WEBVTT

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so uh it is february 25th 2026. yep getting close

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yeah we are we're basically standing on the absolute

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precipice of aew's revolution pay -per -view

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right now and if you've been following along

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with us you know the tension in the wrestling

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world is just um It's tangible. You can feel

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it. Oh, absolutely. It's incredibly thick right

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now. Right, because Hangman Adam Page has just

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issued an ultimatum that feels less like your

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standard wrestling promo and more like, I don't

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know, like a Greek tragedy almost. Yeah, it really

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does. He went on record on Dynamite saying that

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if he loses his upcoming world championship match

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at Revolution, he will literally never challenge

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for the title ever again. Which is, I mean, it's

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the classic burn the boats strategy, right? Yeah.

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He is effectively betting his entire career relevance

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on it. single night. Exactly. And in the wrestling

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business, where those titles are the primary

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currency of success, that is a massive, massive

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gamble. It feels incredibly heavy. But what makes

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this so compelling to me for this deep dive today

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isn't just, you know, the stipulation itself.

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It's the man who's actually making it. Right.

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The person behind it. Yeah, we're talking about

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a character who is completely defined by this

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massive, glaring contradiction. Like, on the

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surface, he's this beer -swilling, buckshot,

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lariat -throwing cowboy. A badass, essentially.

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Right. But underneath that, he's a former high

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school graphic design teacher who has spent,

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what, the last seven years battling crippling

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anxiety and imposter syndrome in front of a global

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audience. And that duality, I think, is the exact

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core of our deep dive today. For everyone listening,

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we aren't just going to look at wins and losses.

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or the star ratings on his matches. No, we're

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going way deeper than that. Right. We are tracing

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the whole psychological evolution of Adam Page,

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going all the way from a utility player in the

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Bullet Club to becoming AEW's second ever triple

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crown winner. Just last month in January 2026.

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Right. The Triple Crown. We really need to understand

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why he would back himself into this corner. We

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really do. And we have a ton of ground to cover

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to get you there. We're going to look at his

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origins, that famous anxious millennial cowboy

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arc that I think really defined the early 2020s

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for a whole generation of fans. And then his

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terrifying descent into violence, specifically

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that feud with Swerve Strickland and his huge

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redemption in 2025. But let's let's start with

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the human being behind. the character because

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you mentioned the teacher thing earlier. Yeah,

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the real guy, Stephen Blake Waltz, born in Aarons

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Creek, Virginia. Aarons Creek. And just to give

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you a sense of his background, there's a fun

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little nugget from the biography material we

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pulled for this. He is actually the nephew of

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the man who co -created the famous slogan, Virginia

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is for lovers. See, that is that is oddly wholesome

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for a guy whose literal wrestling nickname is

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Hangman. It really is. Yeah. But I think it speaks

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to his intelligence and his overall background.

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This isn't just a guy who drifted into professional

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wrestling because he had no other options or

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just because he was some big brute. Right. He

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had options. Plenty of them. He actually graduated

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from Virginia Tech with a communications degree

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in just two years. Two years. Wow. Yeah. And

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for five years while he was grinding on the independent

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wrestling circuit, driving hundreds of miles.

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very little money. He was teaching high school

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journalism and graphic design. That just paints

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such a vivid picture in my head. You can totally

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imagine him grading typography projects or checking

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the kerning on a yearbook spread while sitting

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in a dingy locker room before going out to get

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thrown through a folding table. Exactly. And

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that context really matters for everything that

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comes later because he didn't go full time with

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New Japan Pro Wrestling until May 2016. That

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teacher grounding is crucial because it makes

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him relatable to you and me. Yeah, he feels real.

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In an industry full of superheroes and literal

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monsters, he's a regular guy who just happens

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to be very good at violence. It adds this layer

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of intelligence to his work. I mean, he understands

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visual storytelling inherently because he literally

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taught it. Well, speaking of violence and visual

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storytelling, let's talk about the name, Hangman.

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Right. Where exactly does that come from? Because

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in a vacuum, without context, it's a pretty dark

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moniker. It evokes some very grim imagery. It

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does. And the origin of it is actually rooted

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in heel work, which are bad guy tactics in wrestling.

