WWE rival AEW heats up one of its biggest matches of the year with a shock segment – attentive viewers smelled a rat before the show began.
One of the hottest wrestling feuds of the year just got hotter – figuratively and literally.
A few days before All Out 2024, WWE rival AEW’s upcoming big event, the league has taken the rivalry between former World Champions Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland to the extreme: The latest edition of the TV show Dynamite ended with Page setting Strickland’s birthplace on fire.
The arch-rivals meet on Sunday night in Chicago in an “Unsanctioned Lights Out Steel Cage Match”, a cage match without rules. The vicious segment that reignited the rivalry was correctly predicted by some observant fans
Strickland vs. Page: AEW’s biggest hate feud
Strickland and Page have been in a long-term feud since the summer of 2023, which has already featured some controversial moments: The leitmotif last fall was a break-in by Strickland at Page’s house, in which Strickland broke into the nursery of Page’s young son and left a threatening message.
A brutal Texas Death Match followed on Full Gear, which was widely praised but also criticized for some particularly brutal scenes. Strickland emerged victorious, paving the way for his World Title reign – meanwhile, the feud with Page continued to simmer. At the annual climax All In at London’s Wembley Stadium two weeks ago, Page contributed to Strickland losing the title to Bryan Danielson with an interference
Page has become a darker, more aggressive version of himself in recent months due to his unquenched thirst for revenge. Now the initially creeping “heel turn” came to full bloom.
Some fans smelled a rat even before Dynamite
The Dynamite segment was preempted when AEW released a social media video Wednesday in which Strickland announced he had bought back his childhood home in the city of Tacoma, Washington state.
Strickland spoke emotionally about his eventful life story and how his family had had to give up the house due to financial problems. It had been a lifelong goal to work so hard that he was able to buy back his personal place of remembrance.
AEW didn’t spell out that the real-life incident could be involved in the story with Page – but observant fans on social media like X and Reddit quickly began to speculate whether Page could be targeting the house. Especially as he had recently made a telling threat to Strickland to “burn everything you care about to the ground”.
In fact, the fans’ hunch came true: while Strickland was addressing the fans at Dynamite in faraway Milwaukee, Page spoke via video feed from Strickland’s home country – and delivered a bitter monologue about his unfinished business with his arch-rival.
Strickland recently signed new deal
Page himself referred again to an announcement to burn down everything Strickland holds dear. He will complete his work at All Out, but will now give a foretaste
In front of the horrified eyes of Strickland and his manager Prince Nana, Page ended up dousing Strickland’s house with gasoline and setting it on fire. In a cinematic final scene, Page sat on a chair in front of the house and enjoyed a glass of schnapps while the house behind him went up in flames
Hes dead….. pic.twitter.com/Y2wbho97O2
– The Realest Swerve Strickland (@swerveconfident) September 5, 2024
The match between Page and Strickland is set to be the main match of All Out, according to Wrestling Observer. It’s the next big gig for Strickland, who is proving more and more to be possibly the best catch AEW has made in recent years.
The former Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, fired three years ago by ex-boss Vince McMahon shortly after his main roster call-up to WWE, recently signed a new 5-year contract with AEW. WWE is said to have courted him and congenial sidekick Nana to no avail.
