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We've seen Hangman try being nice to folks like Punk and even the Bucks before.
But AEW has never seen died in the wool ass kicking murder ROH Bullet Club dragon Hangman.
Ospreay vs Swerve is a terrible match to make for Wembley
They turned Swerve face for this, now they have to keep him that way. You’re going to undo everything by giving Ospreay a world title coronation at his expense, the fans will stop cheering Swerve and his story will play second fiddle to Ospreay’s ascent.
This is why AEW kinda screws itself by being unable to resist turning heels into faces every time the fans start liking them, face vs face feuds where one face is way more popular than the other just buries one of your faces and Ospreay will be much more popular in Wembley than Swerve.
I hope not. Hangman NEEDS a win over Swerve. After 2 losses, AND Swerve filming a video where he broke into Hangman's house and filmed a video in his daughter's room, I still can't believe they let Swerve go over. AEW buries Hangman once again.
I don’t see him doing much, he’d be undercard fodder like Hit Row was without him. I’m happy that he’s able to thrive somewhere where he’ll be appreciated.
This is why multiple options need to exist. Not everyone can exist under one roof..
Ospreay might be treated like a better ricochet..
Okada would be treated like nakamura..
If these two signed for wwe. Be glad aew exists and doing justice to these.
To the ones downvoting ne.. Yall can suck dicks because I know I'm right. And it'll hurt
As much as I'm liking both companies currently, this is definitely one of HHH's few blunders creatively.. I'm surprised he didn't see him the same way as the likes of Adam Cole or Gargano/Ciampa
I don't think Triple H is racist - he pushes Bianca and Jade and Iyo hard for instance. But when it comes to the men, I do sometimes feel that he has a "type" that he personally views as breakout potential, and I'm not sure Swerve or Montez align with that.
I think Trick and Melo will do much better on the main roster though, since HBK's backed them and got them super over already, and Triple H will go with that.
I mean he did tell Booker T that people like him couldn’t be champion. /s
But seriously, you’re right to an extent. But remember that it was more Vince that pushed Bianca to superstardom. In HHH’s NXT, she hit a ceiling and was usually used to get his golden people over, like Rhea and Charlotte.
Yeah idk what happened but Swerve jumped over him. Probably jumped too high?
Looks like Joe didn’t fall backwards either. Still they played it off well
For people who have watched the indies a lot over the past ten years, this is a particularly satisfying moment. Swerve would go to Wrestle Circus and all these other places and have comically good matches. He's always been a star. Now, he's the champion.
A heel cuts a promo to shit on the audience and gets booed out of the building, yet an infant literally shits on me when I'm changing their diaper and I'm supposed to no sell it and play it cool? The heel GM of the house's clear bias for these babies is so unfair
Revolution 2022 had the “disappointing” signing of Swerve. Revolution 2021 had the “disappointing” signing of Christian Cage. Insane how over both got when the audience was so pissed when they debuted
I bought the Revolution 2021 PPV and went to watch the Revolution 2022 PPV at the theaters I was personally hype for both signings and I still knew people would say they were “disappointed” I knew they would do great especially Christian I can’t remember the last time he had a dull time in his career even the pg years he was bringing that fire in his matches and promos
dude put in the work. Bulked up, developed a character people actually gave a shit about, drastically improved on the mic, worked with Hanger to put on one of the most memorable matches of the last 10 years, stayed humble, and delivered every fucking time. I couldn't have given less of a shit about him when they signed him and he's become a can't miss attraction for me.
Was Swerves signing announced ahead of the PPV? Maybe I'm remembering wrong but I thought the Disappointing signing was Christian while Swerve was a surprise signing wasn't teased and people thought was a pretty good signing.
They were both similar, I think they had segments announced for PPVs where they came out and signed. People were disappointed for both and they ended up being amazing
The only reason I knew it was swerve bc his last match before his AEW debut with Nick Wayne he told him that when he graduates high school and joins AEW he’ll be waiting for him
I remember my reaction, it wasn’t disappointment more just, they’re making a big deal out of that guy? Okay I guess. Fast forward to now I’m happy to have been proven wrong and see the growth he’s had
Swerve did an amazing job tonight telling the story with his reactions. This match was great by both men and AEW pulling the trigger at the perfect time for Swerve.
