Swerve Strickland was recently featured in an interview on Z100 New York’s “Superstar Crossover”, where he delved into various topics such as his contentious Texas Death match against Hangman Page at AEW Full Gear 2023. Here are the highlights:
Pushing the envelope: “We went out there and [were] just like ‘Whatever’s under that ring is fair game,'” Swerve said. “I think that’s another thing with Hangman…Hangman’s been known to push the boundaries. I’m someone that wants to push it just as much as he does. That’s where that really made it something crazy. We just kept wanting to push the envelope more and more and more. And it’s weird; I have a history of doing that in Los Angeles, cause Lucha Underground was in Boyle Heights, with me and [AR] Fox, another one who just wanted to push it and push it and push it more. I kind of have this hybrid style like ‘Wait, there’s great athleticism in this too.’ It’s not just plunder…everything makes sense…without all this stuff, this is a great match too. These are great performers, these are great athletes. But then, you add in elements. These are still great performers, these are great athletes, they are just brutal.”
Raising his game because he was in there with Page: “What do you do to someone that’s like, prior to that match, everything Hangman Page has done in AEW, even in wrestling going back to New Japan, he’s done a lot,” Strickland said. “I’m like ‘Okay, where do I belong in that history book of Hangman Page now?’ How do I make my mark in that region of me trying to climb up and get to where he’s at? [He’s] a former World Champion. He’s already had bangers with Kenny, bangers with Bryan Danielson, bangers with the Young Bucks in the tag match. Bangers with like…he had a death match earlier that year with Moxley. So that’s like ‘Where do I fall in line with any of that?’ So…I was like ‘I’m going to kick the door open. I’m going to do something that…’ none of these guys have been able to get to him the way I did.”
H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcription
