Cup of coffee in the big time: How did Ethan Page end up in Impact Wrestling?

Ethan Page is in Impact Wrestling ... I mean, he was already on TV as Chandler Park. But after last night Ethan Page is in Impact Wrestling.

Page is the other half of Cageside Seats’ Bitter Boys Club podcast, and on this week’s episode we talked about the debut. One of the more interesting aspects of the debut was despite it being pre-taped, somehow word hadn’t gotten out.

“No one (in Mexico) really knew who I was, so it was a mystery until it debuts in America on American television and people are like, ‘Yo, what? Ethan Page is in Impact?’” Page said on the podcast. “I actually like it more, like, a lot more because it’s not given away. It’s like I get to keep the secret a little bit.

“It was pre-taped and nobody knows. Nobody. I’ve been putting these tweets out that are very random. There’s an ad for Bound for Glory, one of the old ones before they started announcing matches where it’s like, ‘Superstars. Athletes.’ and one of them says ‘Egomaniacs.’ This would be great if I took a screenshot of this and tweeted it out like a tease. And I responded to it with ‘the all seeing eye’ talking about a blind eye or whatever because I ended up with Matt Sydal. Then I took a picture of the Tron while I was in Mexico where I zoomed in on it close enough you couldn’t tell what it was. I’ve been trying to be sly and let people know, but also not.”

Chandler Park may have been a fun character the first time around Impact for Page, but ultimately, there were severe limitations to what he could do with the character.

And his work on the independent circuit is important in how his character work goes.

“The shelf life wasn’t there,” Page said. “You have to think, nobody is going to pay me to do that character on the independents because the way people see money and effort is like, that character didn’t do moves, that character didn’t bump, that character didn’t have five-star matches … not that Ethan Page does [laugh].

“But you know what I mean, you could put Ethan Page against whoever and you’d think, ‘Oh, this will be competitive and hopefully entertaining.’ Whereas a character like that, you’re pigeonholed into booking him against someone who is going to squash him or Dick Justice or Colt Cabana and that would grow stale. No one is going to pay my price tag for that.”

The journey to the tapings in Mexico was anything but easy.

The call came late-notice and Page’s passport was at the Canadian embassy, going through the visa process for his current trip to Japan for DDT Pro. This added some complexity and confusion to the process.

“Apparently, someone got injured and then someone else got injured or couldn’t do it. So they were like, ‘We have Ethan Page under contract. Maybe we could put him with Matt Sydal.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll be there.’ And that was a nightmare because they asked me on Wednesday night to get there Thursday morning so we could film Thursday and Friday in Mexico. I said yes without thinking, because my passport was in the embassy to get my visa for this trip to Japan.

“I had to call them back and say, ‘Yo, my passport is at the embassy, I have to wait until tomorrow to pick it up.’ ... I paid out of pocket to refund them the money for the flight and booked my own flight which they reimbursed and we only filmed the one day. It was a nightmare, I had to drive to Toronto, wait for the place to open, get my passport, book my flight for that day, get to Mexico at midnight, do the taping the next day, fly from there to Minnesota, I had to cancel on AIW and do a make good which will be my first show back when I get back from Japan.”

In the end, it was worth it, Page said, even if it was a lot of trouble for a little bit of work. And expectations he’ll be on TV “every week” going forward.

“It was hectic non-stop craziness, all to do a run-in and promo backstage,” Page said. “Which was funny, but, hey, the pay is the same. I’m excited for it to debut and things to get rolling.”

You can subscribe to the show on iTunes and Stitcher, listen to the above video, or use whatever podcast app you prefer.

Or just listen right here:

• Here’s the recap and reactions for last night’s episode of Impact Wrestling. We also have you covered with a recap and reactions post for Lucha Underground.
• Liv Morgan is cleared and getting kicked in the face is now a storyline factor.
• Big Cass ... Big Cazz ... Big C cur his first indie promo.
• Ciampa vs. Dream is setting up to be a great feud.
• Nakamura vs. Styles didn’t live up to everyone’s expectations ... including Nakamura himself.
• Michael Cole explains his side of how the Mae Young Classic announcers were selected.

Let’s get to the weekend already.