Insight with Chris Van Vliet - Ethan Page Is HILARIOUS! Working With The Rock In WWE, CM Punk, North American Championship, Ricky Saints

Episode Date: June 24, 2025

https://cvvtix.com - Get your tickets for INSIGHT LIVE in NYC with VIP Meet & Greet! Ethan Page (OfficialEGO) is a professional wrestler signed to WWE and the current NXT North American Champion. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet at Insight live at the Hollywood Improv to discuss his brutal match with Ricky Saints where he won the title, his backstage segment with The Rock, taking a GTS from CM Punk on the NXT on CW premiere, being able to keep his name in WWE, possibly becoming a Grand Slam Champion and more!   Quote I'm thinking about: “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” ―Henry Ford   Please support our sponsors!   PURE PLANK: The future of core fitness! Use the code CVV to save 10% on Pure Plank designed by Adam Copeland & Christian: https://gopureplank.com/?ref=tibcloux  SEAT GEEK: Use my code for 10% off your next SeatGeek order*: https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/CVV Sponsored by SeatGeek. *Restrictions apply. Max $20 discount PRIZEPICKS: Download the app today and use code INSIGHT to get $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup!  TIMELINE: Go to https://timeline.com/insightto get 10% off your order of Mitopure!   VUORI: Get 20% off your first purchase! Get yourself some of the most comfortable and versatile clothing on the planet at https://vuori.com/cvv   ROCKET MONEY: Download the Rocket Money app and enter “Insight With Chris Van Vliet” in the survey   HUEL: Get 15% off plus a FREE Gift for NEW customers with the code INSIGHT at https://huel.comMIRACLE MADE: Upgrade your sleep with Miracle Made! Go to https://trymiracle.com/CVV and use the code CVV to claim your FREE 3 PIECE TOWEL SET and SAVE over 40% OFF   ZOCDOC: Instantly book a top-rated doctor today at https://zocdoc.com/insight   BONCHARGE: Use the code CVV to save 15% off your infrared sauna blanket at https://boncharge.com/cvv   BLUECHEW: Get your first month of BlueChew for free with the code CVV at https://bluechew.com   PLUNGE: Get $150 off your Plunge with the coupon code CVV150 at https://plunge.com   For more information about Chris and INSIGHT go to: https://podcast.chrisvanvliet.com If you have ever enjoyed any of these episodes, could I ask you to please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcast or Spotify? It takes less than a minute and makes a huge difference in helping to spread the word about the show and also to convince some hard-to-get guests.    Follow CVV on social media:  Instagram: instagram.com/ChrisVanVliet Twitter: twitter.com/ChrisVanVliet Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisVanVliet YouTube: youtube.com/ChrisVanVliet TikTok: tiktok.com/@Chris.VanVliet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Van Fleet! Hello, my friends, and welcome back to another one here on Insight. I'm CVV, Chris Van Fleet. Thank you for being here with us on this episode, and thank you for making Insight the number one wrestling podcast on the planet. Hit a swinging neckbreaker on that follow button on Apple or Spotify or wherever you're listening right now. And could I ask for one small favor? one that would take mere seconds out of your very busy day.

And I know it's busy. So I will thank you in advance for this. But could you leave a rating on Spotify or a review on Apple? Both of those would help so, so much. We've got a special one today. Ethan Page was my guest for the latest Insight Live show. This kicked off Money in the Bank weekend in Los Angeles on that Friday night. And if you're one of the people who sold out this show at the legendary Hollywood improv,

thank you for being there. This was amazing. Ethan is hilarious. And there's so many times during this interview where he's cutting promos on audience members. Amazing. But what a first year he's had in WWE. He debuted on May 28th, 2024. 40 days later, he won the NXT championship.

He's main evented several NXT pay-per-views. And now he's the North American champion. And I just love it because I've seen his growth all the way through his career. We go way back, like 15-ish years or so. We're both from Ontario. He's from Hamilton. I'm from Pickering. And it's just amazing to see the success he's had at every single stage of his career.

You're going to see how much of a blast this live show was. And you won't want to miss our next one. Insight Live is coming to New York City. The day before SummerSlam, it's Friday, August 1st. Grab your tickets now at CVVVTX.com. That's CVVVTIX.com. And snap a screenshot. Let us know that you listen to this episode and tag us.