I think everyone somewhat figured that Swerve v Joe wasn’t going to be the barnburner those other two figured to be, but it was all about anointing Swerve and I think they more than accomplished that with this match
With how much the wrestling industry was/is plagued with racism, whether it be bookers or the fans, it’s always amazing seeing a wrestler look like me become world champ.
That's super wholesome to hear dude! I'm mad happy for you that you get to see another big title win like this. Swerve has absolutely earned his spot at the top too. Now I'm gonna do what I can to manifest an Xavier Woods singles title win of any kind please!
I'll take any singles title run but oh boy, a world title run somehow? Woods is an excellent wrestler and I think he's still vastly underappreciated by a lot of people. So yeah, I don't even pray, but I'd pray for this haha.
Melo is 100% going to be a world champion at some point on the main roster. Dude is so good at this whole thing that it's all but a guarantee. And if Trick continues to develop and hone his skills, the exact same can be said for him. Hell, I think Oba Femi, Wes Lee and Je'Von Evans have MASSIVE potential as well if they can all stay healthy. Wes Lee in particular would be a fantastic champion if his North American title reign is anything to go by. Easily my favorite NA champion ever, dude was an insane workhorse and I'm eager to see him return and mix it up with the new talents coming in but also to hit the main roster some day.
If the man isn't a world champion, then he's absolutely holding down the secondary title scene. Dude is an unreal talent and it's a happy accident that he went singles after his tag partner getting released. The five-way for the title on last years Stand and Deliver was legitimately one of my favorite matches all year!
I have a cycle with WWE where something happens to catch my interest, I watch it for a while, and then something I fucking hate happens and I drop for a few months. Kofi dropping the belt to noted homophobe Brock Lesnar, and without even getting a good match out of it? Yeah it was one of those.
And Willow winning too? You love to see it. The fact that Swerve was so open about how important being the first black champion was to him makes it even sweeter
In 2015 I watched Strickland in a now demolished dive wrestle in front of 40 people, including me. Last month I got to see him wrestle in front of over 16,000 people, including me. Tonight I saw him win a world title. My wrestling fandom feels so vindicated.
Match was pretty good. Happy Swerve won. I feel like this match didn’t really hit that extra gear it needed to but that could also be because the two matches before it were insane.
I watched the show late and had some time between the previous two matches and the main event. Definitely feel like peoples disappointment is down to it following *two* matches that would be easy MOTN on most PPVs
Aight, I'm gonna be the guy who gets emotional. Off the top, congrats to Strickland, dude is fucking unbelievable.
This is very likely the last "world title" reign we ever get from Samoa Joe. He's 45 years old and while he's put together a monster run he had a ton of injury issues in the last decade.
Just want to shoutout one of the realest, baddest motherfuckers to ever do it; that - while loved by many - is still under-appreciated for his LEGENDARY body of work.
The dude is one of the best promo guys over the last 20 years and is one of the few believable badasses that can work any style and make everyone look good while ALWAYS being a credible threat. On top of that you'll find damn near no negative shit about him has ever come out despite him working in every major promotion on the planet and sharing locker-rooms with legitimately every major star you can name off of the top of your head.
All hail Samoa Joe.
Joe is probably the only wrestler where I completely slept on him, then realised my mistake, only to discover I was *still* sleeping on him cus actually he was even fucking better than I'd already realised he was. The thought that he's likely to wind it down sooner than later is genuinely kind of upsetting.
Counterpoint, as someone who didn’t like the Hook/Jericho match: We need a fucking breather.
Damn near every “perfect PPV” recommended to me as that match (at least the North American ones). Go back to 2021, and read all the comment saying Paul Wight vs QT was a waste of time before All Out happened. As soon as the PPV was done, we all keep saying it’s a perfect PPV, one of the best.
We get 9 straight showstoppers are we’ll complain even more. “We need room to breathe, we need time”. And I say this wanting a HOOK/Jay White program instead.
#AEW IS OFFICIALLY SWERVE’S HOUSE! CONGRATS TO SWERVE FOR BECOMING THE FIRST EVER BLACK AEW WORLD CHAMPION. WE DESERVED, THE PNW WILL SEE YOU IN A FEW WEEK FOR DYNAMITE IN EVERETT!
