Swerve Strickland returned to All Elite Wrestling at the conclusion of Full Gear, appearing to form an alliance with “Hangman” Adam Page following the main event.
The return happened after Samoa Joe defeated Page to win the AEW World Championship.
The new champion was celebrating in the ring with The Opps, including Powerhouse Hobbs, Katsuyori Shibata, and new member HOOK, when the arena lights cut out, and a video depicting a burning house and a rising moon played on the screen.
Prince Nana appeared on the ramp, introducing a returning Strickland, who walked to the ring with a new theme song.
Strickland entered the steel cage and cleared out several “Opps Dojo” trainees who had accompanied Joe. While Joe, Hobbs, Shibata, and HOOK retreated up the ramp, Strickland helped Page to his feet. The show went off the air with the former rivals standing side-by-side in the ring, staring down the new champion and his faction.
Hangman Adam Page and @SwerveConfident SIDE BY SIDE!
Watch #AEWFullGear on HBO Max PPV pic.twitter.com/wLCxzhZ089
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) November 23, 2025
The title change occurred following a betrayal by HOOK. With the referee incapacitated and the cage door torn open by Hobbs, HOOK rushed to the ring, ostensibly to assist the official. Instead, he struck Page with the championship belt and unzipped his hoodie to reveal an “Opps” shirt. This allowed Joe to execute a Muscle Buster onto the title belt to secure the pinfall and the championship.
Match recap
The Steel Cage match was a bloody encounter, with Joe bleeding profusely within the first two minutes. Page utilized his cowboy boot as a weapon, while Joe repeatedly threw the champion into the cage. The violence escalated when Shibata attempted to scale the cage to interfere, but he was intercepted and brawled to the back by Eddie Kingston.
Inside the ring, Page connected with a Dead Eye for a visual pinfall, but referee Paul Turner had been knocked unconscious during a collision with Joe.
Hobbs arrived at ringside and ripped the lock off the cage door to enter the match. Page managed to fend off Hobbs, sending him into the cage mesh, and executed a Buckshot Lariat on Joe through the open door, but the lack of an official paved the way for HOOK’s interference.
