As reporters waited in the bowels of the Kia Forum waiting to AEW's Full Gear media scrum to start, all anyone could talk about was the Texas Death match between Swerve Strickland and “Hangman” Adam Page and how it stacked up to the comprehensive works of the biggest legend of the hardcore game, Mick Foley.

Some called the bout a Foley classic, measuring it against his efforts in WCW, All Japan, and even WWE, while others put it just slightly below his artistic mastery, as in the professional wrestling business, few have been able to reach the same levels of depravity as “Cactus Jack” and lived to tell the tale.

But what did ole Cactus, aka Mankind, aka Dude Love, aka “Mrs. Foley's Baby Boy” have to say on the subject? Well, as it turns out, he hasn't seen the match. Still, that didn't stop Foley from commenting on the match on his podcast and presenting a critique he had on one spot in particular.

“I wish I could say I've seen it. I heard it was really epic. I wish people wouldn't drink each other's blood in [his] day and age, let alone this one. I mean, heels used to do that. I remember even Tracy Smothers in Japan would do the deal where they, you know, suck the blood out of the opponent's head and spit into the air,” Mick Foley said on his podcast via Fightful.

“Maybe that had a time and place, but that time and place is over. Not a knock on the match, just looking out for everybody's safety, knowing that people are going to possibly emulate what they see on TV. That doesn't take away from the fact that the guys seemed to have a great match and really enjoyed doing it.”

For all of the depravity presented by Page and Strickland in Inglewood, “Hangman's” decision to spit his opponent's blood into the air has been by far the most controversial, even if the match literally ended with the former being hung by the latter by a metal chain until he passed out. Still, if AEW wanted to draw headlines and get fans talking, they certainly achieved that goal in spades, even if some of the discourse hasn't been for the right reasons.

Jim Ross loved “Hangman” Adam Page versus Swerve Strickland.

While seemingly everyone has a take on “Hangman” Adam Page versus Swerve Strickland, be it good, bad, or indifferent, one voice fans didn't get to hear discuss the match was a pivotal part of both performers' careers, Jim Ross, the voice of wrestling who has been out of action for the past few weeks as his leg recovers from cancer treatment.

Discussing the match on his podcast, Grilling JR, Ross compared the bout to the best of old ECW, which is a pretty darn impressive bar to clear.

“It was a lot of drama. A lot of physically. They raised the bar, as I tweeted out as the match was going on. Those hardcore-type matches, it reminded me a lot of an old ECW. The matches and the move set and the violence, I guess. It was a h*ll of a performance by those guys. I'm proud of both their efforts. Whether you like the hardcore style or you don't like the hardcore style, the one thing you cannot do is to criticize the efforts and the work rate of the talents. That was covered,” Jim Ross said via Fightful.

“There were a lot of really good matches on that pay-per-view. I thought it was just a smashing hit, what I saw. I knew what it was gonna be like, and it was exactly like I thought it was going to be. I don't want to sound like, ‘Oh, I know everything.' I just thought that the whole crew delivered. It was hard because the management of the blood, unique. It was a challenge for the talents to follow what they're following. Nonetheless, I thought they pulled it off very well. They should be proud of their efforts. It was a fun show to watch. AEW always seems to deliver in crunch time with these pay-per-views. It's uncanny how the guys rise to the occasion and they pull this thing off, and they certainly pulled it off in California.”

If AEW wanted to put on a show that entertained fans of all ages and helped to promote a PG product to future media rights partners, then yeah, maybe having Page and Strickland embrace their inner Stan Hanson wasn't an ideal decision. If, however, Tony Khan wanted to make a memory that lasts forever, then he accomplished that effort in spades, as folks have been talking, and talking, and talking for the past week.