Swerve Strickland Taking Time Off Following AEW All Out

Swerve Strickland suffered in the main event of AEW All Out, where he lost to Hangman Page in an Unsanctioned Lights Out Steel Cage Match. 

As well as taking a powerbomb onto a cinder block, Strickland was also struck in the mouth with a hypodermic needle and blasted with an unprotected chair shot to the head en route to the loss. 

According to The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer, this particularly violent climax was done to write Swerve out of AEW storylines for the time being. 

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer said: "I heard a long time ago that Swerve was going to sign the contract and he was going to get some time off, for whatever reason, and this was the angle. I thought Swerve would at least stay for Tacoma - maybe that's when he'll come back".

Tacoma is referring to AEW WrestleDream on October 12. 

Strickland signed a new deal with AEW last month, reportedly one of the biggest in company history. 

As far as how Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland were feeling physically after the brutal match, Bryan Alvarez added: 

"When they got to the back, they appeared to be fine. They told everybody they were fine. I don't know how. I don't know how you can be fine after that powerbomb onto a cinder block. That's a risk you don't need to take. It's absolutely nuts to do this stuff but for those people wondering, apparently, they said they were fine".

H/T F4WOnline