AEW launched its 2023 version of Full Gear last night, and the show featured a ton of big moments. MJF retained his title over Jay White in the main event. Sting wrestled one of the final pay-per-view matches of his illustrious career. Timeless Toni Storm won the AEW Women’s World Championship. I could go on and on, but as sometimes happens with AEW, much of the post-show conversation has devolved into arguments about one spot and whether it went too far. In this case, it was Hangman Adam Page drinking Swerve Strickland’s blood.
For those of you who didn’t watch the event, this is not a euphemism or an exaggeration. In what proved to be the longest match on the card, Swerve Strickland and Hangman Page faced off in a Texas Deathmatch. For almost thirty minutes, the men went to war in a back-and-forth and gory affair, and at one point, Page used a staple gun on Swerve’s face to attach his kid’s artwork, then ripped it out, grabbed his head and drank some of his blood. You can watch the spot below…
HOOOOOLLYYYYYY.#AEWFullGear https://t.co/w0RpkfpKtUNovember 19, 2023
Immediately after it happened, Twitter blew up with reactions from all over the spectrum. I would say they most broadly fit into three different categories. Some fans absolutely loved the entire thing. Some fans really loved the match between Swerve and Hangman but felt the blood drinking spot went too far and then there were others that were disgusted by the entire thing and felt it was very emblematic of some of the struggles AEW has had to attract a larger audience. Let’s talk out each of those viewpoints.
First, there were some who absolutely positively loved the match and everything about it including the blood spot. We’ll see how things shake out long-term, but as of right now, it’s one of the highest rated matches on CageMatch with over a 9.5 on more than 200 ratings. You also didn’t need to look far on Twitter to find people calling it one of the greatest matches in AEW history. Both Jim Ross and Dustin Rhodes ranted and raved on social about it, and there were multiple popular tweets from fans saying they would show this to their non-wrestling fans to try and get them hooked. The general feeling was because the build to the match included a home invasion angle and deeply personal animosity, going further than even your normal deathmatch made sense.
Second, there was a loud group of people who thought the match itself was terrific, but it went a little too far with the blood drinking spot. Many of these fans felt it was kind of gross and turned what should have been a convo about a fantastic deathmatch into a convo about whether or not that was appropriate. By and large, people in those groups seemed to feel the match was plenty gory enough on its own (see this vicious barbed wire spot) and didn’t need something that primal and ultimately controversial and that it was just unnecessary. Some felt this will always be the blood drinking match and that’s a shame, given how many other positive qualities it had.
And finally, there was a separate group who felt the entire thing was a gross example of AEW only catering to certain hardcore wrestling fans. They thought the blood drinking was way over the line, dangerous and emblematic of why AEW can't get to the next level. It has been unable to attract higher weekly ratings on Dynamite and/ or sell more than 3,000 to 5,000 tickets for most of its non-PPV weekly live events. Most of these people probably weren’t going to like a deathmatch to begin with, but they especially didn’t like what happened here.
Much of these disagreements ultimately come down to how individual fans like their wrestling and what they expect out of it. In fact, I think the disagreements can be boiled down to a story I read on Twitter. One fan said a family sitting by them inside the arena left during the match because their daughter was too scared. Some fans responded with positivity and said it goes to show you how awesome and hardcore the match was. Another responded and said celebrating people walking out is why AEW won’t ever connect with anyone outside their niche demographic.
Personally, this wasn’t for me. I enjoy a pop of color every once in awhile (shoutout Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13), but I want those moments to be few and far between and don’t ever want to feel someone is legitimately getting injured. But wrestling is a big tent, and there are many fans under it looking for different things. Some want matches exactly like what Hangman and Swerve delivered. AEW has often pleased those fans in ways WWE hasn’t, but last night was a good reminder that pleasing some can often mean alienating others.
