Swerve Strickland spoke with TMZ recently about his Texas Death Match with Hangman Page at AEW Full Gear.
Strickland was asked by former WWE Superstar Mojo Rawley about the spot during the match where Page let the blood from Strickland's head drip into his mouth.
"That's pretty much why we're here having this conversation in the first place. If you are going to go all out in a match like that, you have to release all the chains, all the handcuffs," Strickland responded. "Understand that there is going to be criticism because we are going to shake the foundation a little bit."
He continued to say it's become more difficult in 2023 for a match to stand out from the rest.
"I feel like that was one of those moments where it's like 'that was theater, that was cinematic' just like, 'Oh my god, you have to go out of your way to see this because I can't even believe it.'"
"We push boundaries, that’s what AEW was built on," he continued. "Pushing boundaries, doing things that other places just couldn’t do, or are not able to do, or you’re not able to see that anywhere else."
Our own Dave Meltzer gave Strickland vs. Page at AEW Full Gear a five-star rating. It was the first five-star match of Strickland's career and Page's sixth.
Strickland continued to say that his match at Full Gear has made him one of the top performers in the industry.
"I feel like I catapulted myself as one of the top guys in the industry. And like I said, I said this before earlier this year and it made a lot of noise then, I really feel I can be the first African American AEW World Champion. And I have no problems saying and stating that I'm in a league of my own when it comes to that."
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