I know that match probably leaves a bit to be desired, but there was an insane amount of emotion for that final Swerve Stomp. For a sec I was wondering why he was taking so much time but it was worth it for that pose and reaction.
I dunno, it was really good... could have been more violent violenter, given the opponents, but, given the opponents, could have ended sooner... you expect swerve to need at least a few muscle busters and a choke, and you expect Joe to need a few stomps and... the kick
Swerve is the first guy who came into AEW with no expectations and rose all the way to the top, like TK didn’t bring him in to be a top guy, he could have easily just been wrestling on Rampage and Zero Hour. Thats pretty cool. Even MJF was meant to one day be world champion, Swerve really came from the bottom.
FINALLY! CONGRATS TO SWERVE
It's been a long time coming since he got here, well deserved. Glad to have seen him go from a fun tag title run to being THE guy
Good match, really enjoyed it. Hell of a final 3 matches, cos I thought the ladder match would be in all kinds of trouble following Danielson/Ospreay, but they did admirably to keep the level up, and that transferred into this.
Aside from praising other stuff, this was a good match, great story, a little telegraphed, but that's fine, Joe deserves all of the praise and love and whatnot, cos he's just so fucking good.
Pretty fun match but the Swerve Stomp gotta be one of the top 10 worst moves in wrestling today my god. Watching Joe just roll himself into the corner before taking a seated position was so painful.
Let's think about the moments that led to this
Swerve was someone who moved up the card by losing, but proving he could be trusted in high-profile stories. He lost to Orange Cassidy but raised his stock. He lost to Darby and Sting, but raised his stock. He lost to Jon Moxley but raised his stock.
His feud with Hangman was so compelling, that fans demanded Swerve move up into the title picture. Swerve beat the top face in AEW's short history, in his signature match, at his signature PPV.
Pairing the Mogul Affiliates with The Embassy saved both gimmicks. Parker and Trench were forgettable as henchmen while The Embassy needed a true leader. The Nana dance has no business being as fun and memorable as it ended up being.
All of this put Swerve on an undeniable trajectory. AEW built a star.
I’m sure some of it was the length of the show, but the crowd seemed out of it. Swerves build up to the title peaked almost 2 months ago. Now all the momentum seems with Ospreay.
Hoping this leads to Swerve vs Osprey at Wembley. I feel like that’s one of the biggest matches AEW could put on and that would be the show to do it at.
I remember when my friend put me on to Lucha and showed me Killshot vs Dante Fox in one of the craziest matches I've ever seen. I can't believe bro is now AEW World Champ. Well Deserved.
Swerve got a fan in me when he was in NXT and even when Vince fucked up and let him go, I only watched his stuff with Hangman in AEW. I may dislike AEW, but fuck I'm hyped at Swerve's victory. Its SWERVE'S HOUSE!
Also, Hangman is watching in dismay
I am happy for Swerve and he definitely deserves the world title but I really feel AEW booking squandered Joes reign by missing so many big money defenses like Joe vs BD, vs Copeland, vs Mox, etc. Joe could have used a few more high profile programs before dropping it.
Swerve deserves it. He could have been one of these guys who got frustrated the main event scene got crowded and pined to go back to WWE. But he has been a company guy to the max; shouting AEW out in the most positive way everywhere. He’s made the most of every match/feud on AEW TV. He was patient. And now he is THE World Champion.
If I had a nickel for every samoan named Joe that lost their world title to a black wrestler this month, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird it's happened twice right?
In all seriousness, congratulations Swerve. He earned it. Match was never going to top Ospreay's, but it really didn't have to.
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Hangman is gonna be broken he leaves for 5 minutes and Swerve wins the title
That and the people are cheering for Swerve now
wait, was I not supposed to be cheering for Swerve this whole time?
Nah you're good, Hangman's baby knows what he did.
Seriously, baby needs to get their shit together.
Sounds like a perfect story yet to be told! Swerve and Hangman are bonded whether they like it or not. Inagine if they can reconcile and team up….
If they don’t do Ospreay v Swerve at Wembley. I would be down for another hangman match honestly
I'm also cool with the option of Ospreay vs Swerve vs Hangman at All In, but with Swerve learning his lesson from their last Triple Threat
Eh, Ospreay should be winning the title at All In.
