Ethan Page is seeing with his third eye these days and that doesn’t mean good things for Rich Swann. On Thursday’s episode, which is the second to last before the promotion’s biggest PPV of the year, Bound for Glory, “All Ego” Ethan Page made his return to IMPACT Wrestling for the first time in almost a year. And if we are separating the man from his gimmick, this was Page’s IMPACT debut as Ethan Page. Fans might remember in 2017 when Page was brought in as Chandler Park, the kayfabe cousin of Joseph Park. Page had just two matches during his first run, the character not really making much of an impact.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQbw5KRH_jA
But now, Page is back and he’s aligned himself with wrestling’s spiritual guru, the “Reborn” Matt Sydal. In a match featuring Sydal taking on Swann, Page made his re-debut, knocking Swann off the top rope and powerbombing him into the ring, ultimately costing him the match. Afterward, Page found Sydal and raised his hand in victory as the two made their way up the ramp.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHycFQntWyI
Backstage, Page and Sydal cut a promo talking about enlightenment and transcendence. Sydal informed Swann that he was done trying to convince him to find the true path saying not everyone is ready to see with their third eye. Page however was and for that reason, Sydal announced the two as a tag team and told Swann to find a partner, any partner from anywhere, to challenge the new team at Bound for Glory.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bilboFGx78I
For those not familiar with Ethan Page, the 29-year-old has been wrestling for 11 years. A background in karate and taekwondo, Page was trained by Rip Impact, Adam Flash and Ernie Moore but he really credits Michael Elgin, who he has said is his mentor, for helping him learn the craft. Alongside Elgin, Page won the All American Wrestling (AAW) Tag Team Championship, the second tag team title of his career having won the UNION Tag Team Championship with Joey Kings in 2012.
A native of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, Page’s career began in Pure Wrestling Association but it didn’t take long until some of the bigger name indies in the U.S. were taking notice. In 2008, Page began working for IWA-Mid South and CHIKARA and made his first Ring of Honor appearance a year later. In 2011, he formed the tag team Monster Mafia alongside “The Walking Weapon” Josh Alexander, working together in AAW, ROH and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), where they won the PWG World Tag Team titles in 2015. In 2010, Page founded Alpha-1 Wrestling in his hometown, which has become of Canada’s top independent promotions.
Page’s popularity as a singles wrestler grew when he joined EVOLVE in 2014, where he was considered by some to be the next great face of the company. An early focal point of EVOLVE’s storylines, Page’s first big feud was against Johnny Gargano that included a grudge match, I Quit match and anything goes match. In addition, Page wrestled a who’s who of current top talent including Chris Hero, AR Fox, Rich Swann, Lio Rush, PJ Black, Tommaso Ciampa, Sami Callihan, Drew Galloway, Darby Allin, Travis “Flip” Gordon, David Starr, Zack Sabre Jr., Cody Rhodes, Austin Theory, Jimmy Havoc, Keith Lee and ACH just to name a few. No doubt in-ring experience with these guys was beneficial to Page, who continued to get better and better as the years went on.
In 2017, Page wrestled a career high 122 matches, besting his total from the year prior by close to 30. These matches were spread across 43 different promotions, including IMPACT, PCW Ultra, BAR Wrestling, Southside Wrestling Entertainment, Game Changer Wrestling, PROGRESS, WrestleCircus, Black Label Pro, Combat Zone Wrestling, DEFY and more.
Continuing to gain experience and improve, Page made two excursions to Japan this year (first in March-April, second in September-October) where he wrestled 14 matches for Dramatic Dream Team, which is the same promotion where guys like Kota Ibushi and Kenny Omega made names for themselves. Page went 3-2 in his five singles matches and 6-8 overall. In addition, 2018 saw Page took part in the All In Over Budget Battle Royal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPUegRhBbLs
In his career, Page, who is considered by many to be underrated and one of the best promos in the indies, has won 18 titles including world titles in UNION, AAW and SWE.
While it’s unsure if Ethan Page is returning to IMPACT just for Bound for Glory or if he’s going to wrestle for the promotion remains to be seen. However, with just how often Page is popping up at various indies, chances are he’s been in one that you follow. It’s definitely worth getting to know “All Ego” and joining those who already know his value as a top guy on the independents.
