full image - Repost: Book Swerve in AEW | Part Two: For the Fame or the Fight? (from Reddit.com, Book Swerve in AEW | Part Two: For the Fame or the Fight?)
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https://ift.tt/0pl9kJZ Strickland is easily one of the most charismatic wrestlers around today. The guy just oozes personality and that’s why he’s been touted as a potential superstar for AEW. Rumour has it that the network sees a lot of cross-over appeal in Swerve and is eager to get behind his brand whether that be with a reality show or promoting his music ventures. In part one, Happy did a great job of using this in storyline. Swerve comes in with big pressure (incidentally the name of his AEW theme) to live up to the faith the network has displayed in him. And he’s delivered. Winning in style on his way to becoming the TNT Champion. Now, he’s the face of the network, the champion of the brand, but in this second part, we see how too much success can breed failure. It’s up to Strickland to swerve away from that outcome…Part Two: For the Fame or the Fight?AEW Dynamite: Fyter Fest, July 13th 2022Swerve’s House, Swerve gets interrupted by All EgoBecause he is one of the golden boys of Turner Network and the new TNT Champion, Swerve gets his own little bit backstage much like the DMD did with the Waiting Room. Short little segments that usually air on Rampage but this one takes place at Fyter Fest. He calls it Swerve’s House. It’s set in a private bar with the homies, bottles on deck, shisha, girls, etc. etc. This is where Tony Schiavone will come to interview the champ as he relaxes and shows off his endless charisma. Tony asks him how it feels to be the new TNT Champ. He mentions the reality show and the album before asking whats next for Turner's big success story? ’When does your next challenge or should I say challenger lie?’ Tony asks. Swerve replies ‘Ay, it feels good big T. I feel blessed right now, and that’s exactly why we’re all here living in the moment. That’s why I'm saying. The next challenger? Well lets leave that up to the locker room to decide. As you know, I’ve got a lot of plates spinning right now, it's not up to me to go picking fights. You feel me?’ ‘I feel you’ Tony awkwardly replies.Then suddenly, as with all AEW backstage segments, an interruption occurs. It’s the Men of the Year, with Dan Lambert. They mock Swerve a little bit, before All Ego gets up in the new champs face. Page is no. 3 ranked in the company right now, and claims he’s earned a shot at the TNT Championship whenever he wants. And he wants the match, at Fight for the Fallen. ‘In two weeks, I’ll take that title from you, but right now I’ll just settle for a drink’ Swerve gives the green light to allow the bartender to pour him a glass. Swerve replies in a passive-aggressive tone ‘You can have that (the drink), but you ain't never taking this (his title).’ The tension boils. ‘This right here represents true success, and you, your just a fraud in this game’ The two egotistical entities keep their eyes on each other. Ethan slowly grabs the glass as Swerve braces for potential violence. Page drinks the shot, forcefully places it back down, and pushes it back into Swerve’s hand, before he and Sky leave…---AEW Dynamite: Fight for the Fallen, July 28th 2022TNT Championship – Swerve Strickland (c) vs. Ethan Page (w/ Scorpio Sky)Swerve and Page finally meet. Two of the biggest ego's in AEW and one of them is about to get humbled. Luckily for our boy, it's not the champ. In one of the most shocking moments of the night, this one ends almost as soon as it begins. Ethan Page is distracted with his crew at ringside as the bell rings, enough for Swerve to take advantage with a shotgun dropkick into the corner!! Swerve is hot out of the gate! Page bounces out if the corner, crawling on his knees after being stunned by the impact. Swerve capitalizes on the moment, nailing Page with a House Call! The House Call Kick!! Swerve into the cover! ONE! TWO! THR— Ethan Page kicks out at 2! He stays alive in this one after only a few moments! Swerve doesn’t let up, grabbing the arm of his opponent after he got his shoulder up and teasing the crowd for a moment, clearly looking to snap his arm in half. Swerve, holding Page’s arm, falls back as a wave of pain hits Page like a truck! The impact