He's at official underscore ego on Instagram. He's at official ego on X. I'm at Chris Van Vleet. And here we go. Please welcome to the stage. All ego. Ethan Page. Do you mind if I get comfortable?

Is that okay? Please get comfortable. These pants are tight and this jacket is hot. I'm gonna go, sir, this is a very small room. I know exactly who said that. Wait a second. What's going on here? That guy is very excited to see you.

Wow. You comfortable now? Not yet. I'm actually more uncomfortable than I was before this started. You can thank those two gentlemen right there. I feel like you're getting ready to fight here. No, I'm just look. I got my chest meat out, but then you got your little microphone here.

I'm trying to get comfortable. Give me a second, Chris. Okay. Rolling up the sleeves. All right. That was the entrance attire. No, this is what you get after a 19-hour work day. Don't worry.

You got another hour and a half. Oh, I know, and I'm excited for this. Man, it is so good to see you. Yes, especially holding a championship. Every time I... Hold on. No, no, no, no, no. I'm going to talk now, Chris, hold on, because this is our fifth time doing this.

I'm going to put in a formal request that I only do these in front of fans forever. Done. Yeah. You guys be down for that? Yeah. All right. You do deserve a man.

I know. Congratulations. I know that you don't like to let people touch the championship. Correct. Thank you for following me on social media. But we go way back. I've known you, like, we're both Ontario guys.

We're both Canadian. We go way back. Mm-hmm. I heard your intro. Could I ask for a favor? Sure. Could I hold the championship? Sir, I'm the one with the microphone.

Shut up. Do you guys think I should let him? This is very bizarre, because I'm not letting anyone else do this, but you want Chris to do this? It's my show. Okay, hold on. This is my fifth interview.

Chris has given me exposure and helped my career in many ways. And to thank him, I will allow him. I'm going to need your guys' help for this. I'm going to allow him to hold it for 10 seconds. Now I won't chill before you just... Don't get too eager. Because the fate is now in the fan's hands. They're going to count down the 10 seconds.

You can make it go as fast as you want or slow as you want, but just remember it's cutting into your interview time and you guys paid to be here. So, by all means, the second this touches your hands, you've got till the count of ten. You're counting. You decide. Give me a... I will start ten! Sorry, this is my boyhood dream.

Thank you. That was incredible. You're welcome. That was a very fair count. That was a very fair count, so thank you. That was very fair. We need to talk about how you won this thing. Do we? because you pretty much murdered Ricky Saints.

Haven't been arrested. The chair broke. Yeah. His trachea might have broke. You feel? How do you think he feels? How does he feel? Well, he hasn't been back to work.

So, I mean, there's a good and bad in that, depending on who you're asking. For me, I think it's good. I would like to just add it to the list of terrible things I've done to human beings at work and gotten away with it. It was out of nowhere, too. It just kind of snatched him and grabbed him

and boom. Yeah, let's not say out of nowhere I'm not trying to get any trouble with somebody that does that at my work. Fair enough. Relax. You did it with no preparation. That's what I mean. Perfect. Yeah, absolutely zero. Yeah, that was one of the grossest things I've seen and I was the one that did it.

That chair was just in smithereens. Yes. I feel like you've got, like you've kicked into another gear over the last maybe six-ish, nine-ish months. Yeah, I mean, definitely 12. The last, this has been the last craziest 12 months of my life. Yeah, hands down. Where did this mean street come from?

Ooh, I mean, a part of me that I've known has been there my whole life and then Sean Michael's pulling it out of me. Yeah. What did Sean Michaels pull out of you? I don't know, maybe he just sees a little of his crazy ass in mind, and he's just like, hey, let's be some pricks together. Yeah, could you ever be a baby face? That's an interesting question.

It would take a lot in me to be nice to strangers, yeah. At this stage in my career, with the amount of things that I feel like fans expect from me, I don't know if I would ever like to be nice back. I mean, you're not really that nice. Depends who you ask. True. Depends who you ask.

So to bring that out of you, I feel like it would take a lot. Maybe you're the right amount of money. Okay. Yeah. Is that what this is all about? I mean, listen, people could lie to you in their interviews and say it's about other things, but it's not. Just money. Always about the money.

100%. Oh, no, look. I'm... A nice dude sometimes. I definitely have it in me. But now is definitely not the time. I feel like I'm in the best groove I've ever been in as a professional, wrestler, in the ring, out of the ring, on the microphone,

doing things like this. Yeah, thank you. You can clap. You may all join him. Yes, thank you. So, no, I'm not trying to change anything up right now. I think we're on to something here. What does it mean to be the champion of all of North America?

