The Blood and Guts edition of AEW Dynamite is always one of, if not the, most brutal nights for All Elite Wrestling, but I don’t think anyone expected the non-wrestling segments to be filled with such venom and hatred. However, Bandido had a score to settle with Swerve Strickland, and we have ourselves a Texas Deathmatch, ladies and gentlemen.
The storyline of Swerve Strickland, The New Level, Hangman Page and Brodido has been shaping up nicely over the past few weeks, especially since AEW WrestleDream 2026 where Page, Bandido and Brody King regained the AEW World Trios Championship. Strickland, apparently oblivious to the fact that Paige has tapped him again, cheated and tapped into his hated side again to get back at his old rival. It’s gotten to the point where Kofi and Austin Creed realize that tag teaming with Strickland isn’t what they signed up for because he might be out of his mind, but it was Bandido who lost his mind this week.
After being beaten and bloodied by Strickland last week, Bandido retaliated by attacking Kofi backstage, leading to a wild brawl between Bandido and Strickland that went into the ring and almost resulted in Strickland getting his head taken off with a steel truss (literally, Bandido dropped it when Strickland speared him). Bandido and King are in the same boat as Kofi and Creed when it comes to the Strickland/Page saga in that they just want to be good guys and have good matches and have a lot of respect for each other because they all love wrestling deep down, but it’s crossed the line for Bandido now.
The New Level didn’t want a Texas Deathmatch at AEW Full Gear 2026. Page told his colleagues it wasn’t a good idea, and everyone but Strickland seemed to be reading the same sheet. But Strickland went too far, and it was Bandido of all people who asked Page to accept the challenge, since he’s the man with the most Texas Death experience in AEW. Paige reluctantly agreed, and at Full Gear, Paige, King, and Bandido would defend the AEW World Trios Championship against Strickland, Creed, and Kofi in one of the wildest stipulations yet.
A superbly told story that was propelled by a great segment that included all six guys and it led to the most anticipated three-way title match in AEW history. Break into boys and girls because the sandy desert will be painted red in Full Gear.
Written by Sam Palmer