of his arm being bent back like that causes the challenger to scream in agony! Swerve continues the onslaught, picking his opponent up from behind and setting him for the ending. Swerve stands behind his opponent, hoisting him up into a wheelbarrow position before PLANTING HIM INTO THE CANVAS WITH A VICIOUS JML DRIVER!!! PIN BY SWERVE!! ONE! TWO!! THREE!!! Swerve just knocked off Ethan Page in almost a minute!TNT Championship - Swerve Strickland (c) def. Ethan Page (00:54)---Chapter 2: Dualities of ManFollowing his humbling defeat to Swerve, All Ego and his buddy Scorpio Sky cant let bygones be bygones. They attack Swerve backstage, as Lambert calls him a talentless hack. They attempt it in the ring the following week when their long-time rivals Darby Allin and Sting come to Swerve’s aid. Darby and Swerve are no strangers to one another having worked together on the indies. Despite their very different lifestyles, they have a common enemy in the Men of the Year. Swerve teams with Darby in a winning effort against the Men of the Year with Sting taking care of Lambert on the outside. But soon, friendships will become fights as Darby has become the no. 1 contender to Swerve’s TNT Championship. A championship which he famously held over a year ago.A match between Darby and Swerve is treated as a big deal due to both men’s popularity. It will go down in a couple weeks at AEW’s flagship event All Out. The pair conduct a sit-down interview with Schiavone in the build-up that highlights their differences in personalities to no end. Swerve is the life of the party, the hip hop artists, the reality TV star. Darby is the straight edge, skateboarding daredevil. The only thing that connects them? Their desire to hold that TNT Championship and be the face of the network. Darby claims that when he was champion he defended the belt against any and all-comers, he was happy to put his body on the line every week in order to make that title prestigious. He accuses Swerve of taking it easy, of having his attention elsewhere. He references the fact that he's only spent one minute defending that title. Swerve laughs, saying he can't help it if he's too much for his opponents to handle. And he promises Darby that his focus is on winning in all walks of life. Sure he’s got his outside ventures, but at All Out he will prove he’s championship material. Darby, like he so often does, vows the regain the gold or die trying…---AEW All Out 2022TNT Championship - Swerve Strickland (c) vs. Darby AllinSwerve and Darbs meet yet again. Two rivals on the independents now clash at one of the biggest pay-per-views of the year. AEW's biggest show - All Out! The two Washington natives arrive on the scene. Darby first to a huge ovation. Swerve arrives and takes in the love as well. Two very different personalities are about to put on a treat for the crowd...This match is an absolute showstealer, becoming a spot fest for fans to enjoy! Despite it being a spot fest, the momentum is shifted to Darby Allin, and the tweener looks to capture his second TNT Championship of his career. Swerve has somewhat taken control with quick offense, but few men can keep up the pace like Darby. The half-face painted man has thrown so much at Swerve, even hitting a coffin drop, only for him to stay alive in this match. Swerve is outside the ring, damn-near unconscious by the barricade. Darby Allin is willing to throw caution to the wind to win this match, so he climbs up high. He’s thinking Coffin Drop onto Swerve to the outside. If he hits this, it’s over for Swerve. Darby looks back, then jumps back! Landing straight ON THE OUTSIDE FLOOR AS SWERVE MOVES OUT OF THE WAY! Darbys head hits the steel barricade as the high-risk move does not payoff at all! The referee checks on him, but Swerve is still there to capitalize on his opponents mistake. He grabs Darby, having to drag him to his feet as something is clearly off with the tweener. He throws him back in the ring before Darby struggles to show any life. Multiple times he tries to just get his head off the canvas, falling back down almost immediately each time. Swerve is hunting him from the corner, watching as Darby finally shows enough life to lift his head off the canvas and make it to his knees. Swerve charges forward, capitalizing on the challengers mistake WITH A