In an interview with Denise Salcedo (via Fightful), Swerve Strickland said that his feud with Hangman Page has been one of the best stories that AEW has ever told. The two have had four singles matches against each other, with Swerve winning two and Hangman winning one. The last match was a Steel Cage match at All Out.
Strickland said: “I would rank it definitely top three ever for me, and for AEW, no doubt in my mind it’s the best story that All Elite Wrestling has told, in my opinion, because it was so unique and so personal. It got so personal because it wasn’t just two wrestlers, it was two human beings and crossing the line of men, how far you’re willing to go to push those buttons of someone that you truly hate. Why are you hating them? What are you gonna do about it? A lot of people hate just to hate, but no, I hate him for these reasons, and the audience knows and understands why. These were something when it happened, like the home invasions and things like that, when it happened, it was a lot of question marks, and they’re like, ‘I don’t know how I feel about this. Does this belong in wrestling? Does this fit? Why won’t this happen?’ Now, a year later, people are like, ‘Well, Swerve, he deserves this because he did this. Hangman deserves this because he did this to him.’ So now, those things that were question marks, now, it’s like it carries on with us, those reasons, throughout the rest of our careers, no matter where we go. People know why Hangman is the way he is.”
When asked if the two would be forever associated together, he replied: “Forever. It’s that hatred that actually brings out the best in us and brings out the best in the product of what AEW is, in my opinion. The fact that whenever there’s looming presence of either of us anywhere near each other, people get uncomfortable because we pushed the line so far and many times went over it, that they know anything is possible, there’s nothing off the table when it comes to me and that man. Nothing’s off the table when it comes to me, period, and now Hangman’s in that world as well. But when we get together, people really get unsettled, they get excited, they also don’t know, and I think the unpredictable factor of me and him is what truly drives our story, how far I’m willing to take it. ‘Well, I’m willing to take it further.’ Well, I’m willing to take it further, to the point we could both go out and just crash and burn, truly end each other’s careers, and the fans would probably watch it any time [laughs]. They’ll truly watch any time.”
