Hangman Page

Page in July 2021

###

Hailfax, Virginia, United States

**Stephen "Stevie" Blake Woltz** (born July 21, 1991) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name **"Hangman" Adam Page** or also known as **Hangman Page**. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a former AEW World Champion and AEW World Tag Team Champion.

Woltz began his career in 2008, working in the American 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), through a working relationship with NJPW. In 2018, Bullet Club members Cody and The Young Bucks left ROH and started their own promotion, All Elite Wrestling. Page also left ROH and signed with AEW.

Initialy groomed as one of the company's big faces, Page won the inaugural Casino Battle Royale and participated in a tournament to crown the first AEW World Champion, but was defeated in the finals against the inaugural champion Chris Jericho. Since then, Page's career began stagnating with Page starting over from scratch, he later won the AEW World Tag Team Championships alongside Elite stablemate Kenny Omega; However after series of friction between him and Omega and The Young Bucks, Page eventually left The Elite and began aligining himself with the Dark Order, after the Dark Order began assisting him. Since then, Page began teasing joining the Dark Order, with Page later reignited his feud with Omega over the AEW World Championship, where Page was unsuccessfull in his attempt at first. Although, Page eventually defeated Omega for the AEW World Championship in November 2021 and established himself as one the most prominent main-eventers and leading faces of the promotion.

## Early life

Stephen Woltz was born in the small community of Aaron's Creek in Halifax County, Virginia. He is a graduate of Virginia Tech, where he earned a bachelor's degree in communications in two years. Woltz was a full-time high school teacher, teaching journalism and graphic design, for five years while wrestling at the same time. This was until his first tour with New Japan Pro-Wrestling in May 2016, when he became a full-time wrestler.

## Professional wrestling career

### New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2016–2019)

In June 2016, New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) announced Page would debut for the promotion at Dominion 6.19 in Osaka-jo Hall under the ring name *Hangman Page* in a six-man tag team match where he teamed up with Yujiro Takahashi and Bad Luck Fale to defeat Captain New Japan, Yoshitatsu, and Togi Makabe. Page scored the win after pinning Captain New Japan. Afterwards, Page also began using the name in ROH. On G1 Climax 26 Finals Page and Yujiro unsuccessfully challenged for IWGP Tag Team Championship against The Briscoe Brothers. From November 18 to December 10, 2016, Page and Yujiro participated in World Tag League 2016 where they finished second on A Block with record of four wins and three losses, thus failing to advance to the final. On July 1, 2017, at G1 Special in USA, Page took part in a tournament to determine the inaugural IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion, but was eliminated in his first round match by Jay Lethal. On August 13, Page and Bullet Club stablemate Cody unsuccessfully challenged War Machine (Hanson and Raymond Rowe) for the IWGP Tag Team Championship. From November 18 through December 11, Page once again teamed with Yujiro Takahashi for World Tag League 2017, where they finished third on A Block with a record of four wins and three losses, thus failing to advance to the final. On January 28, at The New Beginning in Sapporo, after Jay White defeated his Bullet Club stablemate Kenny Omega to win the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, Page challenged White for the title, but was interrupted by Omega, after which Cody attacked Omega and Page assisted Cody, until Kota Ibushi made the save. On March 25 at Strong Style Evolved, Page unsuccessfully challenged White for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship. In the following weeks, Page and Cody continued feuding with Omega and Ibushi, leading to a match at Sakura Genesis on April 1, where Page and Cody defeated Omega and Ibushi. On May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku, Page faced Omega in a losing effort. On June 17 Page was announced to take part of the 2018 G1 Climax tournament. In the end of the tournament, Page finished the tournament with a record of three wins amd six losses, failling to advance to the finals of the tournament. From November 17 until December 7, Page and his Bullet Club Elite stablemate Yujiro Takahashi took part of the 2018 World Tag League, finishing the tournament with a record of five wins and eight losses, failling to advancing to the finals. In October, Page and the rest of The Elite left Bullet Club, but were recognized as part of the Bullet Club and being called Bullet Club Elite until January 4, 2019 at Wrestle Kingdom 13, where Page, Marty Scurll and Yujiro Takahashi took part of a Gauntlet match to determine the #1 contenders to the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship and were the first team to be eliminated from the match. The event marked Page last appearance in NJPW.

## Professional wrestling style and persona

Page utilizes a slingshot lariat, best known as the "Buckshot Lariat". Page also utilizes a kneeling back-to-belly piledriver, best known as the "Dead Eye". Much like the popular gimmicks of Stone Cold Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels, Page usually drinks a bottle of beer to toast, such as Stone Cold, and his gimmick is based around a cowboy, the "Hangman", with his popular catchphrase being "Cowboy Sh\*t". Much of his notable appearances around his gimmick include at the 2020 All Out pay-per-view, where Page made his entrance by riding a horse to deslocate himself to the ring, including during the early years of his gimmick, he used to wear a rope around his neck everytime he step foot in the ring.

