Original Artwork Jason Jimenez-Garrido
In a year where big rivalries like CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre, Roman Reigns vs Cody Rhodes, and others have been in the spotlight, some might say that the rivalry between Swerve Strickland and Hangman Page might top them all.
Page and Strickland have had the most intense rivalry of the past year. A feud that started over a top spot in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) has evolved into something much deeper.
The rivalry started on Sept. 5, 2023, when Strickland interrupted Page’s in-ring interview. Page was gonna reveal his plans for the rest of 2023 when Strickland came out to question his passion.
Swerve argued, “When [AEW] started up, you [Hangman] were the cornerstone of this company … you were handpicked from the hierarchy of [AEW] to be the franchise player… it seems like you’ve lost your confidence … or you don’t even want it anymore.”
Strickland took things further by arguing that Page had gotten complacent with his spot in AEW, while he had to scratch and claw his way to the top for his.
“Opportunity after opportunity, you’ve been handed on a silver platter. If I would’ve got the opportunities that you’ve gotten, I’d be the first Black AEW world champion by now.” he told Page.
After weeks of back and forth insults, they fought on Oct. 1, 2023, at the AEW “WrestleDream” pay-per-view (PPV) in Strickland’s home state of Washington. Both wrestlers put on an amazing performance, but ultimately, Strickland took the victory.
Their issues remained unsolved, as Strickland cheated during the match. Strickland had assistance from his manager, Prince Nana, who distracted the referee, giving Swerve the chance to hit Page with Nana’s crown.
After the match, Page sent a message to Swerve, saying,
“If you think those are the things that put you in my position, you’re wrong. I’m sure you felt like a superstar tonight, and you should. But in the long run, it’s not gonna do it.”
The rivalry reached new heights when Strickland invaded Page’s house on Oct. 25, 2023. Things became personal from this point, which justifies why their next matches became much more brutal.
The next battle was a “Texas Death Match” at AEW’s “Full Gear” PPV, which was as gruesome as the name alludes to. During the match, both wrestlers tried to inflict as much pain as possible, using glass, a cinder block, a barbed wire chair, and a staple gun as weapons.
After the match, the story took an interesting turn. We saw a different side of Page. His quest for revenge made him unhinged.
Page was no longer the fan-favorite “cowboy” that the fans knew and loved. This was reflected with Strickland being cheered while Page received boos.
Both guys went on to chase an opportunity against AEW world champion Samoa Joe. Once again, both men stood in the way of one another, and what was supposed to be a match between Joe vs the winner of another Strickland vs. Page match became a “triple-threat match” at AEW “Revolution” on March 3, 2024.
Page became obsessed with ruining Strickland’s chances of winning the championship. His obsession made him do out of character things such as faking an injury just to attack Strickland with a crutch. Though he knew he was betraying the trust of his fans, he stated it was a necessary sacrifice.
“I would rather die than have Swerve win this world championship.” Page exclaimed.
Though both men lost at Revolution, Page’s nightmare became reality when Strickland finally made history as the first Black AEW world champion at AEW “Dynasty.”
This added another layer to the story as Page became obsessed with taking the championship off of his hands, which he did at AEW “All In” when he cost Strickland his championship defense against Bryan Danielson.
This led to their last encounter at AEW “All Out” in which they fought in a “lights-out steel-cage match”. If we thought their past few encounters were vicious, this time they went even further.
At one point in the match, Page grabbed a needle and stuck it into the side of Strickland’s mouth. The final nail in the coffin was when Page hit Strickland with a deafening unprotected chair shot, which has been a controversial move in pro-wrestling for decades.
This was a fitting end to a long rivalry between bloodthirsty enemies. Though you could make a valid argument for any of the previously mentioned feuds, I believe Strickland vs. Page will go down as “rivalry of the year.”