HOUSE CALL!! THE BACK KICK TO AN INJURED DARBY!! COVER!! ONE! TWO!! THREE!!!TNT Championship - Swerve Strickland (c) def. Darby Allin (19:43)---AEW Dynamite, September 14th 2022A week removed from his somewhat fortunate victory against Darby Allin at All Out, Swerve appears in a short pre-recorded segment, the likes of which we’ve seen from Malakai, Miro, and Britt in the past. He’s in his private bar, with a few VIPs, some of his crew and fellow AEW locker room members Isiah Kassidy and Mark Quin. They are celebrating his victory in Chicago when Eddie Kingston becomes an uninvited guest…'What the hell is this? What the hell is all this?' Eddie says'We're celebrating life, my man. I got the title, I got the networks checks, not to mention the launch of my new EP, you heard it?' Swerve asks.'Yeah, I’ve heard it Makavelli now shut up and listen one second. Let me ask you something real quick … what you playing at? Listen, I’ll be straight with you, a few months ago, I saw something I wasn’t a fan of. After our tag match, you went straight to the crowd to soak in the cheers, not even a handshake or a thank you to me, nothing. I see you now, with your network sponsored little bit, you're album, you're TV show, and I only got to say this - what's more important to you the fame or the fight? When are you gonna wrestle dawg? When are you gonna get in that ring and defend that title? The workhorse title of our company. Ive been grinding here for years now and Ive never been lucky enough to be in your position. I ain’t held no gold round here. Now, I ain’t taking nothing away from you. When you won that, you earned it, but Im telling you, puut down the mixed tapes for a second and start taping those fists. Ima win my match Friday, then I’ll be in the top 5. When that happens, I’m challenging you to a fight for that....at Grand Slam…’---AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam 2022TNT Championship – Swerve Strickland (c) vs Eddie KingstonKingston does as promised. He beats Powerhouse Hobbs to earn his place among AEW’s top five. Swerve has accepted his challenge after being aggravated by Eddie’s harsh truths. Now, Swerve steps into Eddie’s house when he defends the title in front of the Mad King’s loud home crowd at Arthur Ashe in New York.Kingston gets overzealous in his desire to prove his point. Eventhough, he controls and even dominates the match, the finish doesn't go his way. He gets caught up in the moment. He hits Swerve with a spinning backfist.. but doesn't reposition Swerve. The referee can't call the pin, Swerve's leg is under the bottom rope. Eddie gets mad at the ref, losing his cool for a split second. Swerve rolls him up....1....2....3! Swerve steals it! A match the mad king dominated ends with Swerve remaining the champ! The home crowd are pissed. Eddie is pissed. And Swerve's about to go get....well you already know. He's got away with one here and he knows it...TNT Championship – Swerve Strickland (c) def. Eddie Kingston (14:45)---AEW Dynamite, September 28th 2022Eddie Kingston is backstage about to be interviewed by Schiavone when he tells says ‘follow me’. Eddie takes Schiavone around backstage with the mic catching his words as he says ‘we’re going to find this clown, follow me….YO SWERVE?’ He shouts. He finds him in one of the private rooms backstage again with Private Party and a few others. Kingston gives the champion an important message… ‘Listen, now this aint me being a bad sport or a sore loser, its none of that. I'm telling you now. I had you in that match. You know it. You can try hide it but deep down, you know you’re lucky to still be champion. Im just saying this, as someone who’s had your back out there before, if you bring that complacency into your next match, you will get eaten alive my man.’ ‘Oh really?’ Swerve replies with a laugh. ‘Eddie, let me tell you this….I…pinned…you. So whatever advice I’ll take it with a pinch of that salt your coming in here with.’ Eddie thinks about replying but then just nods and says ok as he walks out… It's not his problem, it’s Swerves.