Ethan Page says his custom NXT title was the real top prize and fans are split

The Canadian Savior of Orlando Drops a Bomb

Pull up a stool, grab a cold one, and let's talk about the absolute state of wrestling discourse this week. Ethan Page went on Chris Van Vliet's podcast and threw a hand grenade right into the middle of the internet. The man who spent last year walking around Orlando like he owned the place just claimed his custom Canadian-themed North American Championship was actually the top prize in NXT.

He is dead wrong. But it is a glorious, surface-of-the-sun level take. Naturally, every keyboard warrior from Reddit to X is screaming into the void about it.

According to the interview on Insight, Page was completely surprised by the custom design. WWE handed it to him in Houston, Texas, and he got to reveal it to a hot crowd. But the real kicker is that the physical belt is currently hanging on the wall of his house, despite him supposedly leaving it at the Performance Center after his reign ended in February 2026.

The internet did what it does. The IWC split into three distinct camps, ranging from the absolute mark disciples to the gatekeeping purists who think custom belts are a visual plague. Let's break down the chaos.

The Custom Belt Cult vs. The Traditionalist Defense

The Red-and-White Maple Leaf Appreciation Society

On one side of the digital barricade, you have the aesthetic enthusiasts. These are the fans who live for unique title designs. They think the standard NXT belts look like corporate office awards.

For them, Page's custom red-and-white maple leaf strap was the coolest thing NXT has done in years. They argue that a custom belt immediately makes the champion feel like an irreplaceable big deal rather than a temporary placeholder. It gives the title character.

One prominent commenter on the SquaredCircle subreddit summed it up by pointing out that Page looked like a million bucks carrying that strap. They wrote that the red strap with the Canadian accents made the title feel like a personal prize rather than a prop. They claimed his run from May 2025 to February 2026 was the most entertaining mid-card championship reign since Gunther was chopping chests in NXT UK.

The Lineage Purists and the Magna Carta of Belts

Then you have the purists. These guys treat the championship belt lineage like it is the Magna Carta. They think custom belts are cheap gimmicks that detract from the history of the gold.

To them, Page taking the belt home is a minor scandal. His claims about the belt's prestige are nothing more than self-delusion. The internet traditionalists want their wrestling belts to look like sports trophies, not customized toys.

A forum poster on a popular wrestling board did not hold back, writing that Page is completely out of his mind if he thinks the North American title was more prestigious than the main NXT Championship. They argued that the NXT title was held by guys like Samoa Joe and Finn Balor, while the North American title has been passed around like a hot potato. They finished by stating that slap-sticking a maple leaf on the front does not change the hierarchy of the locker room.

Did the North American Title Actually Leapfrog the Big Gold?

Representing Three Nations or Just Doing Steiner Math?

Let's address the most controversial claim Page made. He argued that the North American Championship was the actual top prize because he was representing three countries—the United States, Canada, and Mexico. That math is wild.

On paper, that is some hilarious wrestling logic. Scott Steiner would be proud. But does it hold up under scrutiny?

The enthusiasts argue that during Page's reign, the main NXT Championship scene was spinning its wheels. With Page defending the North American title across the border and putting on matches that routinely went past the fifteen-minute mark, he was the focal point of the show. Fans on X pointed out that Page's promos were consistently the best part of NXT every Tuesday night.

The Promo King vs. The In-Ring Workhorses

But the contrarians are quick to pull up the stats. They point out that Page's actual matches, while solid, were rarely five-star classics. Critics argue that his reign was carried by his mouth, pointing to matches where he relied on running interference or hitting a desperate Ego's Edge on Je'Von Evans rather than putting on a wrestling clinic.

They argue that a champion who relies on interference and dirty finishes cannot claim to have elevated a title past the NXT Championship, which was being defended in clean, hard-hitting main events. Who has the better case? The tape does not lie.

As Wrestling Inc reported, Page genuinely believes no one else will ever hold that specific version of the championship. That might be true, but is it because it is sacred, or because WWE simply wants to forget he took it? The skeptics are laughing at his request for WWE to look the other way.

"Don't take it, WWE, please"

That quote alone is worth the price of admission. It shows exactly who Ethan Page is—a guy who knows how to work the system and the fans at the same time. He is currently on Raw, trying to claw his way into the Intercontinental Championship picture, but he is still making sure NXT fans are talking about him.

The Verdict: Pure Delusion or Marketing Genius?

Here is my hot take, and I can back it up. Ethan Page is a master of self-promotion, but his claim that the North American Championship was the real top prize is total nonsense. It was a great mid-card run, but it did not eclipse the main title.

The custom belt was a fantastic visual, but let's not pretend it turned NXT upside down. That said, you have to respect the hustle. The fact that he managed to smuggle the belt out of the Performance Center and hang it in his living room is a legendary move.

Most guys leave NXT and hope they get a decent theme song on Raw. Page left with a piece of history on his wall and a podcast appearance that has everyone talking. He won the game.

His frustrations with his former NXT theme song are well-documented, but now he is on the main roster. If he wants to prove his NXT run was as prestigious as he claims, he needs to make an impact on Raw. Chasing the Intercontinental title is a good start, but he won't have a custom Canadian strap to hide behind this time.

Ultimately, the fans who think he is a genius and the fans who think he is mid are both right. He is a mid-card act with a main-event mouth. And in modern WWE, sometimes that is more than enough to keep you in the spotlight.