Swerve Strickland talks to Fightful about the intensity of his rivalry with Adam Page.
Swerve Strickland and Hangman Page's story jumped quickly from two men jockeying for position in a wrestling organization to a very personal issue after Strickland invaded Hangman's home on the October 25 episode of AEW Dynamite. They will now face in a Texas Death Match on AEW Full Gear
Speaking about the invasion in a new interview with Sean Ross Sapp, Swerve says he can't worry about the backlash certain segments may receive because the minute he starts worrying about that kind of thing will be when he stops creating.
"The second that I worry about backlash is the second that I stop creating. People present backlash to me and my segments and my moment on television, but not to others who have really gone off the rails. It’s funny that the goalposts move in certain ways," he said. "I notice that, I see that, I hear the discourse, and I play with that a lot. People have no idea how much I really love egging people on and really drawing out some type of discussion about the things I do and say. People try to pick it apart and find errors in my ways. There aren’t. I truly see no error in my ways. If you look for something a lot, you’re probably going to find it, or it’s just your mind playing tricks on you. Breaking into (his home), I bring out the worst in people or the best in people, sometimes both at the same time.
"I really wanted to test where Hangman really was," he continued. "I wanted to see his home. I wanted to see what the next generation of the Hangman legacy is going to be, and I want to influence him before his father influences him. I want to get to the root of the next 20 years of pro wrestling before Hangman does. I’m all about legacy. I want to influence a legacy and influence the next generation. Why not influence the next possible future AEW World Champion? Maybe I’m influencing the next Mogul Embassy member. I’m a mental scientist when it comes to this. I wanted to show the world and Hangman that your words truly have repercussions to them. I can reach out of this television, this squared circle, and I can touch anybody I want to, in real-time, in real life. I’m not just going to talk on a microphone. I’m actually going to do."
Hangman Page returned the favor and got very personal in a promo on Swerve during the November 15 episode of AEW Dynamite. Swerve never even got the chance to offer a verbal response to his adversary. Speaking with Sean Ross Sapp, Strickland stated he was blindsided by how personal Hangman got with his words, noting that it felt interesting to be on the other side of such an assault, and repeating that he is bringing out the worst in the former World Champion.
"A little blindsided, to say the least. A lot more personal. It honestly feels interesting to be on the other side of that after how me and Hangman started this whole thing, me coming to him after All Out in Chicago. I brought a lot of things that were personal to the forefront of AEW television that I’m pretty sure he didn’t appreciate, and now seeing him throw those things back to me and not allow me to really get a word in. It’s very interesting to be on the other side of that. Another note with that, being said, he’s realizing how dirty he has to get to really play this game with me. If you notice him coming out the past couple of weeks, him putting me through a table off the stage. He’s not wearing the butterfly jeans and colorful cowboy stars and jackets. He’s wearing dark leather. There is a spark and fire in his eyes now. I’ve always said, I bring out the best in a lot of people, every single time. I bring out, sometimes, the worst in a lot of people and I bring out the worst in Hangman. It’s nice to see him get a little muddy with us down here. Get a little nasty and dirty. If he thinks he’s sending me to hell, I’m taking him with me at this point," said Swerve.
Asked what his response would have been to Hangman, Swerve said there wasn't much more that words could add to the situation and now it's a matter of letting actions do the talking.
"At this point, I had not much to say. It was more about what I was going to do," he said. "With that stipulation being set for the night, I don’t want to lose my money. I could care less about this match in LA in the Forum. I don’t want to necessarily have to put my body on the line against this man. Why? For what? What do I gain? I’ve already beat this man. He needs that match against me, but I’m not trying to be suspended for the rest of the year and derail my legacy and this run that I’m on. I’m not trying to lose anything. The second I lose momentum, I might not get it back.
"That’s what Hangman is trying to do," Swerve continued. "He’s trying to take away the momentum that I’m on off of my win against him. He wants me to attack him. He wants me way more than I want to stay on this roster and stay making a paycheck for the rest of 2024. He wants me that bad and he’s egging me on to do something to fight him and get the match thrown out, but he doesn’t want the match thrown out at the same time. He knows how much I need to beat him again to really cement my legacy in AEW and in the wrestling industry. We’re in a real, true, Texas cowboy outlaw showdown. We’re in a standstill. It’s high noon, we both have our hands on our pistols and ready to draw at any moment. It’s a chess match, one of the biggest chess matches you’re seeing in wrestling, all across the board. We have to play this correctly, myself, Nana, and the rest of the Mogul Embassy have to play this correctly or we lose everything."
Strickland and Hangman did come to blows at Wrestling REVOLVER Unreal, adding to their already personal issue. Learn more about that here.
Fans can watch AEW Full Gear 2023 on Bleacher Report, traditional pay-per-view, and FITE internationally. Check out the full card for the event here.