What an interesting question. Well, it means a lot to me. And the more I think about it, I think it should mean a lot more to NXT. Who laughed? No, it's okay, actually. I want to talk to you specifically. There was a moment in my NXT career where I was challenging Tony D for the North American Championship,

and I told him in the locker room that this championship was beneath me and now I'm sitting here holding this same championship and I wanted to address that. After some time and thinking and using my logical brain and professional wrestling, which usually doesn't work out,

I came to the conclusion that the North American championship is actually the most prestigious championship in NXT. Yeah, I mean Obafemi, current NXT champion. In description, he's the champion of NXT, which its home base is in Orlando at the Performance Center. So Obafemi is the champion of the Performance Center. Ethan Page is the champion of three entire countries. Now, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, no, don't

clap yet. It's about to get even more dangerous for me, because I don't know when to shut up. meaning that this championship is also higher than the United States championship. So I wanted to actually thank Jacob Fatu for doing such a great job representing the U.S. as his superior because born in Canada, made in America, and tomorrow will be beating some Mexican lusjadors.

I am the greatest North Americans you ever hold the North American championship. and this is truly the championship in NXT. Prove me wrong. Wow. I mean, please logically prove me wrong. I'm happy to put the world title above me, even the Intercontinental.

It's more countries. That makes sense, sure. Not the U.S. and NXT championship, though. Hell no. Can you point to Hamilton, Ontario on there? Yeah. I see it. I see it.

It's right there. Yeah, you sit right down there. Yeah, you know where that. That's right. I might also be pointing at Niagara or Toronto, but it's in there. Yeah, close enough. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Towns are on there.

Close. Right by Lake Ontario. Is this your way of avoiding agreeing with me, by the way? I mean, it's hard to disagree. You raise a lot of valid. Do I make a good point? Yeah. Okay, perfect.

It'll be worth it when I get power bombed. back at the performance center. Maybe you could be the NXT champion again. I did pin Obafemi and the Iron Survivor. I don't think anyone's been able to do that since. Relax with the logic, okay? It doesn't really work out in wrestling. Let's walk this back to you arriving in WWA.

Okay. How did that whole thing come together? And how quickly did it move? Very quickly within like a week or two. I just ended up getting a phone call. call. This story might be out there, but I was in between events. I was flying from Winnipeg. I had to go to Detroit and then drive from Detroit to Ohio for revolver wrestling. And in between my connections, WW had called and offered me a job. And I did not think the call was real.

The first call happened. They hung up and I was like, yep, that was a crank call. Then the second call came and I was like, whoa, whoa, wait, this is real? And they're like, yes, we'd like to offer you a contract. It was like, very nice. You guys know that when it comes to health and well-being, I'm always looking for an edge. And that's why I've been taking mitopure for months now. Because I want to be the healthiest version of myself for as long as possible. Like, I want to be in my 90s and still going on hikes or like still playing with the grandkids. Or I guess at that point in time, it might be great grandkids.

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and we're cycling it into new healthy ones. For me, taking mitopure is really helped with recovering after a workout. I start to feel myself getting stronger with more energy and experiencing less inflammation. I think it's worth you checking out as well. Timeline is offering 10% off your first order of mitopure. Just go to timeline.com slash insight. That's timeline.com slash insight. What a first year you've had.

Yeah. Yeah. So many things checked off like a bucket list, just personal stuff. and then things that I never thought would ever happen, happened, and more and more and more. And now my goals have just, you know, turned into even bigger things than they were before. Did you ever think that this would happen?

Did you ever think that WWE was going to happen? Yeah. You are Ethan Page. From day one. Day one. I've been saying it in any ignorant interview that I did as a young man, I definitely verbalized that I was going to, and not that I wanted to,

that I was going to end up in the WWE. And what made you so sure of that? I don't know. I just knew. Okay, you could laugh all you want. I just recently, has anyone watched my vlogs before on YouTube? Okay. Congrats on 100,000 subscribers. Oh, you just wanted me to shout you out.

This man helped make it happen, okay? Thank him. You were so close. I was. You were like 98,500. You pushed me over the edge, Chris. I bet we can make this happen this week. Yes.

You know what? As famous as he is, he still does charity work. Likewise. You're sitting here on stage with me. That's right. Two Canadians trying to out Canadian each other. See, I could be a baby face. Screw you.

