La Zona Muerta

I mean… talking about a so-so Dynamite practically feels like an anti climax after Hangman Page got his pyromania on (NOT a Def Leppard reference but it COULD HAVE BEEN) at the end of Wednesday’s episode. Instead, if nothing else, we should probably look at this instantly infamous ACT OF ARSON as compared to the other similar wrestling angle from a few years back where Randy Orton infiltrated the Wyatt Family compound and blew up Wyatt’s shack (and maybe the interred bones of his oft teased but never produced sister?)… was this rather extreme escalation of events appropriate for AEW or to build for a wrestling match in general?

Appropriate is probably tough to judge and definitely something different in the eye of the beholder for everyone. It’s just wrestling, for Gotch’s sake… arson is not usually a result or cause of a wrestling match! But this wrestling story that’s currently unfolding includes one guy breaking into the other guy’s house simply just to fuck with his head… maybe escalation to arson is not exactly eye for an eye, but it’s in the same ball park, right?

Was it silly? Too WWE? Too difficult to suspend disbelief over? Maybe. If you wanted to argue any of those points, I probably wouldn’t push back too hard.

Was it TOTALLY RAD? Hell yes.

I’m babbling already. Let’s back way up. But first:

Eight or so years ago, the WWE saw Randy “If you were to build a wrestler, it would look like him” Orton feud with Bray “Be careful what you say about him since he’s no longer with us” Wyatt. If you weren’t watching it at the time or simply prefer to not recall dopey, never ending WWE feuds, Orton was a handsome, lean third generation wrestler who’s calm, deliberate persona was largely built around destroying legendary wrestlers of the past when he would snap. Wyatt, a stout, hirsute fellow, was portrayed as a babbling lunatic somewhere between a cult leader and a magical wizard who dwelled in the swamp. Truly the irresistible force meeting the immovable object. At any rate, after a summer long feud and one loss too many, Orton threw in his lot with Wyatt and joined his faction, the Wyatt Family, for several months. Orton used the time to fight Wyatt’s enemies and to get close to Wyatt, finally finding himself in a position to infiltrate Wyatt’s compound building (which may or not have contained or was built over the bones of Wyatt’s dead sister Abigail whose name he would constantly evoke). Orton (somehow, possibly via live remote) filmed himself pouring gasoline all over the building, inside and out, as the camera would cut to live shots of Wyatt in ring begging Orton to relent as the building was so inexplicably important to Wyatt. Orton drew out the coming immolation for as long as possible… exited the building (no fool he), dramatically struck a match against a tree (the match makes a graceful arc to the floor ® MC 900 Foot Jesus), set the shack compound ablaze and, best of all… HIT HIS SPECIAL TAUNT POSE WHILE THE SHACK EXPLODED IN FLAMES.

No, hit the right stick taunt to buff against burn damage

If that isn’t hilarious, I don’t know SHIT about comedy. Anyway, while this angle was great fun (and exceedingly silly, obviously, especially for Wyatt’s histrionics), it lead to a series of dumb gimmick matches, each more stupid than the last, primarily remembered for being a bit too out of the box (the Mania match involved projections of maggots and various bug larvae being displayed on the ring as if it were a movie screen in order to distract Orton and the follow up was a half pre taped affair we would later come to call a “cinematic match,” where Orton and Wyatt first fought in a haunted house and then raced back to the arena with a tractor and a limousine respectively). I believe, if memory serves, these already dumb gimmick matches also “seamlessly” led to Orton facing Jinder Mahal in a… sigh… Punjabi Prison match, one of the most needlessly convoluted gimmick matches of them all.

So, a relatively serious thing (if executed in a fairly silly fashion) leading to some dumb, low stakes matches covered up with lots and lots of smoke and mirrors. Not a crime, just attempts to be different; early examples of the gimmicks and “storytelling” being given more weight than having a good wrestling match.

Let’s contrast that series of events with the feud between Hangman Adam Page and Swerve Strickland.

This all began last year when Hangman (generally depicted as a courageous young man who is unsure of himself, but is capable of tapping into a dark reserve of strength when needed), somewhat at a loose end, addressed the crowd to tell them that he was going to fight his way back to title contention. This brought out an incredulous Strickland (a character who will do anything to advance his lot in life) who pointed out that, if he had had as many chances as Hangman did, he’d be on top of the company. It’s always a bit of an eye roll when talking about the “company” giving “opportunities,” but Swerve’s passion made this work. Hangman and Swerve had a great match at the then new pay per view card, Wrestledream, a match where Strickland ultimately had to cheat to win. AEW doesn’t do a ton of immediate rematches, so the stakes had to be raised… and Swerve did just that, BREAKING INTO PAGE’S HOME and showing Hangman that neither Page nor his family were safe. Swerve made sure to show that he was capable of vile actions, that he was capable of doing whatever it took to get under Hangman’s skin. This was no longer just a feud about who the company was giving a new t-shirt to; this was personal, serious. To be fair, this was a bridge too far for some, an action too heinous for just a wrestling feud, and I can respect that opinion. I thought it was pretty dramatic and perhaps a bit over the top, but gave Hangman a good reason to be angry going into the rematch.