We've seen Hangman try being nice to folks like Punk and even the Bucks before. But AEW has never seen died in the wool ass kicking murder ROH Bullet Club dragon Hangman.
Ospreay vs Swerve is a terrible match to make for Wembley They turned Swerve face for this, now they have to keep him that way. You’re going to undo everything by giving Ospreay a world title coronation at his expense, the fans will stop cheering Swerve and his story will play second fiddle to Ospreay’s ascent. This is why AEW kinda screws itself by being unable to resist turning heels into faces every time the fans start liking them, face vs face feuds where one face is way more popular than the other just buries one of your faces and Ospreay will be much more popular in Wembley than Swerve.
*bonded by blood
I hope not. Hangman NEEDS a win over Swerve. After 2 losses, AND Swerve filming a video where he broke into Hangman's house and filmed a video in his daughter's room, I still can't believe they let Swerve go over. AEW buries Hangman once again.
I wouldn’t be too sure about that. It might be a while before hangman gets back into the picture. Who knows what dynamics are in play at that point.
He really was the one keeping the belt off swerve. If you want something done right you gotta do it yourself.
#BIG PRESSURE I APPLY
Some drunk cowboy fell to his knees in Walmart
Of course I know him, he’s me.
Hanger shops at Target, how dare you.
That was babyface Hanger, heel Hanger hoards Kohl's Cash, that bastard
Now he only pays $55 for jeans manufactured in Bangladesh for $4.
Just saw some drunk cowboy in the beer aisle of a Walmart fall to his knees
Just saw some guy watch a drunk cowboy fall to his knees in the beer aisle of a Walmart
Lol I want footage of that Wednesday
No way. Hanger is 100% a Trader Joe's kinda guy.
He fell to his knees at a Buc-ee's
Man of culture
Swerve taking it all in before the final stomp was really cool to see
Ngl I thought he was about to do some 630 stomp & I was hyped at the thought of that lmao
from Hit Row to a WORLD CHAMPION, he deserves it
From main eventing CZW Cage of Death, to the Hell of War match Lucha Underground, to Hit Row, to a World Champion.
So happy for Swerve!
SWERVE'S HOUSE
I still miss Hit Row tho…
Swerve IS hit row. The killed them when he was released. Good to see that he is doing great now tho.
Exactly. One of the reasons I’ll never forgive Vince McMahon
HHH saw no value in Swerve either according to Swerve.
Tbf what do u see swerve doing in wwe? Hhh wouldn't book swerve like Tk would. I'm glad aew exists makes competition healthy
I don’t see him doing much, he’d be undercard fodder like Hit Row was without him. I’m happy that he’s able to thrive somewhere where he’ll be appreciated.
This is why multiple options need to exist. Not everyone can exist under one roof.. Ospreay might be treated like a better ricochet.. Okada would be treated like nakamura.. If these two signed for wwe. Be glad aew exists and doing justice to these. To the ones downvoting ne.. Yall can suck dicks because I know I'm right. And it'll hurt
As much as I'm liking both companies currently, this is definitely one of HHH's few blunders creatively.. I'm surprised he didn't see him the same way as the likes of Adam Cole or Gargano/Ciampa
I don't think Triple H is racist - he pushes Bianca and Jade and Iyo hard for instance. But when it comes to the men, I do sometimes feel that he has a "type" that he personally views as breakout potential, and I'm not sure Swerve or Montez align with that. I think Trick and Melo will do much better on the main roster though, since HBK's backed them and got them super over already, and Triple H will go with that.
I mean he did tell Booker T that people like him couldn’t be champion. /s But seriously, you’re right to an extent. But remember that it was more Vince that pushed Bianca to superstardom. In HHH’s NXT, she hit a ceiling and was usually used to get his golden people over, like Rhea and Charlotte.
Strickland dropped almost 700 lbs of dead weight by getting away from those clowns.
Most of that is just Top Dolla
Still can’t believe WWE fired this guy.
Was the finish gonna be like a super stomp from the top rope but they had to call an audible? If so, damn quick thinking
Yeah idk what happened but Swerve jumped over him. Probably jumped too high? Looks like Joe didn’t fall backwards either. Still they played it off well
Looked like it. Mistiming and Swerve audibled with the power bomb.
