'I've genuinely worked my entire life for this': Inside Ethan Page's rise to 'WWE Raw'

During his time in NXT, Page held its top two individual championships, with his North American Championship reign setting a record at 273 days. While Page obviously worked to hone his craft over the years, heading to NXT afforded him the opportunity to learn from the legendary Shawn Michaels. It’s no coincidence that in the recently released “The Heartbreak Kid” documentary about Michaels’ career, Page is seen numerous times alongside the NXT boss and Hall of Famer, earning praise as someone who is as “neurotic” about the art of professional wrestling as “HBK” himself was.

WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels oversees creative for the NXT brand.

(WWE via Getty Images)

“It’s the best because he is the best,” Page says. “I am the type of performer that I will almost, without even knowing it, mirror the person that I am closest to or the person that I am working with. Now imagine standing directly beside the smartest, best, top performer in the company’s history. I am the type of performer who is like a sponge. Every time I went out there to wrestle, it was through the filter of Shawn Michaels, because I understand what his level of greatness is. If he’s expecting something of me, I need to keep it to the same standard.

“I always kind of put that pressure on myself, and I think that’s why I’m hoping that my title reign with the North American Championship was and is a critically acclaimed run. I wanted that for myself but, more importantly, I also wanted it for Shawn Michaels and NXT as the leader of the team in what we were trying to accomplish at the time.”

Page’s persona is “All Ego,” and during our 20-minute conversation, he drops plenty of lines there to purposefully remind you of how seamlessly he can transition between reality and kayfabe. But what stands out amid it all is Page’s passion for the business and work ethic that has helped get him to this point.

He may have debuted on “Raw” on Monday, but he was back at the Performance Center on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (and probably Friday through Sunday, if I had to guess).

It’s part of a plan to not just get better, but like Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort in “The Wolf of Wall Street,” prove that he’s not f***ing leaving.

“I’m trying to grow these roots as deep as I can,” Page says. “These things take many years to come to fruition, so my goal is to just kind of engrain myself in the Performance Center, in Orlando, to show my availability to the company, my dedication. I’ve got a lot of NXT superstars who I meet up with to chat about matches or just to honestly throw myself under the bus and show them something I did that I thought was terrible so they can avoid it.

“Ultimately, yes, I am sure I’ll end up being a coach or doing something. I don’t want to speak out of turn because I don’t control any of the decisions, but I would readily make myself available for it. I obsess over wrestling and I love this. I am a busybody — I think I’ll go insane if I’m not working. The second I’m done physically wrestling, I will be knocking on Shawn Michaels’ door or whoever is running NXT to say, ‘OK, I’m ready, what do you need?’”

For now, the focus is “Raw.” Page won his first WWE main-roster match, against Je’Von Evans, last Monday. Alongside the likes of Evans, Oba Femi, Trick Williams, Sol Ruca, Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley, Lainey Reid, Ricky Saints and Blake Monroe, Page is among a potentially generational wave of talent to get called up from NXT to the main WWE roster.

Je'Von Evans in action against Ethan Page during "WWE Raw."

(WWE via Getty Images)

The sudden influx of talent has seemingly eased the transition for Page.

“The irony is that when I finally get to ‘Monday Night Raw,’ the locker room is filled with friends, rivals, familiar faces and people of my generation,” Page says. “It really dawned on me the kind of change that is happening in WWE right now, and I couldn’t be happier to be a part of it. That locker room felt so refreshing and exciting. I’m happy I get to be one of them.”

The first goal on Page’s list as a “Raw” superstar is ambitious, but not overly so.

Of course, as any athlete will tell you, a championship is the ultimate dream. In baseball, that means winning the World Series; in football, the Super Bowl. WWE is slightly different in the sense that you have multiple avenues to become a champion, usually moving through the ranks.

Would it be easy and on-brand for Page’s character if he were to immediately say he wants to go after Roman Reigns’ World Heavyweight Championship? Of course, and that remains the top goal. But for now, there’s a pedestal Page wants to climb that is a bit more personal.

“The Intercontinental Championship is without a doubt the ultimate dream, fandom championship for ‘All Ego’ Ethan Page,” Page says. “Hands down, if there was ever a championship that you ever asked little Ethan, ‘Hey, what would be your dream championship?’ Intercontinental Championship.”

As a child of the ‘90s, Page falls firmly into a generation that saw some of the greatest Intercontinental Championship matches ever. He references Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat and Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels as he looks back at what hooked him as a kid. For wrestling fans of a certain age, you don’t need more than those four names to know exactly what matches he’s referring to.

To get even more granular, the same way Ken Griffey Jr. had a generation wearing their baseball caps backward, one WWE performer caught Page’s eye as a kid.

Scott Hall became a WWE Hall of Famer with his Razor Ramon character.

(WWE via Getty Images)

“It was Razor Ramon,” Page says. “He was the coolest wrestler to my dad, and my dad was the coolest human being to me, so through osmosis, his favorites became my favorites. [The Intercontinental Championship] was always the up-and-coming talent that was trying to break through to the world championship scene getting their first real cut at chasing gold and getting to be a main character on the show. I’ve always been a fan of that and it’s always been a spot where guys get opportunities to break out. I want those opportunities.”

As incredible as Page’s week was, it wasn’t the only moment that moved the needle for the rising star. Evidenced by what he’s been doing with some NXT talent and at the Performance Center, Page confessed that he “will continue to help as many people as I can in professional wrestling.”

“My wife was giggling with me,” Page says. “A buddy of mine who wrestles with me and I’ve been traveling with a lot got a message that they might be giving him a chance to try out for WWE. I got more emotional for a ‘maybe’ for my buddy than I did for the good news that I got this week. For me, it’s always if I am somewhere, I want to be able to give someone the opportunity to get there too, especially if I think they’re talented.”

Ultimately, once Page finished his inaugural “Raw” match, everything started to set in, even if the setting wasn’t all that foreign. The locker room had plenty of familiar faces, the company he worked for was still the same, the ring in which he wrestled was still the same dimensions, but the lights were certainly brighter.

“It definitely sunk in after the match, standing in Gorilla [position] talking to Triple H,” Page says.

He waited until afterward to shake Michaels’ hand too.

Finally, it was real.