Swerve Strickland Says Violent Matches Need To Be Justified, Not Just For The Sake Of It

Swerve Strickland says violent matches need justification in wrestling.

At AEW Revolution 2026, fans saw MJF and Hangman Adam Page battle it out for the AEW World Title in a Texas Deathmatch. When it comes to having violent matches, Swerve Strickland also has some experience. He wrestled Hangman at Full Gear 2023 in a Texas Deathmatch and won after hanging Adam Page.

Speaking with Simon Miller, Swerve Strickland was asked to share his thoughts on where the line is for violence in these kinds of matches.

“I would say the means and the hatred between two characters for the violence to go that far has to be justified. I felt like me and Hangman was very justified, seeing as we pushed boundaries with each other as men, not just characters. I went into his home, he burnt down my house. That kind of warrants being dropped on a cinder block, that warrants the syringe and all the violence.

That’s the connection we’ve had and, once again, all the equity we put in that year, to get that far, to push things that far. I feel like it has to justify the means, the motive, why I’m doing this. Like call backs to certain things. The staple gun was like stapling the picture of his kid’s painting that I ripped off his refrigerator when I went to his home. It was a call back to those things. Then I stapled my family picture that was in the photos that I had for the house back on his face, so it was call backs, reasoning, and stuff like that. It’s all about having a justification for the violence between two characters and not just doing it for the sake of doing it, to try to top it.”

Elsewhere in the same interview, Swerve Strickland discussed his evolution in AEW. Fans can read more about it here.

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