Sorry, it was that. What were we talking about? You were talking about how you just believed this. It was going to happen no matter what. Yeah, I knew. Sorry, I asked about the vlog. So I documented everything. and everything, anything.

I sent you this clip, actually. We'll wait to air it years down the line, probably at my Hall of Fame speech. But it was literally a clip of me finding out that the WWE had turned down, jumping from TNA to them, and my contract in TNA was ending. And it was like a video to myself of like,

hey, you're screwed, buddy. They just said no, you better hope you end up getting, hired by somebody else, but I was telling myself, like, hey, your dream is not dead. They all, they said no, and they also said don't reach out anymore. But guess who's holding the championship in WWE right now? All you can eat the page. So it was cool.

I remember sending you the clip just because you've known me for so long and you've been a part of the journey. So, yeah, I knew you could at least relate to it. So, yeah, I've known. I've known even when they were telling me, no, I knew they were wrong. And not only did you get signed by WWE, your NXC champion within 40 days. Yeah, let's just add to that stat as well. Magically, because of how amazing I am,

I won both singles championships in less than 365 days. Wow. It was 364, but still less than a year, baby. Yeah, what a year. Yeah. What an amazing year. Oh, yeah. So you win the championship

and debut of NXT on the CW. Main event. Main event. We don't need to talk about what happened in that match. Oh, no. We don't. But afterwards.

I mean, you shoot the ring with CM Punk, the whole match. That is what I don't want to talk about. What is this? Hey, let's not talk about you losing the belt. Let's talk about the referee giving you his finisher. Oh,

by the way, let's also talk about how that was the last thing people saw on the episode. Is confetti falling in my stupid face after CM Punk knocked me out in the middle of the ring? You know what, there was some joy that I got out of it. It was the fact that Trick Williams won the championship, but the last thing people saw was my stupid face. It was your moment. Yeah, sure was. Let's talk about something better, please.

I remember seeing you years ago in an AIW show. Okay. In Cleveland. Shout out to AIW. That's right. Oh, wow. I guess some AIW fans. Were you from Cleveland?

No. They know their indie wrestling. Okay. Okay. And I just interviewed The Rock for, I don't know, maybe it was the third time at that point in time. I've interviewed The Rock ten times now, but who's counting, right? I'm counting, by the way. Who's counting?

Me. And you were like, oh, man, look at you. Just always hanging out with the Rock. Like, oh, geez. Yeah. Then you share a segment backstage with The Rock in an XT. You're talking about my boy, the final boss? Talking about...

Oh, listen, you can boo Chris. It might hurt his feelings. It ain't going to hurt mine. I would boo me, too. They're booing the final boss. Oh, wait, what? No, you can't boo him. What exactly are we booing here?

They called him a bald fraud. What? Wow. Why? He's your boss. He's your friend. I wish. What, dude, you just went,

Bah! You know, oh! Dwayne, my man, I would never, even in a room full of people trying to bury you, turn my back on the final boss. This man

just talked about how many interviews he had with you, clearly a close personal friend, why would you ever let a man interview you that many times. Might have been a mistake. We could talk about that later. But I would never turn my back on you.

Chris, I'm disgusted. Wait a second. You think the Rock's, my friend? Did he tell you that? I thought that's why they booed because you talked about how many times you interviewed him. You guys are so tight.

They were jealous, so they were like, boo! When you did that segment with him, did he mention me? Not that day, no. Go ahead, go ahead, ask me. Ask me whatever you would like. What a moment though. We talk about doing something with the rock.

You talk about meeting the rock for so many years. Yeah. Then you're in a segment with the rock in an next day. I mean, to me, doing anything with him was always the dream. And I was very fortunate enough to be given the chance to pull him to the side and tell him what it meant to see something that I created on my own and envisioned my whole life would be on screen with my favorites. and to do it with my actual, like the number one. And in the position that he's in and what he's been doing for the last couple years, the amount of things that needed to fall into place for this to happen, pretty crazy.

But I was very glad that I was able to express that to him and to get some one-on-one time. And then it just kept extending and he gave me great advice. And he's turned me into an absolute menace because, I mean, when the person you look up to the most pretty much tells you to not hold back. Yeah, you ain't gonna hold back. I'm sorry Ricky Saints about your throat. The rock even being in NXT is like that's unfathed powerful. Yeah, I loved it. The whole experience was incredible. That was actually here. It was in LA. Very cool. It was a memory that I'll have forever.

