Ethan Page took a page out of Shawn Michaels’ playbook on WWE NXT before he brutally attacked Je’Von Evans.

Page has been dejected in recent weeks, as he has come up short in his quest to regain the NXT Championship. Page said he was lost after he failed to win the Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge at NXT Deadline. On the December 17 episode of WWE NXT, Page was shown walking backstage, and he was clearly despondent.

Page then came to the ring and delivered an emotional message about his struggles, noting that he had let down his wife and his children. He said that he did not know if he loved “this” anymore, and he had just lost his smile.

Je’Von Evans came out and tried to give Page a pep talk, highlighting the way Page was a proud husband and father. He said that Page deserved to be there, but they wanted to see the “real” Ethan Page. Evans said that he was proud of him. Page then said that he shouldn’t worry about losing his smile, he should focus on taking Evans’.

Page proceeded to blindside Evans with a cheap shot. He viciously attacked him, and he got a chair. Page wrapped the chair around Evans’ neck and stomped on it. Evans then coughed up a lot of blood, and medical officials checked on him. Page stood tall, saying that this was the real him.

Evans was helped to the back after the attack.

Ethan Page saying he lost his smile was a callback to Shawn Michaels. Michaels said he lost his smile in a classic promo in the Lowell Memorial Auditorium, the same building NXT was held in, in 1997.

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