Their Texas Deathmatch at Full Gear 2023 was gruesome and brutal in both the sense of the storyline and what the two men (both them as characters AND as performers) were willing to do to each other. It was almost shocking in it’s visceral gore, a divisive match that was unquestionably an all time great but crossing the line for some. As always, since it’s AEW, it was a bit difficult to sort out the actual complaints about the match from bad faith safety policing.

A funny thing happened along the way; Swerve’s alignment subtly shifted as the crowd took him to heart. He was still a dangerous, devious man, but he was now beloved as his faction turned on him. Sure, he had done terrible things, but the ends would justify the means; he suddenly had the backing of the crowd. This also meant that, even though he was clearly the wronged party, suddenly Hangman wasn’t the crowd favorite, and this angered Page greatly.

Swerve became world champion in January after a three way match with Samoa Joe and Hangman. Swerve went on to become a true superstar in AEW; Hangman disappeared for six months. Everything changed for Swerve, now a beloved figure and the top guy in the company.

When Page returned… he was no longer the unsure “anxious millennial cowboy.” He, too had changed, a righteous man no longer doing righteous things, even if, in his mind, he had justification. He no longer cares about anything but righting the wrong Strickland dealt him. He only wants to hurt the man who threatened the security of his family and somehow took his place in the heart of the fans.

I’ve talked for weeks about how Hangman should NOT have returned in the Owen Hart Cup if he wasn’t going to be the winner and how the Swerve / Bryan Danielson build was poor, an unnecessary detour for Swerve and a strange demotion for the rematch itself which should have been at the biggest show of the year. Swerve lost at Wembley and is no longer champion. I don’t care to go on about it any longer; we’re finally getting the rematch that has been building for nearly a year, and there is no need to beat the drum about it any longer, but I think AEW made a mistake in failing to promote what is clearly the biggest match they can currently make. Instead of the biggest match at the biggest show of the year, it gets to be on the overflow show, AEW’s equivalent of Backlash to AEW’s equivalent of WrestleMania, a show that will probably be purchased by less than two thirds of the number of people who bought All In.

I also tend to write people off after they make a mistake; I would not have guessed that at pretty much the last minute, AEW would have put their foot on the accelerator so hard in order to build this thing back up.

So, we finally reach Dynamite from last night. A touching video aired featuring Strickland and Nana (it was also on social media earlier in the day, as well). Essentially, Strickland talked about his difficult childhood, and now, after empowering Prince Nana to act on his behalf, he had bought his childhood home, the one his family had been evicted from. The home meant so much to him that he bought it with his signing bonus from his newest contract (and frankly, they hit on Swerve and Nana’s relationship SO hard here that I thought they were setting Nana up to turn), proof that hard work does pay off. The nasty stuff Swerve has done in order to earn his place at the top of AEW was, indeed, justified. If you don’t make noise, the world won’t listen.

Unfortunately for Swerve, his past came back to bite him one more time. Hangman failed to show for their contract signing for the match on Saturday… And not unlike that Orton angle of years past that I mentioned up top, Hangman instead appeared via (possibly?) live remote from an undisclosed location, talking about righting wrongs and taking away everything Swerve cared about.

That he had a can of gasoline in his hand should not have been a surprise at this point.

As Hangman ranted and the camera continued to cut to a distraught Swerve live in ring, Page doused the non descript room with gas before finally heading outside to sit with a glass of whiskey. One match is all it took… and the childhood home of Swerve Strickland disappeared in a pyrotechnic explosion.

We don’t need no water / let the motherfucker burn

An eye for an eye? Difficult to say. Too far, too unbelievable? I’m not sure. TOTALLY RAD? Hell, yes.

Possibly one of the best endings they’ve ever done for a show and a more heated feud, a better reason to watch a pay per view I can scarcely imagine. A completely different execution than the Orton / Wyatt angle with it’s silly histrionics; something far more intense and serious if not somewhat unbelievable in that the stakes now seem almost TOO high.

The only real issue, if there is one, is that it would seem that the outcome of their match would have to involve violently writing one of them off. This isn’t an issue Page and Swerve can shake hands on at the end, coming away with a grudging respect… They essentially would have to kill one another to win or the feud will never, ever end. I suppose that’s where the idea of questioning how appropriate any of this truly is up top came from… can they realistically have a match that meets the stakes and matches the ridiculous escalation of events, particularly after all of the stops they pulled in their last gruesome bloodbath of a match?

Saturday will tell the tale. It’s been a perfect marriage of a story well told leading to a match that, at bare minimum, will deliver. I just hope AEW, for once, has a solid plan to follow this up well with as Swerve and Page are likely prepared to sacrifice their bodies for us in every way possible.

I came into this annoyed that Swerve / Hangman, the best built program in AEW had taken a clear back seat to the poor build up for All In. Now… I’m left applauding AEW’s ingenuity. This angle, this feud is over the top, silly, serious, heartbreaking… all that good stuff. I LOVED the execution of this and I can’t wait for the match itself.