Are you saying you make magic happen in LA? Sometimes. I mean at least that one time. Sometimes meaning one time. time. How much of the Rock's inspiration do we see in a young Ethan page? Quite a bit, honestly. Mostly, I would say, just in the confidence to say and do whatever you feel like out there, like on a microphone or in front of an audience. He's someone that's completely comfortable in doing some ridiculous things or what he finds entertaining or what he finds funny. But he's always, I feel like, just at that perfect level of charisma and I try to

keep the same energy the same and give people their money's worth when I'm entertaining them. How long do you think it took you to get really comfortable in the ring or on the mic? Ooh, good question. In the ring? I mean, in the last 12 months. On the microphone, my entire life or a career. It's just been like a I don't know, maybe a survival mechanism to have the gift of gab. And I was like, oh, I can do this with wrestling, I guess. Like, this was something you were doing, like, in high school? Talking trash?

Yeah. Yeah. It's second nature to me. What? I don't play video games, you dork? Must have played college duty. No, I have real friends. I'm not like, oh, hello.

Whatever your name is, account 69. Playing sports? I didn't play sports. It was wrestling or nothing. That's it. Pretty much. Whatever got me to be the center of attention, that was essentially it.

Stage acting, being in movies, wrestling. Put me in the center and then drop the spotlight. Are you the life of the party guy? So like if we were, if it was somebody else's birthday party and you arrive, are you the, hey, look at me. Sometimes. But then there's other times where I care about the person and I'm like, it's their day, so I'll take a step back.

But if I wanted to, I knew I could take it. And I think that's the benefit of being so confident. You don't have to, but you know that you can't. You know what I mean? Yeah. That's like why I don't do moonsaults. But you could. Don't have to, but I could.

450s? Relax. What's been the real pinch me moment over the last 12 months? Ooh, I mean, obvious one would be to be on screen with The Rock. But having Undertaker backstage very often, because they're filming like the LFG stuff and he's just constantly there. That is sometimes the most surreal. Mostly just because, I mean, I'm just having a conversation with a wrestler of that status and the amount of, I mean just for him to compliment me at all is a pinch me moment

so that I won't get too much into it but yeah I've had a couple with him and those have all blown me away what do you say come on man he's dead I'm not going to speak ill of him how about just going into work and your boss is Sean Michaels I mean that's crazy too there are many days where I show up to work and I can't believe the cast of characters that I'm around yeah I can't say enough good things about working for and with Sean Michaels. I've never had that good of a relationship with anyone in that position in my career,

so it blows my mind that I get along with one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Did you guys hit it off right away? Seems like it. He's very good at faking it, I guess. That's not the case, but no, we've been, I don't want to say the word cool because that's so like, We have a great working relationship, and it's only gotten better from day one until now. And after a year, I can say he's definitely helped me in ways that no one else has. And a lot of the coaching and people in the Performance Center have.

This year marks your 19th year in pro wrestling. No, that's a thing we should be cheering about. Amazing. What? Yeah, you're right. It is amazing. that I'm still walking. Did you get to a point where you're like,

I've figured it out, and now you're learning so much more? You know what's so crazy, and I'm going to regret saying this, like, out loud in an interview? I said this to my wife last week, mostly in, like, review of 12 months in the WWE. I was like, I think I figured out what wrestling was, but just this year.

So, you know, those 17 years of trial and error, I think I've just always been very good at entertaining, like, human beings. And it's a wrestling ring, a stage, video cameras, your buddies in the backyard, whatever. I'll always find a way to either get a laugh or, again, be the center of attention. So maybe that's how I was able to survive in professional wrestling and garner a fan base. But actually what our job is, I've honed in on that in the last 12 months, all because of the great coaching. and the people that are in charge in WW. So what was it that made it click?

Terry Taylor and Sean Michaels, if I'm being honest. Yeah, just like constantly being able to chat with them and to kind of understand their thought process and their philosophies and what WWE tries to do. So this is not the Ethan Page we saw before. Oh, hell no. Very well-dressed Ethan Page. Pants that are so tight, he's probably ripping them

as he's sitting down right now. Yeah. four-way stretch, pal, okay? I love the four-way stretch. Yeah. No, no, 100% no. And I don't know if I ever would have got to be this Ethan Page if it wasn't for the leadership and guidance and coaching.

