It’s unclear whether the brilliantly brutal rivalry between Swerve Strickland and Hangman Adam Page is over, but the pair have certainly left their mark on professional wrestling in 2023.
Their incredible encounter at last month’s Wrestledream went down well with wrestling fans, but it was only an appetiser compared to what occurred at Full Gear on November 18.
Competing in a Texas Death match due to the seriousness of the feud which included Swerve breaking into Page’s family home, both men gave it everything.
With Page entering the ring during Swerve’s introduction, he got an immediate upper hand with a powerbomb, buckshot lariat and multiple staple attacks before even going as far to drink his opponent's blood before spitting most of it out.
When Swerve took over, his attacks were just as ferocious as he used cinder blocks, barbed wire, and chairs to inflict punishment on Page and he even had a helping hand from Brian Cage.
The finish came when Swerve hung Hangman with a steel chain which caused enough damage to keep him down for a ten count.
In the immediate aftermath, Cagemach.net, a website dedicated to wrestling where members rate matches, was awash with the highest praise for the match.
At one point, the match was on par with AEW’s greatest ever rating, the 2020 tag classic that saw Page and Kenny Omega defeat The Young Bucks, but it now sits comfortably in second place.
The highest rated AEW matches on Cagematch.net
- Kenny Omega and Hangman Adam vs. The Young Bucks: 9.68
- Hangman Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland: 9.64
- Bryan Danielson vs. MJF: 9.61
- Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr: 9.61
- Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay: 9.57