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It started during his time in the Bullet Club.

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The faction in New Japan. Right. A really famous

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faction of foreign villains over in New Japan

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Pro Wrestling. So in 2016, during a feud, there

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was a storyline angle where he attacked a wrestler

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named Chris Sabin. with a literal hangman's noose.

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Wow, okay, so that was pure shock value. Precisely.

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It was a villainous tactic just to get heat from

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the crowd, but the nickname itself just stuck.

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However, the real evolution for him didn't happen

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until he joined the Elite, which was that super

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popular subgroup with Kenny Omega and the Young

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Bucks. The guys who founded AEW. Exactly. And

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this is really the prologue to the modern era

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of wrestling, right? The elite were the cool

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kids. They were breaking the internet and selling

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huge amounts of merch before they even had a

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national TV deal. They were absolute rock stars.

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And when they launched AEW in 2019, Page was

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basically positioned as their chosen one. The

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golden boy. Yeah, he was young, handsome, super

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athletic, and he obviously had the right friends.

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He won the Casino Battle Royale at their very

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first show, Double or Nothing. which earned him

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the right to fight for the inaugural world championship.

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The script seemed completely written. The young

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hero claims the throne right at the start. But

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he didn't. He lost that match to Chris Jericho.

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And this is where the real insight for our deep

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dive comes in. Because in traditional wrestling

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booking, the way these stories have been written

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for decades, when the young hero loses, he gets

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angry. Right. He hits the gym. Exactly. He trains

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in a montage and comes back stronger to win the

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very next month. But Page didn't do that. The

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writers, and Page himself, decided to tell a

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completely different story. A story about failure.

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Which brings us to the anxious millennial cowboy

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era. And I think this is where he stopped being

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just another good wrestler and became a character

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that people actually saw themselves in. Correct.

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He totally spiraled. He started drinking on camera.

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And it's really important to note for the listeners,

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this wasn't like Stone Cold Steve Austin drinking

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where it's a big party and the crowd cheers.

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No, it wasn't celebratory at all. This was numbing

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the pain drinking. He was drinking alone at the

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hotel bar. He distanced himself from his friends

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in the elite. He completely convinced himself

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he was the weak link of the group. It was an

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entire narrative about imposter syndrome. I vividly

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remember the lower third graphics they used during

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his TV entrances. Usually those graphics list

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a wrestler's championships or their win -loss

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record. But his would say things like, hasn't

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replied to the Young Bucks texts or drinking

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alone. It was brilliant meta storytelling. Even

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when things went well, it didn't fix him. He

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won the tag team titles with Kenny Omega in 2020,

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but he just couldn't enjoy it. He looked miserable

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holding the belt. He always looked like he was

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waiting for the other shoe to drop. He was literally

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a champion, but he still felt like a fraud. And

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the shoe did drop. I mean, his insecurity basically

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caused him to cost the Young Bucks a major match.

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As a result. He was kicked out of the elite.

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Then he and Omega ended up losing the tag titles

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to FTR. Everything fell apart. Yeah, he was totally

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isolated, friendless, and title -less. It was

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a complete deconstruction of the babyface, the

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traditional good guy in wrestling. He was at

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absolute rock bottom. But this is exactly how

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they built him back up. Not through superhuman

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strength, but through vulnerability. Which is

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where the Dark Order comes in. Right. Now, for

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any of you listening who might not be deep into

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the lore, the Dark Order actually started out

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as this spooky, almost serious cult -like group.

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Yeah, very ominous. But by this point in 2020,

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they had organically evolved into a group of

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lovable, well -meaning... losers. They were essentially

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a comedy act. Yeah. And they kept trying to recruit

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Paige. And he kept pushing them away. He said

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no repeatedly, telling them he didn't deserve

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to be part of any group. He literally looked

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at them and said, I'm poison. But they kept showing

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up for him anyway. It's that classic trope of

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the popular kid suddenly realizing the weird

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outcasts are the only ones who actually care

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about him as a person and not just as a winner.