Much during his early career until the end of 2020, Page utilized black trunks along with cowboy chaps and a belt with a Texan-style buckle. However, since the beginning of 2021, Page began utilizing cowboy chaps along pants. This also includes the notable cowboy hat and bandana face cover.

## Personal life

Woltz has been married to his wife Amanda Woltz since 2016. On June 3, 2021, Woltz announced that he and Amanda were expecting their first child, a boy. On April 27, 2022, Woltz tested tested positive for COVID-19.

Woltz is related to George Woltz, one of the creators of Virginia's state travel slogan, "Virginia is for Lovers".

## In wrestling

* **Finishing moves**
	+ *The Adam's Apple/Buckshot Lariat* (Slingshot lariat) - 2016-Present
	+ *Rite of Passage/Dead Eye* (Kneeling back-to-belly piledriver)
* **Signature moves**
	+ Big boot
	+ *Buckle Bomb* (Powerbomb, onto the turnbuckle)
	+ *Cracker Barrel* (Sitout Tombstone piledriver)
	+ Diving clothesline
	+ Diving crossbody
	+ Double leg slam
	+ Dropsault, with a standing moonsault combination
	+ *Falcon Arrow* (Sitout suplex slam)
	+ Fallaway slam
	+ Fist drop, preceded by a snapmare
	+ Folding powerbomb
	+ Front powerslam
	+ Jumping DDT
	+ Missile dropkick
	+ Moonsault, sometimes to ringside
	+ Multiple elbow variations
		- Elbow
		- Elbow stamp
		- Discus smash
	+ Multiple lariat variations
		- Discus
		- Regular
		- Sliding
	+ Neckbreaker, sometimes on the apron
	+ *Pescado* (Slingshot plancha)
	+ Step-up enzuigiri
	+ Spinning heel kick, sometimes preceded by an Inverted atomic drop
	+ Swinging neckbreaker
	+ Scoop powerslam
	+ Multiple shooting star press variations
		- Regular
		- Running from the apron
	+ Multiple suplex variations
		- Back
		- Belly-to-belly
		- German
		- Snap
		- Super
		- Pumphandle, sometimes deadlifting
		- Vertical
	+ Superkick
	+ Tilt-a-whirl DDT
	+ *Turn the Page* (Reverse STO)
	+ *Ushigoroshi* (Fireman's carry neckbreaker)
	+ **With Kenny Omega**
		- *Last Call* (*Buckshot Lariat* (Slingshot lariat) (Page) / *V-Trigger* (Jumping bicycle knee strike) (Omega) combination)
* **Nicknames**
	+ **"Koushukei Shinkoujin"** (Japanese for "Hangman")
	+ "The Problem Solver of Bullet Club"
* **Entrance themes**
	+ "Shot'Em" by [Q]Brick (used as part of Bullet Club)
	+ "Hangman" by Yonosuke Kitamura (NJPW)
	+ **"Ghost Town Triumph"** by Vincent Pedulla (NJPW, ROH and AEW)

## Championships and accomplishments

* **All Elite Wrestling**
	+ AEW World Championship (1 time)
	+ AEW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Kenny Omega
	+ Men's Casino Battle Royale (2019)
	+ Men's Casino Ladder Match (2021)
	+ Dynamite Award (2 times)
		- Bleacher Report PPV Moment of the Year (2021) – Stadium Stampede match (The Elite vs. The Inner Circle) – Double or Nothing (May 23)
		- Biggest Beatdown (2022) - Hangman Adam Page goes 60 with Bryan Danielson
* **Pro Wrestling Illustrated**
	+ PWI ranked him #**190** of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2015
	+ PWI ranked him #**191** of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2016
	+ Match of the Year (2020) with Kenny Omega vs The Young Bucks at Revolution
	+ Ranked No. 33 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the *PWI 500* in 2020
	+ Ranked No. 2 of the top 50 Tag Teams in the *PWI Tag Team 50* in 2020 with Kenny Omega
* **Ring of Honor**
	+ ROH World Six Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson
	+ Breakout Star of the Year (2017)
* ***Wrestling Observer Newsletter***
	+ Best Wrestling Maneuver (2021) *Buckshot Lariat*
	+ Feud of the Year (2021) vs. Kenny Omega
	+ Most Improved (2018)
	+ Pro Wrestling Match of the Year (2020) with Kenny Omega vs The Young Bucks at Revolution