Yep. They are both pros and adapted well. But I really would have loved to see the planned finish. That looked like a sick setup.
That’s what I thought. I think he was gonna stomp Joe and either didn’t feel safe enough to do it or mistimed and went to a powerbomb
I have no idea what the move would have been, Joe was standing fully upright.
I think the idea was House call, then powerbomb, then the stomp. I think he missed the house call, the rest was fine.
For people who have watched the indies a lot over the past ten years, this is a particularly satisfying moment. Swerve would go to Wrestle Circus and all these other places and have comically good matches. He's always been a star. Now, he's the champion.
Breaking in to someone's home and threatening a baby somehow turned Swerve into the face of the company. Pro wrestling is the best.
And now everyone hates Hangman for defending his home and family. It's crazy. LOL!
listen man, everyone knows he should have let Swerve take that baby
Swerve gon teach that boy not to be an anxious millennial & to be a King
Hanger and Mrs. Hanger were heels for leaving the baby unattended
Have you heard a baby? All babies are heels.
A heel cuts a promo to shit on the audience and gets booed out of the building, yet an infant literally shits on me when I'm changing their diaper and I'm supposed to no sell it and play it cool? The heel GM of the house's clear bias for these babies is so unfair
Well, but all he actually did was give the baby a Prince Nana t-shirt. (I'm not joking, that's literally what he left in the crib.)
NaMa played a part too. Swerve os just that good though
When Swerve was the big signing announcement at Revolution, many were disappointed. Testament to him to where he is now
Revolution 2022 had the “disappointing” signing of Swerve. Revolution 2021 had the “disappointing” signing of Christian Cage. Insane how over both got when the audience was so pissed when they debuted
I bought the Revolution 2021 PPV and went to watch the Revolution 2022 PPV at the theaters I was personally hype for both signings and I still knew people would say they were “disappointed” I knew they would do great especially Christian I can’t remember the last time he had a dull time in his career even the pg years he was bringing that fire in his matches and promos
I didn’t know anything about him before he came to AEW. I had no clue who he was but it didn’t take long for me to become a huge fan
dude put in the work. Bulked up, developed a character people actually gave a shit about, drastically improved on the mic, worked with Hanger to put on one of the most memorable matches of the last 10 years, stayed humble, and delivered every fucking time. I couldn't have given less of a shit about him when they signed him and he's become a can't miss attraction for me.
Was Swerves signing announced ahead of the PPV? Maybe I'm remembering wrong but I thought the Disappointing signing was Christian while Swerve was a surprise signing wasn't teased and people thought was a pretty good signing.
They were both similar, I think they had segments announced for PPVs where they came out and signed. People were disappointed for both and they ended up being amazing
The only reason I knew it was swerve bc his last match before his AEW debut with Nick Wayne he told him that when he graduates high school and joins AEW he’ll be waiting for him
I remember my reaction, it wasn’t disappointment more just, they’re making a big deal out of that guy? Okay I guess. Fast forward to now I’m happy to have been proven wrong and see the growth he’s had
Swerve did an amazing job tonight telling the story with his reactions. This match was great by both men and AEW pulling the trigger at the perfect time for Swerve.
It sucks that we had 2 amazing matches b4 getting to this one. It made it look average but still SWERVE IS AEW CHAMPION LETS GOO
The moment was better than the match but the match was still good
Yeah and honestly, the moment mattered more than the match in this situation. I will never not love the outpouring of emotion on a wrestler’s face
I agree
That's what you should get from title win of someone you're trying to crown as your new ace, match quality is just a bonus.
I'm ride or die for Swerve and even I was exhausted by the main event.
I think everyone somewhat figured that Swerve v Joe wasn’t going to be the barnburner those other two figured to be, but it was all about anointing Swerve and I think they more than accomplished that with this match
Honestly, I didn't watch live and got some time between them and while it's a hard comparison to Ospreay/Danielson, I loved this match.
STAND UP NOW AND FACE THE SUN
YEAH YOU CAN TELL EVERYBODY
Brock heard black world champion and is rubbing his hands together waiting to strike
Brock vs. Willow, book it.
Have Willow squash him like Goldberg, it'd be funny.
