WWE legend blasts AEW for increased in-ring accidents and handling Hangman Page's injury
AEW Dynamite concluded with an unfortunate injury to Hangman Page. However, this is only one more in a string of bad injuries in the promotion, and WWE legend Jim Cornette believes the issue needs more attention.
Hangman Page now, unfortunately, joins the list of AEW stars who are currently injured after a bad landing from Jon Moxley's King Kong Lariat this past Tuesday night. With names such as Adam Cole and CM Punk populating the same list, the promotion can't seem to catch a break.
Speaking on the most recent Jim Cornette's Drive Thru, the WWE legend questioned why injuries were so frequent and severe in AEW.
"Something’s going on that there’s more injuries than ever! And that it’s happening more frequently? And that they’re worse injuries when they do happen? Requiring surgeries?" Cornette said. "At the same time, I was at matches seven nights a week for 15 years and this s**t didn’t happen! So something’s different, and to me it boils down to everybody’s doing more and taking more chances." (15:58 onward).
The Hangman Adam Page Injury.. looks like he landed wrong #aew https://t.co/IpNpWwkFr6
Cornette continued, comparing the state of modern wrestling to a montage of car wrecks that eventually desensitizes the viewer.
"It’s like a constant highlight video of car wrecks! You can’t look away until it last 30 minutes and then you get bored with it! More s**t than ever before, and because it happens so constantly it’s not registering with people, but it’s accumulating on the wrestler’s bodies – who could’ve ever predicted something like that happening?" (17:03 onward).
Hangman Page recently broke his silence after suffering a scary injury and mainly seemed thankful for the support. It's still unclear when the former world champion will return, but his response seems hopeful.
Missed out on AEW Dynamite? Catch up on the show's results here.
Jim Cornette also questioned why Hangman Page didn't continue the AEW Dynamite bout, despite his injury
The way injuries are addressed and taken care of in wrestling has significantly evolved since 1980s. However, concussions are often shrugged off - for better or worse - as wrestlers at least end their bouts cleanly.
Sending positive thoughts to Hangman. This was not a high risk move. Something went wrong.
Ref Paul Turner is trained to recognize a #concussion or a possible neck injury & stopped match. @DocSampson13 was ringside & there in seconds, gives us the best chance for a good outcome. twitter.com/TheManWhoSmile…
This was something Cornette also highlighted during the same podcast episode, as he compared Hangman vs. Moxley to Hulk Hogan and Antonio Inoki's 1984 clash.
"I’m trying to remember the first time I saw or was present and somebody got knocked out and couldn’t finish a match, and I can’t remember. The famous finish with Inoki and Hulk Hogan, where Hogan hit him with the clothesline – we still don’t know if that was legitimate or not!" (14:39 onward).
Unfortunately, AEW's handling of Adam Cole's concussion during the Forbidden Door pay-per-view could be used as an example against the wrestling veteran's concerns. Regardless of Cornette's gripes, most fans online seem to agree with how AEW handled Hangman Page this past Tuesday.