10 Shocking Acts Of Violence In AEW

There have been so many Anarchy in the Arena, Blood and Guts or Stadium Stampede Matches, that it's hard to stop them all blurring into one. Even the most ardent AEW fan would probably struggle to name every one, or indeed, those who competed in them. There have been some wonderful highlights throughout, especially with the Anarchy matches, but it's fair to say that the Blood & Guts matches have become somewhat of an obligation rather than a storytelling device.

Case in point: the Blood & Guts match from this year had little stakes attached to it. The weird 'Elite Takeover' storyline was dead on arrival thanks to that disastrous angle with Tony Khan, and Team AEW didn't really feel like anything more than a collection of popular babyfaces.

However, it did give fans one of the most uncomfortably violent moments in recent memory, followed up by a star-making moment for Swerve Strickland. As the newly minted, bad-ass babyface champion, Swerve found his route to the match hindered by rival Hangman Page. Once he finally entered the ring, the Elite circled him with staple guns and turned him into a human pin cushion.

It was gnarly.

But Swerve laughed through it, turned into a version of John Wick, and tagged every member of the Elite, including Okada's finger, with a staple gun of his own.

Bad ass!