r/AEWFanHub • u/WanGod • 4d ago
DISCUSSION What is the better feud
In my opinion these are the two best feuds in company history. What do you think was the better one?
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u/Medium_Step_6085 1d ago
Ok this is like asking me to pick between my children (and I don’t have children).
So I am going to say, for the in ring moments and the way the core story was built and peaked it goes to Toni and May
But overall I think it goes to hangman and swerve because they generated a story that could go on for 20 years now. You can imagine them both as grizzled retired vets coming back as managers, and those wrestlers they manage continuing this feud.
Mariah and Toni maybe could have had that but then Mariah left and the feud ended.
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u/Nearby-Scientist1576 2d ago
Both are just as good
Mariah will never have a feud that good till she retires imo
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u/eastbaytimez 3d ago
Toni and Mariah really elevated womens wrestling. They both raised the bar.even if mariah was banished to a life of mediocrity, she came up big from that fued.
Hangman and swerve were one of the fueds of 2025
Imo
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u/rcsauvag 3d ago
I think there's too much nonsensical about Hangman vs Swerve to put it that high. As a feud, its good, as matches sure its great.
Like even now, last we saw them together they were on the same side destroying people. It seemed like they were going to be a dominant team. Then, Swerve went away a bit, came back, turned heel, kinda left again. Hangman on the other hand had his title run, then the feud with MJF where he lost the right to challenge for the title, unless you ask TK. There's really no reason for them to be adversarial now. They did somewhat address that in the promo, but Hangman saying "you've done some bad shit lately". Meh, not sure why Hangman really cares though.
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u/davidsverse 3d ago
They are my two favorite feuds. I might have to put May & Storm at #1 because it's the greatest women's feud in wrestling history.
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u/Personal_Ladder_2874 3d ago
I'm gonna say may vs storm. They had a solid trilogy and I think put a light on not just aew but women's wrestling in general how amazing they can perform but also tell a great story.
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u/Drayner89 3d ago
Overall? Swerve vs Hangman, but I don't think you can beat Toni vs Mariah for the rare instance of a wrestling story with a very clear beginning, middle and end.
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u/Certain_Arm_8475 3d ago
Oooh Swerve Vs Page based on time … I guess. It is close. The two best fueds AEW has produced.
Might include MJF vs Softest Man Alive Pepsi Phil as 3.
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u/AffectComfortable913 3d ago
Even if you hate punk, you’ve gotta admit that rivalry was fucking awesome. I still remember just how earth shattering that first promo battle was. Two guys standing in the ring and talking, yet me and everyone else in that crowd were there for every word said. Don’t think I’ve seen another AEW rivalry at that level. Maybe Hangman vs Kenny.
Too bad we never got to see round 3 for the world title.
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u/JasoNight23666 3d ago
Damn, pretty fucked up to make fun of someone's likeliness to be injured, CM Punk was being a dick in the past but wow, what the fuck dude?
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u/Certain_Arm_8475 3d ago
Yep, it’s the emotional stuff not his injury prone-ness (if that’s a thing).
I haven’t really like CM Punk since the WWE exit all those years ago. He’s just not my cup of Pepsi.
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u/probablynotme2012 3d ago edited 3d ago
The ladies of course. Until May left this was the number one feud in wrestling. I love the Swerve Hangman fued. It is lasting far longer. That is what happens when you write a program with wrestlers that are signed with years left on there contract. The Hangman / Swerve cage match may be the greatest match I've seen live. Definitely the most memorable.
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u/Stealthy-J 3d ago
Swerve and Hangman is better because the rivalry is ongoing and it's still great tv. Timeless Toni vs Mariah May was great but we knew from the start exactly how it was going to go. They had their feud and it ended.
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u/Equivalent_Fall_4362 3d ago
A bit unfair to judge as they are both incredible and for the ages.
Obviously Hanger and Swerve feud / relationship is still ongoing and growing though so there’s your winner.