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It worked beautifully on screen. It slowly rebuilt

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his confidence. He even took a legitimate paternity

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leave break, which was a really nice touch of

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modern realism that AEW openly acknowledged on

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television. Right. And then he returned in October

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2021 to win a massive casino ladder match, which

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earned him another shot at the world title. That

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perfectly set up the climax at Full Gear 2021

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against his former partner, Kenny Omega. And

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that's when he finally hit the buckshot lariat.

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Right. And for the uninitiated. Let's visualize

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that move for a second. He stands on the apron,

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which is the edge of the ring outside the ropes.

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He grabs the top rope, flips over it straight

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into the ring, and uses all that momentum to

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deliver a massive clothesline. It's an incredibly

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athletic move. Very. And he hit it, pinned Omega,

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and finally won the AEW World Championship. It

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wasn't just a wrestling win. It was the ultimate

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validation of a two -year -long mental health

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arc. So he reached the mountaintop. He did it.

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But in wrestling, the story never really ends.

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And looking at the timeline of our deep dive

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here, things get significantly darker after he

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eventually loses that belt. We go from a rocky

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underdog story to basically a slasher film pretty

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quickly. Much darker. He ended up losing the

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title to CM Punk in May 2022. But the real turning

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point for his character, the massive shift from

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anxious to violent. happened later that year

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in October 2022. Against Jon Moxley. Yes. During

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a match with Moxley, Page suffered a legitimate

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real -life concussion. The referee actually had

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to stop the match early. Which really blurs the

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line between the show and reality, because usually

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injuries you see on TV are worked, meaning they're

00:09:59.850 --> 00:10:02.250
totally part of the script. But this was a shoot.

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It actually happened in real time. It was a very

00:10:04.549 --> 00:10:06.870
scary moment for everyone watching. But when

00:10:06.870 --> 00:10:08.870
Page eventually returned from the injury, they

00:10:08.870 --> 00:10:11.029
leaned heavily into that reality for the storyline.

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He wasn't the sad, anxious cowboy anymore. He

00:10:14.190 --> 00:10:17.009
was absolutely furious. He felt robbed. He felt

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like his livelihood and his health had been taken

00:10:19.230 --> 00:10:22.370
from him. So he engaged in this incredibly brutal

00:10:22.370 --> 00:10:25.789
feud with Moxley, which culminated in a Texas

00:10:25.789 --> 00:10:29.129
death match at Revolution 2023. And a key stat

00:10:29.129 --> 00:10:31.470
you have to note here, Page became the first

00:10:31.470 --> 00:10:34.590
wrestler in AEW history to make Jon Moxley submit.

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That is a massive rub for Page, especially considering

00:10:38.259 --> 00:10:40.820
Moxley's entire character is built on being the

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toughest guy who never gives up. Exactly. But

00:10:43.120 --> 00:10:45.559
honestly, even that level of violence kind of

00:10:45.559 --> 00:10:47.779
pales in comparison to what happened next with

00:10:47.779 --> 00:10:50.320
Swerve Strickland. This brings us to Act 2 of

00:10:50.320 --> 00:10:53.600
our deep dive, The Descent. The feud with Swerve

00:10:53.600 --> 00:10:55.679
Strickland is where we see the total and complete

00:10:55.679 --> 00:10:58.840
erosion of Adam Page's morality. Swerve didn't

00:10:58.840 --> 00:11:00.500
just want to beat Page in a wrestling match.

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He wanted to mentally dismantle his life. He

00:11:03.159 --> 00:11:06.059
made it deeply personal. Very personal. In the

00:11:06.059 --> 00:11:08.419
storyline, Swerve actually invaded Paige's real

00:11:08.419 --> 00:11:11.039
home and stood over his child's crib. And that

00:11:11.039 --> 00:11:13.100
crossed a line that broke something inside Paige.

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He completely stopped caring about winning matches

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and started caring purely about hurting Swerve.

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I'm looking at the notes right now for their

00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:24.460
Texas death match at Full Gear 2023. And, well...

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It's honestly gruesome. It was a horror movie.

