Tony Khan Explains the Nature of Hangman Page’s Permanent Title Ban After AEW Revolution

Hangman Adam Page can never challenge for the AEW World Championship again — at least not without breaking his word. Following MJF’s title retention at Revolution, Tony Khan addressed the unique nature of the stipulation at the post-show press conference, describing it as a “gentleman’s handshake” rather than a binding contractual obligation.

The situation mirrors what happened with Cody Rhodes after he lost to Chris Jericho at AEW Full Gear 2019. In that case, there was nothing in writing forcing Rhodes to honor the stipulation, yet AEW stuck to it — Rhodes never challenged for the World title again before departing for WWE in 2022, instead pursuing the TNT Championship. Khan drew the direct parallel when asked how strictly Page is bound to this agreement.

“It’s the same thing with Cody, it was a gentleman’s handshake with both of them,” Khan said. “They both came to me and said, ‘I want to put this at stake.’ And both of them, I told them, ‘That sounds f***ing nuts, dude.’ Both of them really wanted to do it. And in both cases I said, ‘Are you sure?’ And they both said, ‘Yeah.’ So it is an agreement we made. Second time it’s happened. He is somebody that’s known for being a man of his word, and we made an agreement. So it’s a verbal contract.”

Khan credited the stipulation for adding significant stakes to the Revolution main event and, when asked about filling Page’s void in the title picture, pointed to AEW’s depth. “We have a fantastic line of competitors” who want a shot at the championship, Khan said. Page, a two-time AEW World Champion with reigns in 2021-2022 and 2025, now faces a fundamentally different path in AEW — one without the top title as a destination.