On a card loaded up with title bouts and grudge matches, the bout that rose above the rest at AEW Full Gear was none other than the Texas Death battle between “Hangman” Adam Page and Swerve Strickland.

Fighting more so than feuding in an increasingly contentious contest of will that saw Strickland literally break into “Hangman's” house to intimidate his baby, the match saw the duo hit each other with cinderblocks, drink each other's blood, and literally hang a performer from the side of the ring before succumbing to the ten count win, and drew incredible reactions from the wrestling world, with MJF calling it arguably the greatest Texas Death match of all time.

One person, however, who did not feel that way was Jim Cornette, who took to his podcast to rant about the “Hangman's” usage of a staple gun.

“Okay, so then Hangnail gets a staple gun and staples Swerve’s chest, he’s stapling him in the t*tties. Not the nipples, that’s against the Geneva Convention. And then he gets a format or a piece of paper or whatever, and he staples it to Swerve’s arm. Now, meanwhile, Brian, you know what a staple gun looks like? You worked in an office? Do you think most of the people know what a staple gun looks like? It’s a big metal thing and you squeeze it and it’s got to thing goes across your fingers and you squeeze it and it staples, right?” Jim Cornette said via Inside The Ropes.

“If you’re in a fight with a motherf*cker, especially if you look like Adam Page and the other motherf*cker looks like Swerve Strickland. And you’ve got a staple gun in your hand. Are you going to staple him in the t*tty? Or are you going to draw back and punch him in the bridge of the f*cking nose with it? That’s the idea. He’s got brass knuckles on his hand and he’s stapling this motherf*cker’s arm. And then he stapled his face and Swerve is letting him do it. And because we know that this is all fake, because of the general overall presentation of AEW, people are sitting there going well this stupid motherf*cker is letting this other stupid motherf*cker staple his f*cking cheek, and his t*tties!”

Turning his attention to one of the signature spots of the show, Page drinking Strickland's blood before spraying it into the air, Cornette had issues with that too, suggesting that it might have hurt the promotion both with women and with the network.

“And at that point, somehow he’s busted Swerve open also, and Swerve hit a gusher and starts pouring blood. And this is where Page lays down on his back as Swerve is bending over bleeding from his head, lays down on his back and opens his mouth so that he can drink Swerve’s blood to show how bad*ss he is,” Cornette said.

“And I believe at that point, you know again I go back to when Lyndon Johnson said after Cronkite came back from Vietnam if we’ve lost Cronkite, we’ve lost America. I think they’ve lost the female audience that they might not have had to begin with on that one. And again, they might have lost the network that they potentially might or might not have had off of that one. You f*cking idiot, he’s no better than the plumber or the f*cking bank-addicted drug robber. He got more hair, Page. Otherwise, he is as stupid, and demented and f*cking distasteful.”

After watching NWA seemingly lose a TV deal with The CW due to a bizarre cocaine spot, maybe Corney is right, maybe Warner Bros will see that spot and bring it up with Tony Khan the next time they discuss a new media rights deal for the AEW empire. Still, is it too surprising to see a man who has built the third act of his career largely around giving AEW a hard time be the one person who didn't like what Page and Strickland brought to the table?

Related NewsArticle continues below
WWE star Becky Lynch, who roasted Bayley and former star Sasha Banks, aka Mercedes Moné in AEW, at WrestleMania 39.
WWE’s Becky Lynch roasts former star’s business venture
CM Punk reacts during the Men s Royal Rumble match at Tropicana Field.
CM Punk reveals why he chose AEW over WWE in 2021
Former WWE and current AEW star Ricochet, who recently criticized Nick Khan, jumping off of Braun Strowman.
Former WWE star rips Nick Khan: ‘These guys f**king suck’

Swerve Strickland is proud of his efforts at AEW Full Gear.

While Jim Cornette wasn't too keen on Swerve Strickland going to war with “Hangman” Adam Page at Full Gear, the winner of the match felt differently, reflecting on his efforts before returning home from Los Angeles.

“You can’t take me to h*ll. You’re already there. You can’t take me to somewhere I’ve already been, and I have real estate in, you son of a b*tch. Texas, LA, I don’t care if it’s Seattle, I don’t care if it’s across the globe. I don’t care if we go to the UK and do this again,” Swerve Strickland sia via Fightful. “I own you now, Hangman. After this bullsh*t, I own AEW. Everybody in that locker room better f**king fear me. That’s Godd*mn right. I’m just getting started in this. Whose house? This is Swerve’s house. No, this is Swerve’s dungeon, and I’m hanging everybody like the executioner that I am. Believe that. Hangman, we better be done because the next time you step into the ring with me, you’re dead.”

Are Swerve and Page going to continue to feud after Full Gear, or is their beef settled for better or worse? Fans will find out soon enough, but if Strickland doesn't get a shot at the AEW World Championship soon, some fans are going to be mad mad.