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It was highly controversial at the time. At one

00:11:29.950 --> 00:11:32.710
point in the match, Page literally drank Swerve

00:11:32.710 --> 00:11:35.309
Strickland's blood. He literally drank his blood

00:11:35.309 --> 00:11:37.450
on pay -per -view. He did. It was a shocking

00:11:37.450 --> 00:11:40.809
visual explicitly intended to show the audience

00:11:40.809 --> 00:11:43.669
that the teacher was dead and gone. The anxious

00:11:43.669 --> 00:11:46.470
millennial was gone. This was a man completely

00:11:46.470 --> 00:11:49.730
consumed by vengeance. Yeah. And it didn't stop

00:11:49.730 --> 00:11:52.169
there. He later burned down Swerve's childhood

00:11:52.169 --> 00:11:54.570
home in a promotional vignette. In September

00:11:54.570 --> 00:11:58.009
2024, straight up arson. He even turned on his

00:11:58.009 --> 00:12:00.429
old friends, the elite, yet again. He became

00:12:00.429 --> 00:12:02.769
a full -blown villain, a heel, but not because

00:12:02.769 --> 00:12:05.129
he was inherently evil. He became a villain because

00:12:05.129 --> 00:12:07.610
he was totally obsessed. It's so interesting

00:12:07.610 --> 00:12:10.110
because usually in wrestling, the bad guy is

00:12:10.110 --> 00:12:12.210
the one doing the home invasions and the arson.

00:12:12.289 --> 00:12:15.370
But here, the good guy was pushed so far past

00:12:15.370 --> 00:12:17.289
his breaking point that he became significantly

00:12:17.289 --> 00:12:19.629
worse than the villain who started it. Exactly.

00:12:19.629 --> 00:12:22.570
He became exactly what he hated. So we've gone

00:12:22.570 --> 00:12:25.870
from the insecure hero to the bloodthirsty Avenger.

00:12:26.009 --> 00:12:30.330
But 2025, so last year, really seems to mark

00:12:30.330 --> 00:12:32.809
a shift back toward the light for him. The source

00:12:32.809 --> 00:12:35.629
material refers to this period as his renaissance.

00:12:35.870 --> 00:12:39.149
And 2025 truly was the year he put the pieces

00:12:39.149 --> 00:12:41.490
of himself back together. He finally seemed to

00:12:41.490 --> 00:12:43.470
find a healthy balance between his incredible

00:12:43.470 --> 00:12:47.379
wrestling skills and that dark aggression. Sports

00:12:47.379 --> 00:12:49.919
Illustrated actually named him their Male Wrestler

00:12:49.919 --> 00:12:53.220
of the Year. That's a huge accolade. It is. He

00:12:53.220 --> 00:12:55.200
also entered the Owen Hart Cup Tournament in

00:12:55.200 --> 00:12:58.320
May 2025 and won the entire thing, defeating

00:12:58.320 --> 00:13:01.460
Will Ospreay in the finals. That is a massive

00:13:01.460 --> 00:13:03.320
technical achievement on its own, considering

00:13:03.320 --> 00:13:05.600
Ospreay is widely considered one of the very

00:13:05.600 --> 00:13:07.779
best in -ring performers in the world. And winning

00:13:07.779 --> 00:13:09.740
that tournament gave him another guaranteed shot

00:13:09.740 --> 00:13:12.169
at the world title, right? It did. against his

00:13:12.169 --> 00:13:14.850
old rival, Jon Moxley, at All In Texas in July

00:13:14.850 --> 00:13:17.090
2025. And of course, it was another Texas death

00:13:17.090 --> 00:13:19.409
match. Those two just love trying to destroy

00:13:19.409 --> 00:13:22.549
each other. But this time, Page won, capturing

00:13:22.549 --> 00:13:26.080
his second AEW World Championship. So now he's

00:13:26.080 --> 00:13:28.299
a two -time champ. That puts him in a very elite

00:13:28.299 --> 00:13:30.340
bracket of performers in that company. Correct.

00:13:30.820 --> 00:13:33.820
And he defended it really successfully for 133

00:13:33.820 --> 00:13:36.659
days against top guys like MJF and Kyle Fletcher.

00:13:36.879 --> 00:13:39.519
He eventually lost the belt to Samoa Joe in a

00:13:39.519 --> 00:13:42.000
steel cage match at Full Gear in November 2025.

