Swerve Strickland has proven effective in this specific medium in 2023, with the Nick Wayne home invasion angle standing up as one of the best of the year in the company. This wasn't quite that, but it was more than enough to get the Swerve/Hangman Page story ratcheted up to newer, scarier heights.
Strickland made it clear that Page was in debt to him after costing him a shot at the TNT Championship, and made good on his follow-up threats to hurt the ones he loved by going to Hangman's home, sinisterly mocking everything about his family life, and then ostensibly cutting a terrifying promo on the former AEW Champion's sleeping son.
Prince Nana looked unnerved by Swerve's actions last week, and was the one that got him out of there as Page raced presumably to get back and save the day. The escalation is preposterous on the surface, but then of course it is - these are the actions of a terrifying heel doing terrifying things. It being wrestling, only an inevitable pay-per-view payoff will do.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
