Over the past four years, Swerve Strickland and “Hangman” Adam Page have built one of wrestling’s most compelling rivalries, marked by raw emotion, memorable promos and exceptional matches. Their story gets another chapter Saturday in Phoenix at Full Gear, where Swerve and The New Level face Hangman and Brodido in a Texas Death Match for the AEW Trios Championships.
In a recent conversation, Swerve discussed his long-running conflict with Page, the current mood in AEW and the challenge of balancing wrestling with fatherhood and music.
There’s an interesting contrast within Swerve’s team heading into Full Gear. Kofi and Creed have expressed some reluctance about entering a Texas Death Match, while Swerve sounds remarkably calm. He says he feels upbeat and that his preparation is going smoothly. But when the subject turns to getting his partners ready, his focus sharpens.
For Swerve, the biggest challenge is mental. His teammates have to prepare themselves for an experience they haven’t faced before, he explained. The physical demands are considerable, but staying composed when the match becomes bloody is just as important. They’ll need to keep control of their reactions and push through the shock.
The match is a team effort, but the history between Swerve and Hangman will inevitably be central to it. After their Lights Out match in 2024, Page suggested that concentrating so heavily on their feud might have taken a toll on his career. Swerve says he doesn’t see it that way, and doesn’t think the rivalry has pulled him away from his larger goals.
He describes their story not as a single rivalry, but as an ongoing saga that keeps changing shape. In his view, the conflict has helped both men improve. Swerve recalled that when they first spoke on camera, Page seemed too comfortable and reserved within the company. Their clashes, he said, helped reignite Page’s drive and eventually brought him back into the main event at All In, competing for the world championship.
People can argue about whether Swerve’s approach was justified, he added, but he believes the rivalry has pushed them both past their limits. And while the Trios Championship is his immediate priority, he says that doesn’t rule out pursuing singles success. Samoa Joe, he pointed out, has held both the Trios and World Championships at once. For now, though, Swerve wants to give his full attention to the people he’s facing, including Hangman, Brody King and Bandido, whom he considers top-level talents.
Looking at his place in AEW, Swerve says the company feels like where he was meant to end up. Earlier in his career, he didn’t always have the time or room to develop his character. He believes this version of himself is his strongest yet: more experienced, more mature and better able to recognize both his potential and his limits.
That extra room to grow is notable given how much Swerve is juggling. He’s regularly on AEW television, has three daughters, makes music and has acting work ahead. He admits that managing it all can be difficult, and that fatherhood may have suffered at times. As his daughters grow up, he says, he’ll have to find ways to make up for that and make sure they understand why he does what he does.
He credits his ability to shift between different roles with helping him manage the many demands of his career. Whether Saturday’s match changes his outlook remains to be seen. With Swerve and The New Level facing Hangman and Brodido, the volatile mix in the ring could lead to a major shift for everyone involved.
AEW Full Gear airs live at 8 p.m. ET on pay-per-view. In the United States, it will also be available to stream on HBO Max, Prime Video and YouTube. The free YouTube pre-show begins at 7 p.m. ET.