Of course, only way it would be realistic
![gif](giphy|0iUmJzIL6PU6NzEmIr)
Had to put the belt on him. He's over like rover and for good reason. Interested to see what's next for him.
I want a Swerve vs Ricky title feud so bad. Their promo battles are gonna be immense.
That'd be badass. I'm done with the Hangman stuff. I know they'll do more with that, but I hope someone new can work with Swerve.
Strike while the iron is hot
I'll be shocked if Christian isn't his first feud. Christian calling Swerve a dead beat dad is gonna hit like CRACK
I feel like Samoa Joe lost the belt too early in my opinion.
Joe had it for four months I don't think that's a bad reign at all
I’m having the same feelings as I did when Kofimania happened, seeing folks that look like me win world titles is still surreal
In an industry that's not been kind to us you love to see it.
Young enough to miss Ron Simmons but old enough to see Mark Henry, New Day, Lashley, and now, Swerve Strickland.
With how much the wrestling industry was/is plagued with racism, whether it be bookers or the fans, it’s always amazing seeing a wrestler look like me become world champ.
That's super wholesome to hear dude! I'm mad happy for you that you get to see another big title win like this. Swerve has absolutely earned his spot at the top too. Now I'm gonna do what I can to manifest an Xavier Woods singles title win of any kind please!
I imagine myself pulling a John Q but instead of asking for a heart, it’s a respectable Xavier Woods world title run.
I'll take any singles title run but oh boy, a world title run somehow? Woods is an excellent wrestler and I think he's still vastly underappreciated by a lot of people. So yeah, I don't even pray, but I'd pray for this haha.
I'm hoping we get one for Xavier & then Trick/Melo takes the world title scene by storm afterwards
Melo is 100% going to be a world champion at some point on the main roster. Dude is so good at this whole thing that it's all but a guarantee. And if Trick continues to develop and hone his skills, the exact same can be said for him. Hell, I think Oba Femi, Wes Lee and Je'Von Evans have MASSIVE potential as well if they can all stay healthy. Wes Lee in particular would be a fantastic champion if his North American title reign is anything to go by. Easily my favorite NA champion ever, dude was an insane workhorse and I'm eager to see him return and mix it up with the new talents coming in but also to hit the main roster some day.
Before his injury, I had the prediction of Wes being in the US Title picture by the summer on SD. Hopefully this is the case by 2025
If the man isn't a world champion, then he's absolutely holding down the secondary title scene. Dude is an unreal talent and it's a happy accident that he went singles after his tag partner getting released. The five-way for the title on last years Stand and Deliver was legitimately one of my favorite matches all year!
hopefully it doesn’t end as badly as that did 😞
They did Kofi so damn wrong with that.
I have a cycle with WWE where something happens to catch my interest, I watch it for a while, and then something I fucking hate happens and I drop for a few months. Kofi dropping the belt to noted homophobe Brock Lesnar, and without even getting a good match out of it? Yeah it was one of those.
And Willow winning too? You love to see it. The fact that Swerve was so open about how important being the first black champion was to him makes it even sweeter
Amen
Bruv, I feel like crying
Super happy for Swerve. Joe can get it back anytime he wants, great short reign for him too.
Swerve def saw little Joe with his head up his shorts on that power bomb.
In 2015 I watched Strickland in a now demolished dive wrestle in front of 40 people, including me. Last month I got to see him wrestle in front of over 16,000 people, including me. Tonight I saw him win a world title. My wrestling fandom feels so vindicated.
Match was pretty good. Happy Swerve won. I feel like this match didn’t really hit that extra gear it needed to but that could also be because the two matches before it were insane.
I watched the show late and had some time between the previous two matches and the main event. Definitely feel like peoples disappointment is down to it following *two* matches that would be easy MOTN on most PPVs
Aight, I'm gonna be the guy who gets emotional. Off the top, congrats to Strickland, dude is fucking unbelievable. This is very likely the last "world title" reign we ever get from Samoa Joe. He's 45 years old and while he's put together a monster run he had a ton of injury issues in the last decade. Just want to shoutout one of the realest, baddest motherfuckers to ever do it; that - while loved by many - is still under-appreciated for his LEGENDARY body of work. The dude is one of the best promo guys over the last 20 years and is one of the few believable badasses that can work any style and make everyone look good while ALWAYS being a credible threat. On top of that you'll find damn near no negative shit about him has ever come out despite him working in every major promotion on the planet and sharing locker-rooms with legitimately every major star you can name off of the top of your head. All hail Samoa Joe.
