Swerve Strickland will face his next test at Double or Nothing, where he will defend his AEW Championship against Christian Cage. Cage has proven to be a threat both in and out of the ring, and tonight he showcased that in spades. Cage, Nick Wayne, and Killswitch all showed up in the ring to deliver a message, which turned out to include a portrait of Swerve’s family, and it ended up being smashed against Swerve’s head. The hit left Swerve bleeding, but somehow Cage and company weren’t done.
Swerve was clearly bleeding quite a bit from the glass breaking on the picture frame, and once he was hit Cage started making his way to the ring. Killswitch pinned Swerve’s neck against the ropes as Cage approached, and Cage picked up the photo and taunted the Champ.
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Cage brought up Swerve’s family and his daughter specifically, asking if she would approve of her absent father. Swerve tried to reach out and grab the picture, but Cage wasn’t done. Cage took the photo and rubbed it in Swerve’s face and around the gash on his head, and then he pulled the photo away showing it off to the camera.
To say the level of animosity has been raised between the two would be an understatement at this point, and the crowd is fully behind Swerve to take Cage down at Double or Nothing. It’s been a huge year for Swerve, and it’s funny to think that not crazy long ago he was one of AEW’s biggest heels. Now he’s the face of AEW, and during a previous conversation with ComicBook, Swerve spoke of leading the company into a new era and being the Patrick Mahomes of AEW.
“I really feel like this changes the perception of AEW,” Swerve said when asked about recent acquisitions. “I feel like when you have an Ospreay, someone I’ve been wrestling since he was 19, Okada, Mercedes, this is the perfect time for the perception and just the momentum shift to happen.”
“It’s almost like I won the NBA Championship, now there’s the new draft of guys coming in the next year that’s about to alter the whole way the next year of the NBA is going to be. That’s what it honestly feels like,” Swerve continued. “It’s almost like the new wave of quarterbacks in the NFL. It’s Patrick Mahomes at the top. I want to be the Mahomes. I want to be the dynasty of what AEW is about to be. It’s not like we’re searching for the next guy, who’s it going to be? No, he’s here. We see it, we want it, we need it.”
AEW Double or Nothing Updated Card
- AEW World Championship Match: Swerve Strickland (C) vs. Christian Cage
- AEW Women’s World Championship Match: Timeless Toni Storm (C) vs. Serena Deeb
- TBS Championship Match: Willow Nightingale (C) vs Mercedes Mone
- AEW International Championship Match: Roderick Strong (C) vs Will Ospreay
- TNT Championship Match: Adam Copeland (C) vs. Malakai Black
- Anarchy In The Arena: The Elite vs FTR, Bryan Danielson, and TBD
AEW Double or Nothing takes place on Sunday, May 26th.
Are you excited for Double or Nothing? You can talk all things wrestling and AEW with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!
