Swerve Strickland comments on his rivalry with Hangman Page.
Swerve Strickland elevated his status in AEW at the end of 2023 during his feud with Hangman Page, which featured a Texas Death Match at AEW Full Gear. While Hangman was the good guy going into the rivalry, by the time they entered 2024, Swerve was getting more cheers.
"It further justifies that from the promo that I cut on Hangman initially. That set everything in motion. I kind of told what's going to happen a year from now, then. It just naturally happened. Those dynamics shifted. We trusted who each other's personas were and where they were and where they needed to go. The crowd dictated how quick it got there. It got there way quicker than we expected it to, too. It also helped with WrestleDream being in Seattle. That helped in my favor. We knew how the crowd was going to be and what it was going to lead into. Let's play into that and not push or renavigate. We just knew," Swerve said while speaking on Rumble in the Morning.
Asked what it meant to be linked to Hangman, and how when you think of one you will always think of the other, Swerve replied, "The fact that Hangman already had a Texas Death Match earlier that year with Jon Moxley at Revolution, which was wild and they killed it. Then him with Bryan Danielson, the two times. Him and Kenny. He already had these great battles. Okay, where do I fit in with that? In my mind, I'm like, 'Where do I put myself in this lineage that he's already had?' I have to be more sinister. I have to push further and dig deeper into who he is and what I'm willing to do to carve a piece of me into his skin that he can't remove. Kenny and those guys, they left marks, but I left a scar. That's what the entire intention was. Have the people, not like the internet connected with me, but the actual people connect with the action, the motive, the characters on each side, and to truly go on this ride. It's not bad for fans to try and predict what happens next, as long as they know what's happening now. The fans are like, 'It's them two again. Wait, he's in the hallway. That means he's here. They're getting closer.' They're anticipating and trying to guess. When it goes a different way, they're like, 'We almost had it.' Then, 'Oh my God. Blood & Guts, they're in the cage. Here is it.' We have them right where we want them, for sure."
On AEW TV, Hangman is still targeting Swerve for what he did to him in 2023. Though Swerve may always have to deal with Hangman, his current focus is on defending the AEW World Title against Bryan Danielson at AEW All In.
Fans can check out the current lineup for AEW All In by clicking here.
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