Ethan Page captured his first WWE Intercontinental Championship on Monday Night Raw, but the newly crowned champion has admitted that achieving one of his biggest career goals has left him feeling unexpectedly unfulfilled.
During the November 2 edition of WWE Raw at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, Page defeated Chad Gable to win the Intercontinental Championship, bringing Gable’s 92-day reign to an end.
Following the show, Page appeared on WWE Now, where he discussed his emotional reaction to the victory and explained why reaching his ultimate goal sooner than expected has changed his outlook on the future. “Look, I feel weird, mostly because this is the ultimate goal, and now that I’ve achieved it so early and so quickly, it’s like skewed, I guess my view of the future. I don’t know why I thought it would be so hard to obtain this, and then it happens so fast that I feel like I should reassess my goals.”
Page acknowledged that he has a tendency to immediately focus on his next achievement rather than taking time to appreciate his accomplishments.
According to the new champion, that mindset may explain why winning the Intercontinental Championship did not produce the emotional reaction he had anticipated. “Which happens to me a lot in my life. And I think that’s why I feel nothing, because I just know it’s like, I’m gonna do something great again, I’m sure.”
Page also referenced an earlier interview with WWE’s Jackie Redmond, during which he discussed the difficulty of fully experiencing his own success.
He suggested that his constant pursuit of the next milestone has prevented him from enjoying the journey, even when achieving something as significant as his first Intercontinental Championship. “You know what? Actually, I just did an interview with Jackie, I gave her my thoughts, and I had said that it was extremely sad that I never got to witness myself actually win the Intercontinental Championship. And I think that actually is the precipice of everything. I don’t actually get to enjoy the journey, I’m the one like dragging the cart behind me, kind of thing.”
Page’s victory makes him the 96th different wrestler to hold the Intercontinental Championship and marks the 193rd title change in the championship’s history.
Gable’s reign ended after 92 days, during which he successfully defended the title four times on WWE television.
Despite his surprisingly subdued reaction, Page’s championship victory represents a significant milestone in his WWE career. His comments, however, suggest that he is already looking beyond the achievement and considering what comes next.