Like you weren't wearing your glasses and promos before? No. You can thank A-Train for that one. Him and Sean Michaels. I was like, oh, no. I'm not... Ten-side? Hold on.

Yes. I just... I'll never... forget him telling me, no, man, you look sharp. I'm like looking up at this seven-foot bald giant, I'm like, you think so?

I'm never taking them off. Yeah, they've just made me so comfortable in being myself and, yeah, dressing for the position that I want, and I am in the position that I want. The champion of North America. That's right. It's almost, this might get too deep, but it's almost

like Clark Kent Superman, right? Yeah, exactly. Except I just wear the glasses in real. These are my real glasses. And when I take them off to wrestle, I'm blind, just punching people directly in the face. So, yeah, these are real.

What about contacts? No, what? I'm not touching my eyeball. Talked last time, I'm like, LASIC. It's the greatest thing that ever happened. Hell no. Dude, that is like a supervillain, like torture. And you're like, yeah, I'll pay thousands of dollars.

for this, just shoot me in the face with a laser. So the Lasic doctor who did? I know you're going to try and convince me. The older I get, the more I'd like get farther away from saying yes to this. I was living in South Florida at the time. Yep. Here's a

name drop. Everybody, pick up your feet. No, no, no. Please continue. You guys ever heard of an up-and-coming actor? He's been in a few movies. Dwayne Johnson? No, no, no. No, no. We're going to this. I'm sorry I gave you a hard time.

You guys can kiss my ass. Because I am all for, you know, are you guys having fun booing the final boss? But now you're going to booing Dwayne as well? I don't like... Sorry. Some very bizarre behavior.

I set them up for that. Okay. Sorry. So anyways, you guys go to the same eye doctor. He's great. Yeah. I can get you a recommendation. I can get you a recommendation.

I will be okay. Just saying. Okay. It's out there. Well, keep wrestling blind then. No, no, no, no.

Kidding. He's telling me to keep doing what I'm doing because it's working. That's right. Yeah, don't try and ruin our friendship like you ruined his with Dwayne, okay? ECW arena.

2300 arena. Yeah. What a hole in the wall. That's not untrue. You guys know the famous ECW sign, the mural that everybody takes the phone from? Oh, God. This is so funny.

Do you know where it's located? The men's bathroom Right next to the urinals. Yeah. And the best part is that civilians and jobbers Can sign their name on the wall. So then when the company

Says, oh, Ethan Page, can you please come go sign the wall? And I see Joe Schmo, I'm like, well, what the hell is this for? No? I guess it's just me that hates it. Okay. I'm sorry. What? Actually, you know what? This guy could talk. He's in a final bus shirt.

Get up here. Come here. Come here. This is my show now, Chris. Okay. Should I just leave? Turn around so everyone can see your shirt. Yeah, hell yeah.

Now you know what it feels like to be me just ugly. Go ahead. All right. What were you going to say? I said you signed right underneath Chris. Nice. He dissed you. But I would have been happy that Chris signed.

Very true. All right, go sit down. I would. Thank you. Thank you for joining us. I would never dare deface the ECW mural next to the urinal. It's really in the bathroom. I did a double tape.

I was like, oh, it's right there. Yes, and the crazy thing is, I'm just saying, scoured social media. Lots of people have taken pictures in there. It's only in the men's bathroom. Only. What happened that night? I split through a table. This is not fun.

Why do you keep you? It's like, oh, you've had such a great year. I'm only going to talk about the shitty things. You were in there with some legends, though. Trick Williams? Bubba Ray. Devon. Yep, Devon brought that table out.

What a jerk. Okay, I'll give you something positive out of this. And then I'll give you a little funny story, too. The positive is that I had one of the worst matches of my entire career on my 19th birthday, which is ironic because I turned 19 in America would have made me legal drinking age in Canada, but I decided to go have a bad match in the ECW arena instead.

That match haunted me my entire life. But 19 years old, wrestling in the ECW arena. I know my parents are awful. So I have spent many years in that hole in the wall of a building. So to get to redeem myself and to go back there with the WW was very cool. Very, very cool. And a little backstory.

I ended up winning that match, even though I was dealing with an infection that day. And my entire body broke out into hives, and we had to get that under control before the match. So yeah, I'm pretty much the most hardcore guy that's ever wrestled in the ECW arena. Just saying, just saying, Your little cuts on your forehead, don't give a crap.

