchy in the Arena match at Double or Nothing, which BCC won. [51] At Forbidden Door, Page teamed with The Young Bucks, Eddie Kingston, and Tomohiro Ishii to defeat BCC, Konosuke Takeshita, and Shota Umino. [52] On the July 19 Blood & Guts edition of Dynamite, The Elite, alongside Kota Ibushi, defeated BCC, Pac, and Takeshita in the namesake match. [53] On August 2, it was announced that Page, Omega, and The Young Bucks had re-signed with AEW. [54]
At All Out, Page won the Over Budget Charity Battle Royale. [55] He then entered a feud with Swerve Strickland, which led to a match at WrestleDream, where Strickland emerged victorious. [56] During this time, Page and The Young Bucks won the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship but lost the titles to the Mogul Embassy on November 1. [57] Page and Strickland’s feud culminated in a Texas Deathmatch at Full Gear, which Strickland won. [58] The match garnered mainstream attention due to its violent content, including a controversial moment where Page drank Strickland's blood. [59] [60] Page later defeated Roderick Strong at Winter Is Coming, but was attacked backstage by the masked "Devil" character and his associates. [61]
On February 7, 2024, Page faced Strickland in a match to determine the next challenger for the AEW World Championship. After the match ended in a time-limit draw, both were added to a title match against Samoa Joe at Revolution, [62] which Joe won. [63] Following the event, Page was (kayfabe) suspended by The Young Bucks after attacking referees. [64]
Page returned in July as a surprise entrant in the Owen Hart Cup, advancing to the finals before losing to Bryan Danielson. During this period, Page began exhibiting more aggressive and villainous traits. Though initially reluctant, he agreed to team with The Elite for Blood & Guts, where they were defeated by Team AEW (Swerve Strickland, Mark Briscoe, Darby Allin, and The Acclaimed). [65]
At All In, Page failed to win the Casino Gauntlet match and later attempted to interfere in the AEW World Championship bout between Strickland and Danielson but was stopped by security. [66] On the September 4 episode of Dynamite, Page appeared in a vignette at Strickland's childhood home, which he set ablaze. Page defeated Strickland at All Out in a lights out steel cage match, concluding their year-long rivalry. [67]
Following his victory, Page began a feud with Jay White, losing to him at WrestleDream and Full Gear. [68] [69] He then competed for the AEW World Championship at Worlds End in a four-way match also involving White, Jon Moxley, and Orange Cassidy, but was unsuccessful. [70] On February 12, 2025, Page turned face by saving Dustin Rhodes from an attack by MJF. At Revolution, he defeated MJF. [71]
Woltz has been married to his wife Amanda since 2016. They have a son, born in 2021. [72] On the August 28, 2024 episode of AEW Dynamite, it was revealed that they had a second child. [73]
He is a graduate of Virginia Tech, where he earned a bachelor's degree in communications in two years. [74] [75] Woltz was a full-time high school teacher for five years, teaching journalism and graphic design while wrestling at the same time. [76] [77] He stepped away from teaching when he became a full-time wrestler with New Japan Pro-Wrestling in May 2016. [14]