---AEW Rampage, September 30th 2022It’s announced by Tony Khan, that Swerve’s next title defense will come against Andrade El Idolo, the no. 2 ranked man in AEW. On Rampage, Swerve and El Idolo have a joint backstage segment, where they talk about the upcoming match set to take place on the 3 year anniversary of Dynamite. Andrade stresses how badly he wants the title Swerve now holds. He’s had his chances at it before but has come up short at every turn. This time he promises to be more ruthless than ever. Swerve is sat comfy, in a bathrobe with the title around his waist, relaxed as usual, not really taking the occasion all too seriously, despite Eddie’s warnings a few days prior. Andrade claims Swerve is a lot like he used to be when he first came to America. A smug party-boy who wasn’t tough enough to last. That’s why Andrade has changed, he has become a ruthless man focused on one thing – becoming champion. And Swerve will have to evolve or perish when they finally fight it out.---AEW Dynamite: Anniversary Show, October 5th 2022TNT Championship – Swerve Strickland (c) vs. Andrade El IdoloSwerve comes into this match with confidence. Too much confidence. Andrade is chomping at the bit to get the title he’s been eyeing all year long. The match starts with Andrade dominating. You can see Swerve’s usual showboating body language flip on his head. He realizes that perhaps the naysayers are right, he has become blinded by success. He has become complacent. But its too late. Unlike in his match against Darby, he doesn’t have the strength advantage over El Idolo. Unlike against Eddie, he doesn’t have the speed advantage over El Idolo either. Everything he tries amounts to nothing in a shockingly one-sided affair. The finish sees Andrade on the top turnbuckle, Swerve goes to hit a jump up hurricanarana but Andrade catches him, and brings him down to earth with a huge avalanche powerbomb! Swerve is out near the corner, Andrade rushes to him and hits the double knees, driving the champ's face into the turnbuckle. He gets him up…Hammerlock DDT! 1….2….3! We have a new TNT Champion! Andrade El Idolo is the new face of the network. Swerve’s smugness and lack of focus finally got the better of him…TNT Championship – Andrade El Idolo def. Swerve Strickland (10:39)---Chapter 3: The House Always WinsAEW Dynamite; October 20th 2022Swerve is no longer the TNT Champion. Because of this he no longer receives the luxuries he once had from the network. His backstage bit ‘Swerve’s House’ is no more, his reality show? Didn’t get renewed for a second season. Swerve’s big loss has cost him dearly. And its time for a change. Enter Malakai Black. Black cuts a pre-recorded promo subtly calling out Swerve without mentioning him by name. He talks of a man who has committed three of the seven deadly sins. Pride, an inflated sense of one’s accomplishments; Sloth, becoming lazy and lacking effort; and most of all… Greed. The excessive desire for material things. Black says this once-promising individual has been consumed by his sins. ‘The House always wins’ he says. ‘But not yours…’Black reveals his target when he cleans out Swerve during a segment on Rampage. The House of Black swarm the former TNT Champion and beat him down before leaving. Swerve’s buddies, Private Party come out to check on him. The following week they tell Swerve that they’ve both got his back against Malakais’s men. In the aftermath of this, Malakai challenges Swerve to a match at Full Gear, wanting to chastise him for the three sins he’s been deemed guilty of.---AEW Full Gear 2022Swerve Strickland vs. Malakai BlackSwerve walks into Full Gear without his usual cockiness. He’s been humbled by El Idolo and now he’s the target of one of the most dangerous men in all of AEW, Malakai Black. It’s been made clear through backstage interactions that Swerve hasn’t been out with Private Party for weeks in order to focus on and prepare for this match. A match he see’s as a chance to swiftly swerve back on track. He comes out the block fast, and is a lot more prepared than he was against Andrade. But Black hits hard, and the months of neglecting his cardio and ring shape in favour of filming reality TV and being in the booth come back to bite Swerve.The finish see’s Swerve and Malakai exchange kicks. Swerve struggles to connect in the same way that Black, one of the most hard-hitting strikers in the entire world, does. You can see Black wear Swwerve down one by one. Swerve instead catches him and rocks Malakai with a forearm. Black is down to a knee. Swerve rushes up top, looking for an uppercut but gets caught in mid-air….BLACK MASS! Malakai thwarts Swerve’s spirited comeback with one deadly kick. He hoists him up with his leg and hits a second Black Mass for good measure! 