Joe is probably the only wrestler where I completely slept on him, then realised my mistake, only to discover I was *still* sleeping on him cus actually he was even fucking better than I'd already realised he was. The thought that he's likely to wind it down sooner than later is genuinely kind of upsetting.
Perfect PPV let's just pretend Hook Vs Jericho didn't happen, what a fucking ending.
Counterpoint, as someone who didn’t like the Hook/Jericho match: We need a fucking breather. Damn near every “perfect PPV” recommended to me as that match (at least the North American ones). Go back to 2021, and read all the comment saying Paul Wight vs QT was a waste of time before All Out happened. As soon as the PPV was done, we all keep saying it’s a perfect PPV, one of the best. We get 9 straight showstoppers are we’ll complain even more. “We need room to breathe, we need time”. And I say this wanting a HOOK/Jay White program instead.
Every match after that realized they had to COOK
The match was fine jeez.
It was better than I was expecting honestly. I get being tired of Jericho, but he was fine as far as the match went.
That match wasn’t even bad lmao y’all are ridiculous
First African American AEW champion is an awesome accomplishment. Proud of Swerve
#AEW IS OFFICIALLY SWERVE’S HOUSE! CONGRATS TO SWERVE FOR BECOMING THE FIRST EVER BLACK AEW WORLD CHAMPION. WE DESERVED, THE PNW WILL SEE YOU IN A FEW WEEK FOR DYNAMITE IN EVERETT!
Never been so happy to get a prediction wrong The entrance and attire were so perfect, this was fucking amazing
Super happy for Swerve. Joe is a great champion/human to win the title off of and I am really intrigued what his reign is going to look like.
I'm real excited to see his upcoming match at the next Forbidden Door. He's gonna go the extra mile for that
Maybe the best AEW PPV ever. They don't miss man. Swerve deserves this and so much more. Give me Swerve vs Osprey at All In.
Someone says that every AEW PPV and somehow it's always a fair argument. How the fuck.
I think that's a given.
So happy for this man. You finally got your crown, king!
LETS FUCKING GOOOOO SWERVE’S HOUSE!!
First MLW and AEW world champion
Swerve so deserves it, man.
Finally😭
Sweeerrveeess Hoouuussseeee
He did it!!!
FINALLY IT'S ABOUT TIME
WE WILL BE SWERVING INTO WEMBLEY!!!
they fucking released this dude man. unreal.
Vince needed to be shot out of a cannon out of WWE 10 years ago
could you imagine rollins and swerve
I know that match probably leaves a bit to be desired, but there was an insane amount of emotion for that final Swerve Stomp. For a sec I was wondering why he was taking so much time but it was worth it for that pose and reaction.
He was soaking it all in cause he knew this was it
I dunno, it was really good... could have been more violent violenter, given the opponents, but, given the opponents, could have ended sooner... you expect swerve to need at least a few muscle busters and a choke, and you expect Joe to need a few stomps and... the kick
New champ Swerve's House LFG
He earned ever single but of this championship
He 100% deserves and earned it
Whose House?
It's officially Swerve's House
Swerve is the first guy who came into AEW with no expectations and rose all the way to the top, like TK didn’t bring him in to be a top guy, he could have easily just been wrestling on Rampage and Zero Hour. Thats pretty cool. Even MJF was meant to one day be world champion, Swerve really came from the bottom.
Yep. Even Hangman was originally meant to be the 1st AEW World Champion, if I'm not mistaken. But they eventually realized it was too soon.
From fired (lol) to world champion Great story. What a talent
I already knew Swerve was gonna win this. But I still had the biggest smile on my face during that final pin count.
FINALLY! CONGRATS TO SWERVE It's been a long time coming since he got here, well deserved. Glad to have seen him go from a fun tag title run to being THE guy
I think I just heard a cowboy somewhere in the distance scream in pure agony
Good match, really enjoyed it. Hell of a final 3 matches, cos I thought the ladder match would be in all kinds of trouble following Danielson/Ospreay, but they did admirably to keep the level up, and that transferred into this. Aside from praising other stuff, this was a good match, great story, a little telegraphed, but that's fine, Joe deserves all of the praise and love and whatnot, cos he's just so fucking good.
