Matt Hardy shares his thoughts on Swerve Strickland's Texas Death Match against Hangman Page at AEW Full Gear.
At AEW Full Gear, Swerve Strickland defeated Hangman Page in a brutal Texas Death Match. The match generated plenty of controversy, as Page drank Strickland's blood in one unforgettable spot. Either way, the win continued Strickland's rise in AEW.
Speaking on The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, the veteran was asked to describe what stood out to him the most about the show.
“Top to bottom, I thought it was a great event. I thought everyone busted their ass. There was a lot of variety on the show, which I am a big fan of. To me, there’s a lot of matches that I absolutely loved, that I thought kicked ass. So many people busted their asses and worked so hard on the show. But to me, the match that really stood out and really had me on the edge of my seat, had me involved in it, was the Swerve and Hangman match. I thought it was amazing. I know it was a polarizing match to some people. Some people didn’t dig it, but I love how they’ve escalated their rivalry, their feud, and they took it to another level. They did some stuff that is very memorable, that you will not be forgetting any time soon. I was down with it," Hardy said.
Hardy was then asked to share his thoughts on the controversial blood-drinking spot. He noted that he was cool with it as long as Strickland and Page were. Hardy described how the spot may have been too much for some viewers, but it would lead others to check out AEW. He stated that the spot got eyeballs on the product.
“Yeah, I was doing that back in 2016, before it was cool, I guess, or before it was not cool. It was a really intriguing spot. If those two guys were cool with it, then I’m cool with it. It was wild. I do get it, why some people…it is too much probably for some people that watch wrestling. It’s not for everyone. But there are people that are going to watch this, that are going to see this clip, or read the TMZ article about Swerve and Hangman, and Hangman spitting blood, and it’s going to intrigue them. They’re gonna seek out AEW and check this out, or they’re gonna learn about AEW. In that capacity, even though it was polarizing, it was something that is good to get eyeballs on the product and get people talking about the product," Hardy said.
Co-host Jon Alba shared his belief that it's hard to argue that Strickland does not come out of this win at a different level. Hardy agreed, and he stated that the match would still have been great, even if some of the more violent spots were taken out. He emphasized that he thought the violence was appropriate for their rivarly.
“He absolutely does. The fact that you’re talking about how it was grotesque or whatever, they did some stuff that was really violent, I think if you swap out some of those spots that people didn’t like necessarily, I think you still put in other less violent spots, and it would have still been an amazing match, just because of the story they told. There’s a true hatred between these two. Swerve invaded Hangman’s house, which is something we haven’t happen in forever, and it was very personal, it felt very personal. It felt very real. You could taste the hatred between these two men. Their story, I dug. I didn’t mind the excessive violence. Once again, it was on pay-per-view. It’s not like something we’re doing on TV. This was literally on pay-per-view, so you had to seek out and buy this separately to make sure to see it. I thought it was really appropriate of the story and the rivalry they have right now, as being the ultimate enemies," he said.
Alba then noted that it feels like Strickland is starting to knock on the door of the world title picture. Hardy expressed his agreement and noted that Strickland is moving up the ladder quickly. He also pointed out that Page's potential request for revenge is a story itself.
“It does. You can feel that he is moving up the ladder quickly. I’m a big fan of Swerve, a big advocate of Swerve. I dig his stuff. Him and Hangman, their chemistry is off the charts. Now he’s got two victories over former a world champion in Hangman Adam Page, which is a big deal, and it also gives Hangman an issue to come back, like he has to get that win, he has to get avenged, he has to finally beat Swerve. So that’s a story in itself right there," Hardy said.
Click here to see what Strickland had to say about his win over Jay Lethal on the November 22 episode of AEW Dynamite.
Jim Ross recently discussed Strickland's match against Hangman Page. Check out his comments here.
Fightful Select reported more information about the blood-drinking spot at AEW Full Gear.
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