A former WWE and AEW champion recently took to social media to reference one of his bloodiest battles with his arch-rival-turned-ally, Hangman Adam Page. The star in question, Swerve Strickland, is gearing up for a high-stakes bout scheduled for this Sunday’s Forbidden Door pay-per-view.
The “Most Dangerous” man of All Elite Wrestling is on a quest to reclaim the AEW Men’s World Championship, a belt he had lost to Bryan Danielson back at All In: London in 2024. Last month he entered this year’s Owen Hart Cup, and kicked off his campaign successfully by defeating Bandido in their opening round bout at Double or Nothing 2026. Earlier this month on Dynamite: Summer Blockbuster, he beat Brody King in their semifinal match to advance to the tournament finals, scheduled for Forbidden Door 2026, where he will face Will Ospreay.
Last week on AEW Dynamite, The Mogul came face to face with The Aerial Assassin to talk about their respective goals heading into Forbidden Door, as well as to air their grievances with each other, especially in light of the “Billy Goat” joining forces with The Death Riders and Jon Moxley after the duo helped Adam Page wrest away the World Title from the faction last year. Notably, The Cowboy has been missing since he failed to reclaim the belt from MJF at Revolution 2026 and lost his right to ever challenge for it again in the process.
Now, just ahead of Wednesday Night Dynamite and days ahead of Forbidden Door, Strickland has taken to Instgram to share a still from his Full Gear 2023 Texas Death Match against Page, more specifically a photo of him hanging The Hangman with the latter’s signature steel chain. The caption of the post simply stated:
“”Bad habits””- wrote Swerve.
Check out Strickland’s IG post HERE.
Swerve Strickland will be facing one of The Death Riders on AEW Dynamite
Last Wednesday, when Swerve Strickland’s conversation with Will Ospreay seemed poised to turn violent, The Death Riders showed up to protect The Commonwealth Kingpin once again. This week on AEW Dynamite, the former World Champion will resume his rivalry with the faction as he takes on Daniel Garcia one-on-one.
It remains to be seen whether Swerve will pick up the win over The Red Death to generate more momentum for himself heading into Forbidden Door 2026.
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Edited by Anurag Mukherjee
