Before he became NXT Champion and a Raw regular, Ethan Page says WWE told him in writing that it would never sign him.
Speaking on Insight With Chris Van Vliet, Page, who debuted in WWE’s NXT in May 2024 after years in TNA, AEW and on the independents, recalled getting the message at a low point while he was recording an Impact taping in Nashville and had just decided to leave the promotion.
“The email was from WWE telling me that they’re never going to hire me,” Page said.
He said the timing made it worse, with his TNA exit already set and no other deal locked in.
“I just told Impact that I’m not staying. AEW was like a possible option, but nothing was concrete. And then I get this email being like, yeah, we’re not hiring you. Just stop,” Page said. “Pretty much like this is the end of the road. It’s not gonna happen. Just kind of let it go.”
Page, who has filmed much of his career for his own vlogs, turned the camera on himself right after reading it.
“I filmed myself right after reading the email, and then had a conversation with myself, documenting it pretty much being like, are you gonna be okay with this, or are you gonna shove it up their a*s?” Page said.
He still has the footage, and he joked about where it might end up now that his career has turned around.
“To watch it back is pretty rough, but I got it, so I can’t wait to sell it to WWE for whatever documentary they make,” Page said.
Page pointed to his location as the single biggest obstacle he had to clear, calling it harder than anything else about breaking through.
“It’s impossible,” he said of getting a foot in the door from outside the United States, describing the long climb of securing papers, a visa, a better visa and finally a green card.