1….2….3! Malakai wins! Swerve has been dealt a second big defeat in the matter of a few weeks….Malakai Black def. Swerve Strickland (15:45)--Following this loss at the hands of Black, Swerve isn’t seen on TV for a couple weeks aside from a short segment on Rampage where we see Private Party confront him backstage. The duo asks him why he's been distant lately, not returning their calls or responding on socials. They tell him to forget these past couple months. They heard the same thing for years. ‘Oh Private Party aren’t serious, they won't amount to nothing’…’ It’s all just hate dawg'….'Well?’ Swerve asks. ‘What?’ replies Kassidy. ‘What have you amounted to?’ Swerve asks. The duo is silent. ‘Maybe they’re right’ Swerve says as he walks out, leaving the tag team with a ticked-off look on their faces.A couple weeks later, the House of Black has just defeated Stu Grayson and Evil Uno in a tag match on Dynamite, when Swerve rushes down to the ring. He goes straight for Malakai Black. This is a more aggressive Swerve, the likes of which we haven’t seen in AEW. He downs Black and hits with repeated punches before Brody and Buddy uneven the odds. But wait- ‘Here comes Private Party!’ Kassidy and Quin rush down the ramp to make things three on three. They cause separation between the two Houses. Swerves’s House and the House of Black stand face to face in the ring, as the fans cheer them on. Swerve and Private Party look more determined than ever before, clearly, they’ve come together in the aftermath of that backstage confrontation. Black tells his men to step down, much to the displeasure of the crowd….---AEW Dynamite: Winter Is Coming 2022Trios Match – House of Black vs Swerve’s HouseThe match that has been teased for weeks is announced the third annual Winter is Coming event. And in the build, Swerve has been teasing something before the match, suggesting that not only is winter of the horizon but the soldier is too. And no, he’s not talking about Bucky, he;s on about his Lucha Underground persona, Killshot. The man who when he shoots, he never missed but he sure did kill. With House of Black in the ring, and Private Party ready on the ramp, Killshot’s theme music plays. Swerve has dove into his past and used the horrors of war to give him that extra bit of fight and anger that hes been lacking for a long while. He comes down in the black mask looking like a badass as Black watches on. Even he’s taken back by Swerve’s demeanor. A man he convicted of greed, pride, and sloth, three of the seven deadly sins. Well, a good soldier isn't greedy, they’re selfless; a good soldier doesn’t have too much pride, they’re humble and a good soldier isn’t lazy, they’re as diligent as can be. Swerve was and still is all those things, now he goes into battle with some new comrades in the form of Private Party...Throughout the match, the unit works in tandem in order to get the better of Black and his followers. Near the finish, Kassidy springboards over the top rope onto Brody on the outside but gets caught, however, Quen comes flying in with a tope con hilo. All three men are laid out. Back in the ring, Black has Swerve reeling. He has him in position for the Black Mass. He goes for the strike but Swerve ducks, Black hits Matthews the legal man. Swerve hits Black with a rolling thunder flatline before eyeing up Matthews…he hits the House Call! 1…2….3! Swerve wins!Swerve’s House def. House of Black (18:21)---Chapter Four: Natural Born KillerFollowing one of the biggest victories of his AEW career so far, Swerve cuts a promo backstage sharing more about his history. He talks about his military background, where he first got the Killshot nickname. He mentions that it ultimately scarred him. He saw things no man should see. He did things he never knew he was capable of. And that’s why over the years hes done his best to distance himself from it. The music, the parties, the shows, the lifestyle, its all to distract from his past. And he admits, he loves it because its exactly that. A distraction. He says Swerve is confidence but more than anything else, deep down Swerve is a fighter. That’s