00:13:42.340 --> 00:13:44.740
Right, just a few months ago. But even then,

00:13:44.759 --> 00:13:47.179
it took direct interference from another wrestler,

00:13:47.320 --> 00:13:50.799
Hook. to actually beat him. So he lost the championship,

00:13:50.980 --> 00:13:53.159
but he kept his credibility entirely. He didn't

00:13:53.159 --> 00:13:54.980
lose clean. And that brings us right up to the

00:13:54.980 --> 00:13:58.519
present day, early 2026. And Page is doing something

00:13:58.519 --> 00:14:00.840
completely new right now. He's teaming up again,

00:14:01.039 --> 00:14:03.360
which is honestly surprising given how poorly

00:14:03.360 --> 00:14:05.580
his partnerships went the last few times. This

00:14:05.580 --> 00:14:07.620
part is for the real stat heads and the wrestling

00:14:07.620 --> 00:14:11.129
completionist listening. In January 2026, literally

00:14:11.129 --> 00:14:13.950
just last month, Page formed a brand new trio

00:14:13.950 --> 00:14:16.610
with Speedball Mike Bailey and the Jet Kevin

00:14:16.610 --> 00:14:19.029
Knight. They officially call themselves Jet Set

00:14:19.029 --> 00:14:22.169
Rodeo. See, Jet Set Rodeo is an incredible team

00:14:22.169 --> 00:14:24.370
name. It sounds like an action anime title. It's

00:14:24.370 --> 00:14:27.250
very strong branding, no question. And they actually

00:14:27.250 --> 00:14:30.269
defeated a team called The Ops, which was Samoa

00:14:30.269 --> 00:14:33.409
Joe, Katsuyori Shibata, and Powerhouse Hobbs

00:14:33.409 --> 00:14:35.909
to win the World Trios Championship. Wait, their

00:14:35.909 --> 00:14:40.830
team name was The Ops? Yes, the Ops. Modern wrestling

00:14:40.830 --> 00:14:43.070
naming conventions are just fantastic sometimes.

00:14:43.389 --> 00:14:46.289
But this victory is historically significant

00:14:46.289 --> 00:14:48.950
for our deep dive because winning those belts

00:14:48.950 --> 00:14:52.590
made Adam Page only the second triple crown winner

00:14:52.590 --> 00:14:55.700
in AEW history. Just to clarify for the listener,

00:14:55.840 --> 00:14:57.940
Triple Crown specifically means winning the world

00:14:57.940 --> 00:15:00.620
title, the tag team title, and the trios title,

00:15:00.779 --> 00:15:03.580
correct? Exactly. It proves total mastery over

00:15:03.580 --> 00:15:06.039
every single male division in the company. He

00:15:06.039 --> 00:15:08.240
can work high -profile singles matches, he can

00:15:08.240 --> 00:15:10.559
work traditional tag team psychology, and he

00:15:10.559 --> 00:15:13.120
can handle the totally chaotic six -man tag style.

00:15:14.240 --> 00:15:16.740
permanently solidifies his legacy as a foundational

00:15:16.740 --> 00:15:19.639
pillar of AEW. But despite all of that success,

00:15:19.759 --> 00:15:21.620
despite holding the gold right now, we end up

00:15:21.620 --> 00:15:23.080
right back where we started this discussion,

00:15:23.279 --> 00:15:26.039
the big ultimatum. Yes. So on February 12th,

00:15:26.039 --> 00:15:28.759
he saves Dustin Rhodes from a beatdown, seemingly

00:15:28.759 --> 00:15:31.279
turning face or becoming a good guy once again.

00:15:31.460 --> 00:15:33.700
Then he wins a massive number one contender match

00:15:33.700 --> 00:15:36.220
against Andrade at Grand Slam Australia on February

00:15:36.220 --> 00:15:38.840
14th. Earning the title shot. earning the shot

00:15:38.840 --> 00:15:42.059
for revolution. And then he just puts the metaphorical

00:15:42.059 --> 00:15:45.039
gun to his own head on dynamite. If he loses,

00:15:45.159 --> 00:15:47.159
he never challenges for the belt again. Why?

