The long-running saga between Swerve and The Hangman will likely take A much more positive turn at AEW All In
By Ryan K Boman | July 12, 2025
Perhaps the longest-running feud in All Elite Wrestling‘s near six-year history has been the rivalry between Hangman Adam Page and Swerve Strickland. And even if it isn’t the longest, it’s certainly been the most vicious. We’ve seen everything from arson to home invasion, along with all the blood and bludgeoning.
But things have started to come full circle in 2025, with the two men begrudgingly acknowledging a certain level of respect for one another. This week, the two had a sit-down in the locker room and hashed out a lot of hard feelings, in what turned out to be a great piece of storytelling.
During the conclusion of the promo, Hangman exited, but he left behind his heavy-duty chain, the kind that can do serious damage when wielded properly. In a huge slice of symbolism, Swerve picked it up and got immediately lost in thought as the scene faded out.
While this image can be viewed in different ways, it almost seems to foreshadow the events of tonight’s AEW All In main event, where Page will be battling the dastardly Jon Moxley, who will no doubt have some insurance with the Death Riders lurking nearby.
However, that one short take of Swerve has led many viewers to believe that the chain holds a ton of significance, and it will more than likely come into play at some point during the Hangman-Moxley matchup. And that’s where Swerve comes in.
Given their past, it wouldn’t be totally shocking for Strickland to cost Page the title; he once vowed that the Hangman would never be champion on his watch. No doubt, anything that would lead to Moxley retaining would be viewed as the ultimate betrayal of their trust. Right now, Mox has a lot of heat with the AEW faithful. And it ain’t the good kind of heat.
The audience has grown tired and weary of this Death Riders storyline, which has done nothing except guarantee that Moxley has a stranglehold on the AEW World title. While this worked out well with groups in the past, like the Four Horsemen, the nWo, and Evolution, it’s been a total failure for Mox and his faction. They have been getting ‘go home’ heat since the party’s formation.
The more likely scenario is that the match breaks out into chaos, and at some point, that malicious piece of metal gets introduced into the fray. The dream scenario for many AEW fans and observers would be for Swerve to grab the chain, deck Moxley, and send the fans home happy with Adam Page as the newly crowned World Champion.
Not only would that be a massive maneuver to close out the company’s signature show, but it also opens up a new chapter in AEW lore. It could also be the first step in seeing Moxley’s faction fall apart. If done properly, the conclusion of this match has a chance to be one of the biggest occurrences in AEW history. Even bigger than some prognosticators have speculated.
Which is fitting… because everything is bigger in Texas, right?
The Sidearmer 