Our first AEW match review starts at the recent All In Texas, where the champion, Jon Moxley, defended the briefcase, sorry, title, against the Hanger.

Hangman Page won the chance at a title shot by winning the Owen Hart Memorial Tournament, defeating Will Ospreay in the final at Double or Nothing in May.

Jon Moxley’s Death Riders have been on a mission to take over AEW for around 9 months now. They have taken out baby face after baby face. Darby Allin? Gone. Bryan Danielson? Left for dead. Samoa Joe? Sent to the local medical facility earlier in the night. Looks like Hangman is running out of allies as he heads into the biggest main event in AEW history. This one is big. This is going to need a stadium (Globe Life Field, check), 24,000 fans – check, and a shit ton of pyro – check.

Hangman has been on a major arc character-wise. He has gone from full babyface, to burning Swerve’s house to the ground, to fighting with his demons. A win here would complete the arc. Entrances are up and Page comes out to his original music. A very nice touch and the crowd respond to this as though this cowboy is from Texas.

These two already have quite the history. This is not the first Texas Death Match between them. They met at AEW Revolution 2023 in which Page was victorious. You can catch the full match here:

Jon moxley (c) vs ‘hangman’ adam page

Arlington, Texas – July 12, 2025

Sometimes wrestling feels like watching someone’s therapy session with barbwire and steel chairs. At All In Texas, that’s exactly what we got when Hangman Adam Page finally wrestled his demons—and Jon Moxley’s championship—to the ground in a Texas Death Match that had more twists than a country road.

The thing about Hangman’s story is it never really ended. Sure, he lost the title, wandered in the wilderness for a bit, had some existential cowboy crises, but Tony Khan apparently had this whole thing mapped out months ago. “A long time ago. A long time ago,” Khan revealed in a recent interview, discussing how he’d been planning Page’s redemption arc since Moxley’s betrayal of Bryan Danielson nearly a year prior.

But here’s where it gets interesting—Page himself didn’t see it coming. Speaking before the match, the cowboy admitted, “I didn’t expect to be in this position.” That’s the beautiful thing about AEW’s booking sometimes; even the wrestlers seem genuinely surprised by where their stories take them.

What we got inside that Arlington ring was beautiful chaos. Page pulled off the win by forcing Moxley to tap out after choking him against the ropes with a chain—poetic justice considering the cowboy’s earlier chain metaphor. The match featured the usual Moxley mayhem: piledrivers on the ring floor, chairs being used as spinal adjustment tools, and Marina Shafir getting involved because apparently no one in AEW can have a clean fight anymore.

Redemption

But the real story wasn’t the violence—it was the redemption. This was Page’s second world title reign, and watching him take the title out of the briefcase where Moxley had it since his victory over Danielson felt like watching someone reclaim not just gold, but their sense of purpose.

The Young Bucks have always maintained that Page is the main character of All Elite Wrestling, and nights like this prove why. There’s something uniquely compelling about a wrestler who wears his insecurities on his sleeve while simultaneously being one of the most naturally gifted performers in the company.

Page captured the post-match mood perfectly when he reflected on AEW’s current trajectory: “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.”

That’s the thing about this match—it wasn’t just about settling a score or changing champions. It was about AEW remembering what made it special in the first place: organic storytelling, long-term character development, and the belief that sometimes the best stories are the ones that take years to properly tell.

When Swerve came out, it was the moment they had been building towards for so long. Could they finally put everything behind them? Maybe not. But at this moment, there was a feeling of, let’s try. Swerve handed Hangman the chain and he then proceeded to choke Mox with it, winning the title in the process.

Coming Home

Moxley’s reign was intense but exhausting. For months, we yearned for a new champion and to see that title belt again. Mox had beaten Cope at Revolution when we thought it might be time for a new champion. He then beat Swerve at Dynasty, when we were definitely ready for a new champion.

Page’s reign feels like coming home after a long, strange trip. And in a company that’s often criticized for being too chaotic, having a champion who values collaboration and “working together towards a common goal” might be exactly what AEW needs.

The cowboy is back in the saddle, and for the first time in a while, it feels like AEW knows exactly where it’s riding.

REWATCH VALUE: 18/25 You’ll come back for the finish and Page’s celebration, but the middle gets a bit samey with typical Moxley brawling. The chain spot that sealed the deal is worth revisiting, though the match itself won’t make anyone’s “greatest of all time” playlist.

STORYLINE: 24/25 Near perfect. This was months of character development paying off in the most satisfying way possible. Page’s redemption arc finally clicking into place while giving Moxley’s chaotic reign a proper ending. Only dock point: Marina Shafir’s involvement felt slightly forced.

MATCH QUALITY: 19/25 Solid Texas Death Match that delivered the violence fans expected without being gratuitously brutal. Page looked like a legitimate badass, Moxley played his part perfectly, but it wasn’t going to win any technical wrestling awards. Did exactly what it needed to do.

FAN REACTION: 21/25 Arlington was electric for the finish and Page’s coronation. The crowd bought into the story completely, though some sections felt flat during the slower brawling sequences. Social media exploded positively post-match, which says everything about how this landed.

THE VERDICT: 82/100