What You Need | AEWeekly #208

Welcome to the #AEWeekly review discussion where PWM contributors reflect on the highlights of the last week in AEW. The eligibility week always includes the most recent episode of Dynamite and Collision, plus any social-media exclusives up until publication.

This week’s contributors are Abel [@loza3.bsky.social] covering Match of the Week, Emiliana [@emilianartb.bsky.social] giving us the MVP of the Week, and Sergei [@sergeialderman.bsky.social] editing and organizing it all.

 A page of links to prior installments may be found here: #AEWeekly

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Swerve Strickland vs Kenny Omega

“I needed this!”

by Abel.

One of the major perks of this writing opportunity is the ability to stay plugged in with the AEW product every week. The ebbs and flows of the creative stream, then turning around to break it down, makes you appreciate it that much more. Not only creativity, but also the quality of the product, you follow through the ups and downs, raising your standards and making you yearn for matches like Swerve Strickland versus Kenny Omega. These guys got into the ring for no belt, no stipulation, or award. All that was on the line was reputation and want-to.

Last week, I said that Kyle Fletcher vs Tommaso Ciampa was the TV match of the week. It only took one week for that to be surpassed. The bar has been raised again, and Swerve vs Omega is not only the match of the week, but the matchof the year, thus far.

Swerve vs Omega had a big fight feel. This could have easily been the main event on any AEW PPV, but instead, because Tony Khan, Swerve, and Omega are sickos — and because of some scheduling conflicts —we were lucky enough to get this on free television. Optimally, this match should have taken place at Revolution.

From the get-go, no punches were pulled, and those slaps to the face came with the force of two wrestlers who really hate each other– which is great in ring storytelling. To put it bluntly, Omega and Swerve beat the absolute dogshit out of each other. The post-match ice baths were well deserved. Just as amazing as the physicality of this match was the athleticism. When you were picking up your jaw from the floor, after trying to decipher how hard those chops would hurt, Omega and Swerve would not give you the chance to catch your breath, as their power and brutality were only superseded by their athleticism.

The stamina required to pull off a match like this is immense. Omega looks incredible. Physically, he reminds me of the 2019 Omega, which is the benefit of his taking time off. Swerve, even after gaining all of that muscle, can still move as he did a year ago. The crowd chanted fight forever, but as hard as they were fighting, they wouldn't have made it past midnight (ET). That is how hard they were performing in the ring– an absolute masterclass.

Swerve needed this result and needed to make himself reprehensible once again. Referee Aubrey Edwards is a crowd favorite and the true north for morality in the ring. When any of the talent mistreats her, it's an automatic betrayal to the crowd. This was the ONLY way to turn the crowd against Swerve. With that new heel momentum, Swerve took control of the match and finished off Omega. However, Omega kicking out from that last Swerve stomp seemed to have mentally broken Stickland. I feel this pushed Strickland over the edge.

The destruction that occurred after the match cemented Swerve as truly the most dangerous man in AEW. Strickland wanted to remind everyone in AEW — Omega and fans alike — and maybe himself, too, that he is the person not to trifle with. He needed to regain that edge that pushed him to the top of the card. This seems like a new chapter in the character of Swerve Strickland. Swerve wanted to make sure Omega ate his words that Brody King, and not Swerve, was the most dangerous man in AEW. “I needed this!” is what Swerve yelled as Dynamite went off television, as a reminder that, “Yeah, I'm as bad as I say I am.”

Credit to Swerve for making all of his major rivalries seem like blood feuds, and I suspect this will NOT be the last time we see these athletes in the ring against each other. There is too much meat on that bone for this to be a one-time thing. Also, Omega is a warrior. He won't let being driven through the table go unchallenged.

But something I am keeping an eye on is that the best subplot to emerge from all the chaos is the Bryan Danielson angle. Danileson's pleading to Swerve to stop makes it. Does the American Dragon come back against Swerve? We can only hope. 

Hangman Adam Page

"Emotional Terrorist"

by Emiliana.

It’s not often that a stipulation will rouse me from my apathy. After the promo on Dynamite between Hangman and MJF, I seriously considered flying out to Los Angeles because I couldn’t bear to miss another Texas Death; but more importantly the thought of such high stakes as never contending for the world title being lost and watching the match unfold from home – where nobody would understand, where I would be alone in it, when I could instead be in a crowd thousands strong as we all simultaneously held our breath – seemed just too daunting. Imagine staying home for such a terrifying possibility. I’m sure I’ll know by the end of tonight's Dynamite whether I will indeed have to make that flight, but for now, let’s just applaud that reckless cowboy for a moment longer, shall we?