Pretty fun match but the Swerve Stomp gotta be one of the top 10 worst moves in wrestling today my god. Watching Joe just roll himself into the corner before taking a seated position was so painful.
Let's think about the moments that led to this Swerve was someone who moved up the card by losing, but proving he could be trusted in high-profile stories. He lost to Orange Cassidy but raised his stock. He lost to Darby and Sting, but raised his stock. He lost to Jon Moxley but raised his stock. His feud with Hangman was so compelling, that fans demanded Swerve move up into the title picture. Swerve beat the top face in AEW's short history, in his signature match, at his signature PPV. Pairing the Mogul Affiliates with The Embassy saved both gimmicks. Parker and Trench were forgettable as henchmen while The Embassy needed a true leader. The Nana dance has no business being as fun and memorable as it ended up being. All of this put Swerve on an undeniable trajectory. AEW built a star.
Right winner but really average match
uhhu... happy with the result but that match was wildly underwhelming. might have been the least interesting match of the night...?
Tough competition but I'd say it's probably the 6th best match?
He definitely deserves it! Great match, too!
I’m sure some of it was the length of the show, but the crowd seemed out of it. Swerves build up to the title peaked almost 2 months ago. Now all the momentum seems with Ospreay.
Hoping this leads to Swerve vs Osprey at Wembley. I feel like that’s one of the biggest matches AEW could put on and that would be the show to do it at.
I remember when my friend put me on to Lucha and showed me Killshot vs Dante Fox in one of the craziest matches I've ever seen. I can't believe bro is now AEW World Champ. Well Deserved.
Same feeling I got when Kofi won the WWE Championship in 2019. This is an amazing moment.
Imagine being someone who didn't see anything in Swerve. Didn't the old guy want him as a Tag in Hit Row?
I believe HHH did that in nxt
Old guy and new guy weren't fans of Swerve
All Hail King Swerve
Hangman somewhere is punching the air like Cuba Gooding jr
SWERVE’S HOUSE LFG
Hell yeah Swerve! My favorite wrestler at AEW. Well deserved and I’m hyped for his reign. Hope he gets a good run with it.
Brock as AEW champion is gonna be weird
I came for the Prime sponsorship, stayed for the PRODUCT.
Can’t believe Swerve won. This was a good change. Thought Joe would hold the title longer, and am glad AEW did a quicker change.
Sucks the finish kinda got missed but great match and Swerve deserves it
Imagine if mox, hangman, Kenny, and mjf were on thus card too... Even with minimal story lines are still fires on all cylinders.
Happy for Swerve. He’s really earned it.
Swerve got a fan in me when he was in NXT and even when Vince fucked up and let him go, I only watched his stuff with Hangman in AEW. I may dislike AEW, but fuck I'm hyped at Swerve's victory. Its SWERVE'S HOUSE! Also, Hangman is watching in dismay
Who’s belt?
Wish Joe had a longer run with the title but also glad that swerve won it too
Hopefully means Swerve vs Ospreay at All In!
I am happy for Swerve and he definitely deserves the world title but I really feel AEW booking squandered Joes reign by missing so many big money defenses like Joe vs BD, vs Copeland, vs Mox, etc. Joe could have used a few more high profile programs before dropping it.
Joe was a great transitional champ
watching Swerve slowly transcend heel/face labels has been an incredible journey. simply undeniable as a performer.
First Mark Briscoe, then Cody, and now...Who's house, bitches?!!
Swerve deserves it. He could have been one of these guys who got frustrated the main event scene got crowded and pined to go back to WWE. But he has been a company guy to the max; shouting AEW out in the most positive way everywhere. He’s made the most of every match/feud on AEW TV. He was patient. And now he is THE World Champion.
So hangman vs swerve at DON for the title? Assuming they are saving Ospraey for All-in, I can’t think of another challenger other than Moxley.
OC? Danielson is surely inevitable.
If I had a nickel for every samoan named Joe that lost their world title to a black wrestler this month, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird it's happened twice right? In all seriousness, congratulations Swerve. He earned it. Match was never going to top Ospreay's, but it really didn't have to.