My whole body sucked that day. I feel like you were going to say, like, you had an allergic reaction to the building. No. But honestly, that might have been where it came from, because we couldn't figure it out. So when you're wrestling at 19, were you Julian Logan? No, I think I was Ethan Page. Motion Picture, Ethan Page. Who was Julian Logan?

That was my backyard wrestler. And then ended up becoming a general manager. for like a local independent. Then, oh, this is great. I ended up becoming the commentator because they had no one to film the shows. And by commentator, I just filmed the show and said whatever I felt like saying.

And that's the audio that they were stuck with because that was the only camera that they had. So, yeah, I ended up working my way into independent wrestling without actually being trained because that was just that annoying. It's worked. Oh, I know. I'm doing so much better than everyone else from that promotion.

It's true, though. Can you believe we're living in a timeline where WWE has this working relationship with TNA? No, I didn't want to live in that timeline. Go ahead. Talk about me going back because I didn't want to. You made you return to TNA. Yeah. Okay.

So, it's... It was actually very nice to go back because I always wanted impact wrestling while I was there for the three years to just be TNA. I was always a fan of TNA. I was always talking about TNA. I've always loved TNA. And I never, ever got to wrestle for TNA. Longest reigning Impact tag team champion in company history, no one's ever going to break that streak ever. So that's obviously amazing.

but it was during impact. So to get to go back, wrestle in a TNA ring as a WWE superstar and challenge for the TNA World Championship in the main event of a pay-per-view, pretty happy about that. Pretty happy about that. So it was very nice to go back.

And too, it was very nice to see a lot of the staff there and some of the wrestlers that are still there from my time period there. And it was nice. It was nice to catch up with everyone and talk about old times and, yeah. And you wrestle for the TNA World Championship. That's right.

Didn't win. What was it like working with Joe Hendry? I hear that if you say his name, he appears. No, you just got me tonight, sorry. It was interesting. What's with everyone wanting to sing songs all of a sudden? What happening to just being a wrestler?

Now everyone's got to rap or sing. It's a good point. It is a good point. Or yeat. What is a yeat exactly? That wasn't you that said that? What is it yeat? No.

Who said you got behind you? They're singing entrance themes now. It's huge. Everyone. Yeah. Even me, they hate me, but they still want to say, Ego. See?

That is such a catchy entrance theme. I know. Very strategic of me. Oh, yeah? Yeah, it took seven iterations of the song before I was like, all right, we got it. You just wanted something that stuck in someone's head when they leave? I don't know. To me, it's the first thing you kind of hear and see.

Every big wrestler, the second their music started, you know exactly who it is, and you know exactly what you're in for. And I'm hoping after a year of everyone hearing that song, they know exactly who I am and exactly what they're in for. They all know your song here. That's right. Yeah. Yeah. It's a good one. It is.

Yeah, everyone's talking trash about that deaf rebel guy, but he did all right. Ego. Stuck in my head now. Yeah, that's right. No one else did that. Just you, deaf. Even though you can hear. What a dad.

That guy loved it. Well, a little too late. Do you catch that? Well, that was awesome. He's like, ah, I got it. What a dad joke. Thank you. Oh, I have two kids. Got any good dad jokes?

I just gave you one. You're so needy. Give me one that you tell the kid. I don't tell anyone any jokes. I'm just a reactional comedian. You put me in a scenario, I'll figure a way to make it funny, even if you don't want it to be funny. You turn it into puns?

Puns are good? Yeah. The wordplay is always good. It always has to be kind of safe, though, you know? and a little corny enough to make people feel uncomfortable with laughing, but funny enough that they have to laugh, and they're like, damn it, he got me. That's a dad joke.

My wife rolls her eyes every time that I say the time 2.30. What? It's a dentist's favorite time. 2.30. 2.30. I feel like you guys don't get that joke. You'd be laughing if you got the joke. But this was, that was a bucketless moment telling a joke on the stage here at the improv.

Wow. Did you at least say that joke when you interviewed Kane? Isaac Yankham? Oh! Oh, you just got it? This guy's slow, dude. There's a 20-second delay. Hey, update your bandwidth, buddy.

This guy's on dial-up. You've got some history with Cody Rhodes. People might not know this. You were tag team champions with him. Correct. In my own promotion. You booked it. Damn right.