Because what do you MEAN you’ll never contend for that title again for as long as you live? What do you mean you give your WORD?

I remember in January of 2023, right before the match against Mox in the Kia Forum (also in California), that Hangman looked Mox in the eye and said, “I have my shot, and I have my word.”

MJF, of course, opened the segment by telling Hangman he had no shots left, that he was all out of bullets. (Mildly untrue, considering Hangman did win the title shot.)

But yeah, I guess all that is left is Hangman’s word.

Bear with me, okay? Because I refuse to go back and listen to this promo again due to the despair it brings me. MJF had a lot of mean things to say to Hangman a la Kendrick’s Euphoria, but it fell immediately flat for me because Maxwell is a Drake kind of man. Hangman responded by saying that despite everything, nobody else in the company needs the title like they do, and that in this they are completely similar. They loathe each other because they see themselves in the other. (I’m literally always saying this about MJF and CM Punk in relation to myself, funnily enough.)

Now here’s the bit that made me insane (derogatory): Hangman threw down the gauntlet for Texas Death because he knows he can win it. In the history of AEW, Hangman has fought in a total of six (6) Texas Death matches. He lost only one (1) of them, in which Swerve Strickland’s gang of cronies, the Mogul Embassy, helped take Hangman out before choking him to completion with the chain Hangman used to choke out Mox.

As far as I’m concerned, Hangman’s record speaks for itself. And Hangman knows that, too. MJF, of course, is no idiot, but he is a coward, and he didn’t seem convinced.

It makes me wonder about what he said earlier about Hangman, that Hangman would choke when it mattered (something he’s referred to before). At the moment, I considered it a bit untrue? Hangman didn’t choke last year at Double or Nothing, or at All In Texas. In fact, he made Moxley choke.

But here, in this moment, Hangman chose what was easy. He put all his eggs in one basket because he’s certain he can win, and that seems a little…I don’t know if lazy is the correct word to use here. But Texas Death is easy. At least for a sicko like Hangman. It leads me to wonder if he thinks he isn’t good enough for anything else? That he can’t handle something different? Maybe he still believes Max when he says that Hangman chokes when it matters.

The choice to throw in his contendership for life of the world title is an interesting one. It’s daunting. It’s scary. I don’t like the idea of it at all. But it made me think twice about missing the main event, I’ll tell you what. And even if Max’s own choice of stipulation changes things, they’ve made the road to Revolution a whole lot spicier. I don’t know what’s going to happen.

Does Hangman go back on his word if he loses? I don’t know if he could. His word is such an integral part of his character, whether heel or face, that it would genuinely break my heart. But then again, the newly heel-turned Swerve could be waiting in the wings for his possibly aligned partner.

The road to Wembley should Hangman win the men’s world title back from MJF is a much kinder one. It opens the doorway for a potential Hangman/Swerve match up for the world title, which we’ve yet to see one-on-one despite five matches between the two in their feud that spans multiple years now. It also opens the doorway for Hangman to drop to Swerve, who in turn has an established relationship with the soon-to-return Will Ospreay, who will, according to everyone and their mom at this point, be headlining All In in London. I mean, there’s no way he doesn’t. While I may have my hesitance about this road, it seems far nicer than Hangman losing his shot for the rest of time. I hate that one. Bookingwise, it makes no sense to cut out a top guy from your world title. Literally, just look at Cody Rhodes. (Yes, I know Hangman summoned his ghost when he called himself “undeniable.”)

But Cody’s issues were many, and Hangman doesn’t have the same kinds. He’s much more receptive to turning heel than Cody ever was, and going back on his word would draw…….some kind of heat. I was gonna say it would draw mega heat but honestly I’d just be like “hell yeah!”

I don’t know! I DON’T KNOW. This whole thing made me crazy. And then, to top off the week, Hangman had a trios match on Collision with his tag partners, JetSpeed, against the Demand, Gates of Agony and Ricochet. It was about six months too late, this Ricochet/Hangman preview bout. I will never understand why Ricochet got stuck babysitting the Hurt Syndicate instead of contending for the men’s world championship. The match rocked, though. Let’s keep putting Hangman to wrassle. I miss this. I also appreciate very much the continued appearances of JetSpeed on my TV screen.

I know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but man, I just don’t understand how you don’t love a character like this. Congrats, cowboy. You’ve completed your assignment of emotional terrorism on me, specifically, for the build to this marquee match up. It is what it is. Guess we’ll see where the road takes us. You’ll always be the main character to me.