00:15:47.480 --> 00:15:50.159
This is the true psychological crux of the issue

00:15:50.159 --> 00:15:52.659
with his character. Why would a triple crown

00:15:52.659 --> 00:15:55.240
winner, a guy clearly operating in the prime

00:15:55.240 --> 00:15:59.700
of his physical career, say, if I lose, I never

00:15:59.700 --> 00:16:02.789
challenge again? It feels incredibly masochistic.

00:16:02.909 --> 00:16:05.590
It is masochistic, but it's also a deep necessity

00:16:05.590 --> 00:16:08.309
for his specific character type. If you think

00:16:08.309 --> 00:16:11.090
about his entire arc that we just laid out, he

00:16:11.090 --> 00:16:13.669
failed repeatedly when he was anxious and hesitant.

00:16:13.769 --> 00:16:15.690
Then he completely lost his soul when he was

00:16:15.690 --> 00:16:19.070
vengeful and obsessed. Now he's actively trying

00:16:19.070 --> 00:16:21.629
to manufacture a very specific type of desperation.

00:16:22.330 --> 00:16:24.549
By removing his own safety net, he's forcing

00:16:24.549 --> 00:16:26.610
himself into a corner. So he's basically trying

00:16:26.610 --> 00:16:29.570
to hack his own brain. Precisely. He knows internally

00:16:29.570 --> 00:16:32.549
that he fights best when his back is firmly against

00:16:32.549 --> 00:16:34.970
the wall, when his actual survival in the main

00:16:34.970 --> 00:16:37.389
event scene is on the line. If he knows he can

00:16:37.389 --> 00:16:39.129
just naturally challenge again in six months,

00:16:39.230 --> 00:16:40.950
maybe he doesn't fight quite as hard. Yeah. But

00:16:40.950 --> 00:16:42.929
if he knows this is it. That brings out a totally

00:16:42.929 --> 00:16:45.029
different animal. It's high stakes poker. And

00:16:45.029 --> 00:16:47.129
honestly, it changes the viewing experience for

00:16:47.129 --> 00:16:48.929
us as the audience, too. Usually in wrestling,

00:16:49.029 --> 00:16:51.590
if a hero loses a big match, you just assume

00:16:51.590 --> 00:16:53.509
there will be a rematch or a rubber match down

00:16:53.509 --> 00:16:55.309
the line. It's the nature of the business. Or

00:16:55.309 --> 00:16:57.570
another match. But by removing that possibility

00:16:57.570 --> 00:17:00.860
entirely. Page has made this match at Revolution

00:17:00.860 --> 00:17:03.320
feel like a series finale for his character.

00:17:03.580 --> 00:17:06.240
It really forces the fans to pay attention. It

00:17:06.240 --> 00:17:09.200
stops the endless cycle of win some, lose some.

00:17:09.319 --> 00:17:13.539
It creates actual permanent finality in a television

00:17:13.539 --> 00:17:17.269
genre. that famously never, ever ends. So let's

00:17:17.269 --> 00:17:19.309
look at the full picture before the big show

00:17:19.309 --> 00:17:21.789
this Sunday. We have the graphic design teacher

00:17:21.789 --> 00:17:24.710
who became a violent cowboy, the anxious millennial

00:17:24.710 --> 00:17:26.410
who found confidence through friendship with

00:17:26.410 --> 00:17:29.029
a cult, the vengeful father who drank another

00:17:29.029 --> 00:17:31.630
man's blood and committed arson, the history

00:17:31.630 --> 00:17:34.589
-making triple crown winner, and now the man

00:17:34.589 --> 00:17:36.710
willing to risk his entire main event legacy

00:17:36.710 --> 00:17:39.950
on one single match. It is, without hyperbole,

00:17:39.990 --> 00:17:42.329
one of the most complex, layered, long -term

00:17:42.329 --> 00:17:44.079
stories in modern history. modern professional

00:17:44.079 --> 00:17:47.859
wrestling. Adam Page isn't defined by being the

00:17:47.859 --> 00:17:50.019
strongest guy or the fastest guy in the ring.

