Adam Page’s “activist homework” Crosses the Line

(Wrote my thoughts out and then had ChatGPT polish them into something readable. Here’s my opinion piece.)

AEW has always leaned progressive. From early moments like Kenny Omega draping himself in a transgender fan’s flag, to crowning a transgender woman as Women’s World Champion, the company has shown support for causes that matter to some fans. These gestures have been embraced by many, while others disagree with the ideology behind them. But whether one applauded or rolled their eyes, no one in the company went as far as to demand fan protest or take aim at AEW’s business partners.

That’s what makes AEW World Champion “Hangman” Adam Page’s recent post so troubling. On BlueSky, Page railed against government agency ICE commercials airing during Dynamite, telling fans to say “fuck ICE” and even sharing complaint links for TBS and Warner Bros. — AEW’s largest television partners.

This wasn’t just expressing an opinion. This was asking fans to take action against the networks that keep AEW on the air. For a top champion to encourage viewers to protest the company’s own partners is reckless, short-sighted, and frankly unprofessional. AEW relies on its TV contracts to survive. Undermining that relationship for the sake of personal politics isn’t a stand of principle — it’s bad business.

We’ve seen politics bleed into AEW before. Brody King once wore an “Abolish ICE” shirt during a show in Mexico, and Tony Khan dismissed concerns by saying he wants his wrestlers to be their “authentic selves.” That was eyebrow-raising but relatively harmless. Page’s move is different: it drags fans into a political battle and risks the stability of the company itself.

And that’s the bigger problem here: the creeping sense of “activist homework.” Wrestling is supposed to be entertainment, an escape, something we can all enjoy regardless of political leanings. I don’t watch Dynamite to be told which government agencies to protest, just as I wouldn’t want a Christian wrestler telling me to call my senator about abortion or same-sex marriage. The issue isn’t belief — it’s the demand for action.

Page’s approach deepens the divide in a country already frayed by identity politics. Every side frames silence as complicity, trapping fans in no-win games where you’re either loudly with them or branded as against them. That’s manipulative and corrosive, and it doesn’t belong in wrestling.

AEW markets itself as inclusive, but leaning so heavily into one political lane risks alienating fans who just want to enjoy the show without choosing sides. Wrestling, at its best, brings people together — different backgrounds, different beliefs, all united by the spectacle in the ring. When wrestlers use their platforms to rally fans for political fights, they turn that shared space into another battlefield.

Tony Khan may eventually have to draw a line. “Be authentic” is a nice slogan, but when authenticity threatens business relationships and divides the audience, leadership has to step in. If not, the slope only gets steeper.

Adam Page is free to have his opinions, but asking fans to protest AEW’s own TV partners crosses a boundary. Wrestling shouldn’t come with activist homework. It should be the one place where, for a couple of hours, we set politics aside and come together for the fun of the fight.