Swerve Strickland Says AEW Colleague Might Be This Generation's Mick Foley

Swerve Strickland tweeted a claim a few years ago that this generation of wrestlers didn't have a Mick Foley, someone serving as a sort of rite of passage for rising stars. However, after sharing the ring with Adam "Hangman" Page as of late, it appears that he might have changed his mind on that idea.

"He did it with the Triple Hs, he did it with the Undertakers, he did it with the Austins, he's done it with the Rocks. Then, the next generation, the Adam Copelands, the Randy Ortons ... You name them, he gave him that right of passage, and I feel like we don't have that anymore," Strickland told "TMZ Sports." "Truth be told, when I made that tweet, I was like, man, who is that guy now? It might be Hangman Page. It might be." Page is an AEW original who has worked up and down the card — much like Foley did throughout his career. He's competed against main event stars such as Kenny Omega, CM Punk, and Chris Jericho, all while also helping to get other names like Strickland over with a wider fanbase, proving his versatility as a performer. 

Of course, Foley is best known for the wild bumps that he took throughout his career, from his elbow drop off the ring apron to being thrown off the roof of Hell in a Cell. Strickland and Page certainly took a page out of his style at Full Gear when they competed in a death match, with Strickland being the latest to be given the AEW rite of passage — working with "Hangman." "The Death Match, I don't look like someone that's a Deathmatch wrestler or a fan of it, or even partakes in it, but I've done my share," he said. "I actually grew up being a fan of hardcore stuff. Shoutout Mick Foley."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "TMZ Sports" with an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.