It's the middle of March and things are on fire for WWE. The company is hitting the home stretch on the Road to WrestleMania, NXT Stand & Deliver looms, Wrestle
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It's the middle of March and things are on fire for WWE. The company is hitting the home stretch on the Road to WrestleMania, NXT Stand & Deliver looms, WrestleMania is just five weeks away and none of it is phasing Ethan Page ahead of NXT Roadblock.
"I've been busier," Page says to The Takedown on SI of his first Road to WrestleMania since joining WWE.
"I don't shy away from the work. So for me, it's like business as usual and this is everything that I've wanted. So anytime I feel overwhelmed or like, 'oh man, this is a lot,' I just remind myself that this is exactly what I asked for. So, just shut up and do it. For me, it's more so just excitement and being hopeful that I'll continue to be given opportunities. That's it. So, yeah, the more the merrier. For me, the more work the merrier."
NXT Roadblock is the final stop for the NXT brand before the Stand & Deliver PLE during WrestleMania weekend and emanates from inside The Theater at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night. Page is scheduled to face his arch rival, Je'Von Evans, in a Street Fight on the show. Page defeated Evans during their first match together at Vengeance Day last month.
"I was done with this in Washington at Vengeance Day," Page said regarding his feud with Evans. "That was his opportunity to me. I gave him the match. The match was signed. He had every chance and I beat him. I was done with this then, and now, here we are a month later and we have another match -- the company is stupid enough to give me a match with no rules.
"I found a way to use the steps in a regular match. What would I do when people are just like, yeah, do, literally, whatever you want -- no repercussions. You can injure this kid, pause his career, maybe end it. Lots of options and no repercussions whatsoever. So for me (this match) is a gift. Maybe I'm being rewarded. I would prefer to be rewarded financially, but if getting to have a match with him with no rules is my reward, I'll take it."
What Page didn't mention was how his rivalry with Evans began. Page cheap-shotted Evans during an in-ring encounter and busted up Evans' jaw. Evans has been looking to get retribution since then. Page said that he doesn't hate Je'Von Evans, but he called the up-and-coming star in NXT, smart, talented, but misguided.
"No, and no one's asked me that," Page said on whether or not he hates Je'Von Evans. "They've asked me why I hate him. No one's asking me if I do. I really don't think I do. I think he's an idiot, but I'm not saying he's not smart. He's very smart guy and he's very talented. I would say (he's) a generational talent, like probably has the most upside out of anyone signed to a WWE contract, which is crazy to say, because I'm also here, but I'm 35 years old.
"This guy's 20 years old, so his ceiling is going to be a lot higher than mine. No, I don't hate him. I think he's misguided and I think that the culture here might have seeped into his brain a little bit. He wanted to talk about things that he shouldn't be talking about like most of the people in NXT do. He just crossed a couple lines that 20 year old kids should not cross.
"Don't talk to a grown man about his wife. Don't talk to a grown man about his kids, and then don't tell him anything about doing those jobs as a father or as a husband. I was just not raised to allow people to speak to me like that. Definitely don't talk about my family. I will prove you wrong no matter who you are or where you're from."
With the WWE and TNA partnership on full display during NXT Roadblock, with two top matches featuring TNA talent against NXT stars, Page says he'd like to fight one old WWE mainstay in a TNA/NXT crossover bout.
"Nick Nemeth and I have never crossed paths with," Page says as he reveals his TNA dream match. "I was a TNA Impact guy while he was a WWE guy and at one time an NXT guy. Now, the roles have reversed. I'm the NXT guy and he is Mr. TNA. So that, to me, is big match that I would love to see happen. So, if we could, I would. There you go."
NXT Roadblock airs on the CW Network on Tuesday night from The Theater At Madison Square Garden. Announced matches for the show include Guilia vs. Stephanie Vaquer for both NXT Women's Championship and NXT Women's North American Championship, Oba Femi vs. Moose for the NXT Championship, The Hardys vs. Fraxiom for the TNA Tag Team Championships, Jordynne Grace vs. Roxanne Perez, and Page vs. Evans in a Street Fight.