why its hurt him to hear the naysayers say he doesn't have that passion. He does. Sure he's got flair, he's got charisma but he's got heart and guts - more than anyone in that locker room. Especially more than the man who took that title away from him… Andrade El Idolo.Over the next few weeks, Swerve wins singles match and trios matches alongside Kassidy and Quen, showing off the passion to go along with the panache. Swerve wants El Idolo once more to prove that their match on Dynamite’s three-year anniversary doesn’t reflect his true abilities. Swerve calls out the now former TNT Champion for a match but not just any match…a Hell of War match. A Lucha Underground invention, in which Swerve competed in back in 2017 against one of his greatest rivals Dante Fox. The match was one of the best of that year, a violent affair that put Swerve a.k.a Killshot on the map. Now the ex-soldier’s looking to plant his flag again to prove to El Idolo and the world that, above all else, he is a fighter…---AEW Dynamite: Hell of War, January 25th 2023Hell of War Match – ‘Killshot’ Swerve Strickland vs Andrade El IdoloThe rematch months in the making gets its own special themed edition of Dynamite. El Idolo is fresh off a great 3-month reign as TNT Champion after defeating Swerve in October, having now just recently dropped the gold to Keith Lee. As we know, Swerve is on a hot streak as well, and now for the second time, he dons the Killshot mask to remind him of the killer inside as he battles El Idolo. In a Hell of War Match, you get three matches in one. A First Blood match, a No Holds Barred match and an Ambulance match. The first to two falls wins the bout....We’re in Killshot’s playground now. And Andrade is the one on the back foot in the early going. Swerve doesn’t let him breathe, he takes the fight round the arena as they both use a range of weapons looking to get the upper hand. Trash cans, thumbtacks, chairs, glass sheets, barbed wire, it’s a two out of three falls death match after all. Swerve wins the first fall, when he wraps a piece of barbed wire round his foot and hits El Idolo with the House Call!The second fall begins and El Idolo is a bloody mess. He counters an attempted JML driver and suplexes Swerve into thumbtacks. Now Swerve is bleeding down his back. The fall continues for a few minutes longer. El Idolo goes for a moonsault threw the table but Swerve rolls out the way. Andrade crashes through! Swerve has him in position for the JML Driver but down the ramp come Andrade’s cronies, Rush, and Dragon Lee! A Lucha stand-off! The duo attack Killshot before Kassidy and Quen make the save and fight off the pair. Andrade capitalizes though and hits a Hammerlock DDT into the tacks! 1…2….3! We’re even stevens. 1-1 in the Hell of War Match!The final fall is an Ambulance match. A military Ambulance is parked just off centre stage, waiting to collect the lifeless body of either Swerve or El Idolo. The main event rolls on. Its just the two of them now, as their allies are nowhere to be seen. After a few minutes, the action heads up the ramp. Both men get close to shoving the other into the Ambulance both the door gets slammed shut each time. The game changes when the duo head up top the vehicle. It's a precarious situation as if they fall to one side, they’ll fall all the way down off the stage onto a bunch of tables. The bloody combatants go hell for leather, striking each other with fury. Andrade kicks Swerve in the gut, he looks for a Hammerlock DDT, but Swerve counters, and connects with a JML Driver on top of the Ambulance! Swerve then climbs atop the cylinders used for the ring entrance walkways. As Andrade slowly makes his way back up, Swerve jumps from the top and connects with an uppercut to the back which sends Andrade off the ambulance all the way down to the tables below! Jesus Christ. He killed him! The crowd goes insane as Swerve sits atop the ambulance soaking in all of the mayhem and all the cheers it's resulted in. He retrieves Andrade from the rubble and gets him in the ambulance! He's done it! Swerve wins the Hell of War match! He’s proven he's more than just a natural-born entertainer, he’s a natural-born killer as well!Hell of War Match – ‘Killshot’ Swerve Strickland def. Andrade El Idolo (30:31)
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