00:17:50.480 --> 00:17:53.420
He's defined by how deeply he feels the absolute

00:17:53.420 --> 00:17:56.099
extremes of human emotion. Yeah, the highs and

00:17:56.099 --> 00:17:58.339
the lows. He's the most human character on the

00:17:58.339 --> 00:18:00.519
entire roster simply because he makes terrible

00:18:00.519 --> 00:18:02.839
decisions based on his feelings. That's the real

00:18:02.839 --> 00:18:06.150
hook for me. He's messy. He's incredibly relatable.

00:18:06.490 --> 00:18:08.930
He's not Superman. He's the guy who desperately

00:18:08.930 --> 00:18:11.170
tries to be Superman, but just keeps tripping

00:18:11.170 --> 00:18:13.410
over his own cape. Precisely. He represents a

00:18:13.410 --> 00:18:15.789
massive shift in wrestling storytelling from

00:18:15.789 --> 00:18:18.829
the old standard of I am invincible and I feel

00:18:18.829 --> 00:18:22.279
no pain to. I'm incredibly broken, but I am still

00:18:22.279 --> 00:18:24.420
standing here. And this Sunday at Revolution,

00:18:24.779 --> 00:18:26.779
we find out if he gets to stay standing here.

00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:28.700
It's funny, we started this whole deep dive by

00:18:28.700 --> 00:18:29.980
talking about him being a high school teacher.

00:18:30.220 --> 00:18:32.240
In a way, he's still teaching. He's just teaching

00:18:32.240 --> 00:18:34.500
a very, very violent lesson about resilience.

00:18:34.940 --> 00:18:37.599
Or, depending on how Sunday goes, a lesson about

00:18:37.599 --> 00:18:40.880
knowing exactly when to quit. Ooh, that's a really

00:18:40.880 --> 00:18:43.269
dark way to look at it. It's a very real possibility

00:18:43.269 --> 00:18:45.730
we have to consider with this stipulation. Well,

00:18:45.910 --> 00:18:48.569
that brings us to the end of our deep dive into

00:18:48.569 --> 00:18:51.990
the incredibly chaotic career of hangman Adam

00:18:51.990 --> 00:18:55.630
Page. From Aaron's Creek, Virginia, to the main

00:18:55.630 --> 00:18:58.670
event of Revolution, it's been quite a ride to

00:18:58.670 --> 00:19:01.650
revisit all of this. It certainly has. But before

00:19:01.650 --> 00:19:04.390
we sign off, I want to leave you, the listener,

00:19:04.630 --> 00:19:07.650
with a final thought to chew on while you wait

00:19:07.650 --> 00:19:10.349
for the pay -per -view this weekend. We've talked

00:19:10.349 --> 00:19:12.890
a lot today about this ultimatum as a motivational

00:19:12.890 --> 00:19:15.750
tactic. Right. The brain hack. But consider this

00:19:15.750 --> 00:19:18.369
alternative with the never challenge again stipulation

00:19:18.369 --> 00:19:21.390
hanging heavily over his head. Is Adam Page really

00:19:21.390 --> 00:19:23.349
just trying to force himself into a corner to

00:19:23.349 --> 00:19:27.269
find that cowboy hunger one last time? Or subconsciously,

00:19:27.269 --> 00:19:29.069
is there a part of him that is actually looking

00:19:29.069 --> 00:19:31.150
for a way out? Oh, that's interesting. Maybe

00:19:31.150 --> 00:19:32.869
the hangman isn't actually looking for the role

00:19:32.869 --> 00:19:35.089
title anymore. Maybe he's finally looking for

00:19:35.089 --> 00:19:37.740
a valid. permanent reason to cut the rope and

00:19:37.740 --> 00:19:40.420
just let the exhausting burden of being the main

00:19:40.420 --> 00:19:43.099
character go that is the ultimate question and

00:19:43.099 --> 00:19:45.400
i guess it will be answered on sunday it definitely

00:19:45.400 --> 00:19:48.140
will thanks for joining us as we unpack all of

00:19:48.140 --> 00:19:50.440
this on the deep dive we will catch you on the

00:19:50.440 --> 00:19:51.119
next one