There was a time when people were a bit “hesitant” to showcase that they loved video games. Then, as time went on and video games became an ever more popular thing, they started to show their love of them even more. Nowadays, whether you hear about it on TV or in movies or even just in regular real life, video games are an important part of our culture, and many aren’t afraid to show it off. That especially applies to legendary titles like Red Dead Redemption 2, which many think is one of the greatest games ever. It was praised for all sorts of things, including its soundtrack.
That soundtrack is the focus of this piece, because over the weekend, All Elite Wrestling, the best wrestling promotion in the world in many people’s minds, had their Full Gear Pay-Per-View, and it was an incredible experience. However, for those who were gamers and loved Red Dead Redemption 2, the highlight came in the main event, where the AEW men’s world champion, Hangman Adam Page, walked out to music from the game. You can see the clip of his entrance here:
So, yeah, that’s one of the coolest things ever. If the name itself doesn’t make it obvious, “Hangman” Adam Page is a man who absolutely embodies the spirit of the cowboy, and the phrase that the crowd loves to chant for him is “Cowboy Sh*t” because of how he gets that stuff done. He’s one of the most over people in the company, and when the internet found out that he came out to “American Venom,” it blew up, as you can see.
There are a couple of ironies here that need to be pointed out. First, Tony Khan, the creator and leader of All Elite Wrestling, had to pay Rockstar Games, and likely Take-Two Interactive, to use this song, which shows how much he wanted to use it, and likely how much Hangman Page was up for coming out to it to help “set the tone” for the title match to come.
Second, if you recall, we’ve talked about other wrestlers in AEW using video games for inspiration and for themes, including Will Ospreay and his love of a certain Ubisoft-made assassin series. There are a LOT of gamers in the AEW roster, trust us.
Finally, and most importantly, despite having that music at his back, Hangman lost the main event, which is actually a bit symbolic for the two games in Rockstar’s franchise because the main characters don’t truly “win” there.
