Former AEW talent describes locker room as 'chaotic and unorganized'

Ethan Page left AEW in May.  He struggled to stick in storylines and found himself bouncing between Ring of Honor and Rampage. He seldom made appearances on Dynamite or Collision over the final 12 months of his contract.

Since leaving the company, Page has landed with WWE NXT and instantly found himself in the title mix. When speaking with Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson on the "Talk'n Shop" podcast, Page shared the biggest difference he's encountered since switching companies.

“Pretty crazy. I went from somewhere that was so chaotic and unorganized to a place that — I mean I’m still learning because I’m still so new here, but, it’s just like, this is a machine and it’s incredible,” Page said. “It feels good to not feel like I have to do everything myself or like — to have people that want to see me succeed is kind of mind-blowing.”

AEW has struggled with controversy since CM Punk's incident with Jack Perry at All In 2023. There have been multiple rumors of a disorganized locker room. 

Furthermore, the company's questionable booking and poor roster utilization have reportedly led some talents to feel disgruntled with AEW's current direction.  

Page is quickly proving that he was talented enough to deserve television time with AEW. He is scheduled to face Trick Williams, Je'Von Evans and former AEW teammate Shawn Spears in a fatal four-way title match on Sunday. 

There's no doubt that Page is still a developmental talent. After all, NXT is WWE's developmental branch. Nevertheless, the future is suddenly looking far brighter for Page, which is why he's already in the championship mix on NXT. AEW needs to do a better job of building up in-house stars. They can't rely on big-name free-agent additions forever, especially with their current style of booking.