Before becoming NXT Champion and establishing himself as a regular on WWE Raw, Ethan Page says he received a written response from WWE telling him that a contract with the company would never happen.
Speaking on Insight With Chris Van Vliet, Page reflected on one of the lowest points of his wrestling career, recalling the moment he received the email while in Nashville for an Impact Wrestling television taping. At the time, he had already informed TNA that he would not be re-signing, leaving his future uncertain.
“The email was from WWE telling me that they’re never going to hire me,” Page said.
According to Page, the rejection came at an especially difficult time because he had already committed to leaving TNA and had no guaranteed opportunity elsewhere.
“I just told Impact that I’m not staying. AEW was like a possible option, but nothing was concrete. And then I get this email being like, yeah, we’re not hiring you. Just stop,” Page said. “Pretty much like this is the end of the road. It’s not gonna happen. Just kind of let it go.”
Rather than letting the setback define him, Page chose to document the moment. Known for chronicling much of his career through personal vlogs, he immediately turned the camera on himself after reading the email.
“I filmed myself right after reading the email, and then had a conversation with myself, documenting it pretty much being like, are you gonna be okay with this, or are you gonna shove it up their a*s?” Page said.
Page revealed that he still has the footage today and joked that it may eventually find its way into a future WWE documentary.
“To watch it back is pretty rough, but I got it, so I can’t wait to sell it to WWE for whatever documentary they make,” Page said.
Looking back on his journey, Page identified one of the biggest challenges he faced while trying to break into WWE: navigating the immigration process as a Canadian wrestler pursuing opportunities in the United States.
“It’s impossible,” he said of getting a foot in the door from outside the United States, describing the long climb of securing papers, a visa, a better visa and finally a green card.
Since receiving that rejection, Page has completely transformed his fortunes. After joining WWE’s NXT brand in May 2024 following successful runs in TNA, AEW, and on the independent scene, he went on to capture the NXT Championship before earning a spot on WWE’s main roster, proving that the company ultimately changed its mind.
