Written by: Kevin Berge

2020 is a year that will long live in infamy. After decades of projection, we were hit with a global pandemic that affected every waking moment. COVID-19 affected 83.6 million people with 1.82 million dying from the effects of the virus.

In the United States alone, 20 million were affected with 346 thousand cases. This is a highly contagious virus that can cripple people if not outright kill them. In order to avoid it, the world had waves of complete lockdown. Despite this going on almost a year, much of the world is still in isolation.

This has affected so many in different ways. From the many important people lost in this year to the financial burden so many already-struggling people have endured from the closure of businesses, we were caught at the brink of true tragedy.

Written by: Kevin Berge (All Images Courtesy of: All Elite Wrestling

Who is Hangman Adam Page? He was The Problem Solver of the Bullet Club. He was a member of The Elite. He was Ring of Honor Six-Man Tag Team Champion. He was the first man to ever challenge for the AEW World Championship, and lose.

None of that matters to who he is now. He is The Hangman. He is the man that does cowboy shit. He is a former AEW tag team champion. More important than anything else, he is the best wrestler in the world today.

I know that sounds like hyperbole. It is not because he is the most athletic or varied in-ring performer (though he is fantastic). It is not because he can outshine his peers on the mic (though he is one of the best). It is because ultimately wrestling is about story, and no one in the year 2020 has been able to tell a better story than Hangman Adam Page.

Written by: Kevin Berge

It's been a while since I've talked about wrestling. It's been an exhausting span for wrestling in many ways. The pandemic has drained the life and energy out of the shows in more ways than the writing and booking ever could.

However, WWE and AEW have both taken the right steps to bring some needy energy back to their shows. WWE finally realized their use of Performance Center crowds was not working, so they moved to the Thunderdome (a weird concept but one that has instantly made the show more engaging).

AEW has long had the better stance, focusing on using the talent in the crowd in a real engaged manner. There's an air of real excitement in AEW that WWE often lacks. The only problem for AEW has been a few tired storylines that finally got rejuvenated in the last few weeks.

Both shows are still working for the mindset that they need to hold off for crowds, but crowds are a distant hope. It's time to take chances, and surprisingly WWE is ready to do that more than AEW (even though AEW is still the far more consistent product).

Written by: Kevin Berge (All Images Courtesy of: WWE.com)

In the lead-up to Backlash 2020, WWE did something truly bizarre. The company tried to sell everyone on the idea that the main event between Edge and Randy Orton could be the Greatest Wrestling Match Ever.

WWE did not even use the term "wrestling" much anymore, yet they sold this tagline like it was absolutely true. What ultimately came of the match is a bit complicated to discuss because it was neither bad enough or good enough to truly earn the title or backlash.

I was driven to write about it not because of the match itself but the way WWE presented the entire situation. It has never been more transparent that WWE wanted to prove a point that some absolutely bought in the end.

Written by: Kevin Berge

It has been a crazy time in the world. The outbreak of COVID-19 has left the entire world in quarantine, attempting to stop the spread of the first pandemic in decades. No one has gone unaffected.

Wrestling has been affected in a big way though perhaps avoided the fallout more than most entertainment and sports. WWE and AEW have felt confident enough to hold empty arena matches on closed sets.

It has been a unique experience, but the end result has been surprisingly effective. Both sides have made strides in a short time and delivered including WWE doing the unthinkable and holding WrestleMania 36 without a single fan in attendance.

There's so much to say on what has been happening, so I needed to sit down and put words on the page about where we all are at this point and how it has been both problematic and inspiring that wrestling has continued on.