Yeah, two stars. That was our name. Was it because you guys together were two stars? Some might believe. Or it's what everyone rated our matches. You decide. So there's some history there? Yes.

Not bad history, though. Good history. Do you know each other well? Yes, we do. And I'm very happy. to see his success, even though he turned down selling his soul to the final boss.

But we all make mistakes. Right, Chris? I sold my soul to the final boss? No, you literally denounced your friendship. Oh, my God. I just couldn't believe we're friends. All right, that's fair enough. Friends with the Rock?

That's fair enough. Are we done with Cody, though? I'm trying to keep that relationship good, so. Yeah. It's good. I agree. It's good. Yeah.

Your Smackdown debut. Yeah. Yeah, let's talk about that. That was pretty cool. That's right. Smackdown guy. Twice. One time, stood in the crowd, got an ID.

Very cool. Second time. Yeah, you don't remember that? Watch the product, you dick. I think they came to Orlando. And I got a last second call, you know, to sit in the crowd. It was very nice. But to actually perform on SmackDown, yeah, that was last week or the week before.

and I was on commentary, which was, that caught me off guard. I was very happy that that many people got to hear my voice for that long. Yeah, they just let you run your mouth. Oh, they sure did. They sure did. And I'm happy that they did. And if you would like to keep letting me, Triple H, I would love it. No?

You love you run my mouth. I've been doing it for the last 45 minutes. I love it. I love it. Thank you. It's been amazing. And I hope I can keep doing it. on SmackDown or Raw.

And NXT. Still love NXT, guys. I'm the North American champion. Throw out some dream matches. There's lots of people in WWE you still haven't worked with yet. Who are a few of them? Randy Orton.

I would be stupid not to say John Cena. I mean, you could release this interview as long as you release it within the next six months. I can say, John, Sina. I know we're buddies.

If the final boss has any more matches in him, I would like to be his final test. He's got to have a few more matches. At least. At least. Right. So put me on the list. Those are three big ones.

Oh, I have to stop at three? No, no, no, no. You're right. I'll stop at four. CM Punk. I owe you. A receipt. Actually, probably a couple, but we'll just talk about the one where you need me in the face and cost me my championship.

Yeah. Yeah, and plus, I think I would just love to talk trash about him, like four inches from his face. And just mean every single word that I say on live television while millions of people watch. That would excite me. Talk to him right in that camera right there. Well, that's what I was doing this one. I'm on this shot too. I saw the red light.

Oh, wait, where's my side show? Where's my solo angle? Right there. You got the glasses on. Yeah, they're not really working. Hey, give me your doctor's number. Hey, listen, CM Punk. I'm going to kick your ass when I get my eyes fixed.

If it's okay with you in just a few minutes here, we're going to open it up to some Q&A. Yeah, I mean, as long as you guys don't ask me anything like this man about all the bad things that have been happening all year, keep it positive and you'll get a great answer. sir. But I'm going to wrap it up with a question you know that I ask at the end of every interview. Yes. Because gratitude is such a huge part of my life. Ethan, Paige.

Yes. What are three things that you're grateful for? I am grateful for my health. I am grateful for my family. And I am after 12 months, very grateful for the professional wrestler that the WWE has made me become. I love that. Amazing. Ethan Page, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you. Thank you to Ethan Page for just being so awesome. And thank you for joining us for this live episode of Insight. Don't miss the next one. We have Insight Live in New York City, the day before SummerSlam. Friday, August 1st, grab your tickets now at CVVTX.com. That's CVVTIX.com. There are still,

I believe some VIP tickets there, which include a meet and greet after the show. Snap a screenshot, let us know what you thought of this episode and tag us. He's at official underscore ego on Instagram. He's an official ego on X. I'm at Chris Van Fleet and we'll wrap this up with a quote from Henry Ford. When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it. Be great and be grateful, my friends. We've got a huge. Huge one on Thursday with special guest, Ria Ripley. We'll see you right back here on Thursday for that one. The Hammer Alley podcast, an 80s flashback mockumentary.

Back in the 80s, there were a thousand bands trying to make it in the world of rock, but there was one band that had it all. Hammer Alley. Whatever happened to Hammer Alley? How did they go from top of the rock? I'm looking for a music video. They're a band from 1987. Hammer Alley.

Ever heard of them? To Rock Bottom. Dude, I was born in 1987. I can't believe he's doing this. Hammer Allie. Follow and listen on your favorite platform.