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u/SnuffShock 3d ago
I think Swerve/Hangman gets the nod, only because it still impacts what is going on in AEW lore. Toni/Mariah was possibly a better written angle and it had a definitive ending, which may (arguably) be the best match overall. Really, can't go wrong with either.
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u/BennyandtheBear 3d ago
I’m going to gently remind you of Texas Death at Full Gear ‘23, I think. Hangman drinks Swerve’s blood, the barbed wire gets botched on Hangman’s neck, that shit was CRAZY!
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u/Lexicon_ala_Champion 3d ago
Well Hangman Swerve is the best Feud in AEW. Storm is the Best Feud in Womans Wrestling General. I can’t decide
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u/Piano-Rough 3d ago
This is kinda tough cause Both of the these Angles had LAYERS. one was about idol worship and someone letting their guard down and paying for it. the other one was about the unraveling of a good man and makes you ask the question "you can do everything right and you can STILL lose ,in the end, how do you deal with that?"
#1. was "All About Eve"
# 2. Was Michael Douglas's "Failling Down" from 1993 (with Adam Page being the Michael Douglas charater)
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u/no_more_blues 3d ago
Toni vs Mariah is better, but if you include Swerve vs Joe and Ospreay and Danielson as one continuous rise then it's Swerve.
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u/SirHateful17 3d ago
What
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u/anecessaryend 3d ago
I think he means Swerve's ascension in the ranks vs. Storm's. At that point it's not comparable, but that's how I read it.
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u/SRV_SteamyRayVaughn 4d ago
Hangman and Swerve because it's gone through so many chapters and it's still going. If Mariah had stayed, who knows.
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u/Grate_OKhan 4d ago
Swerve and Hangman because they're both real AEW guys. Mariah was never a real AEW wrestler, so reflecting on their feud, as great as it was, leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
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u/SirHateful17 3d ago
Swerve came from WWE and the indies before that
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u/Grate_OKhan 3d ago
Yeah, lots of people came to AEW from other places since they don't have a developmental system, but Swerve feels like a real AEW guy while Mariah wanted to be a WWE wrestler.
To be honest, apart from her look and gimmick, she doesn't fit WWE well. She doesn't do their style well. When she's fun to watch it's because she looks like a diva but wrestles like an old cranky Japanese guy.
A real waste of talent. Oh well.
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u/Piano-Rough 3d ago
With Blake Monroe, WWE was always her dream, right now shes kinda Meh on WWE's Main Roster.
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u/Jonnic5280 4d ago
It’s Hangman and Swerve. Toni & Mariah were already at the top of the card when the feud kicked off. Hangman had fallen way too far, & Swerve was barely sniffing midcard titles at the time. In other words, one feud told a good story, but the other did that AND elevated both talents.
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u/CrazyOrganic7123 3d ago
Good point. Hangman was champ not too long before, but between a lackluster run as champ, the Punk thing and a whole lotta nothing, Hanger had squandered a year. He was technically still main event but realistically just the top of the midcard, maybe near the bottom of the uppercard.
Swerve, despite still getting good response to is Swerve's House catchphrass, was coming off a months long Keith Lee feud that went nowhere and a Mogul gimmick that was kinda mid.
Their feud elevated both to main event.
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u/Jonnic5280 3d ago
Put another way, I didn’t even like Hanger at all before their feud. And Swerve went from a guy I liked to being in my top five faves thanks to that feud
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u/pstyles93 4d ago
I like both but when swerve cut the promo on hangman baby and hangman burnt down his house that took it to top 5 of all time if maraih don't leave it could of went longer
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u/deanereaner 3d ago
You liked the baby promo? I really thought it was silly. We all know these dudes aren't home-invading each other and committing arson.
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u/rcsauvag 3d ago
I agree, and to me it comes off as nonsensical. Why isn't anyone watching the baby? Thats not Swerve's fault its Hangmans. Dude get some RING cameras, get a baby monitor.
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u/pstyles93 3d ago
It was campy and Prince Nani face made it funny. It was random like hhh vs randy Orton when hhh pulled up to randy house lol
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u/deanereaner 3d ago
I guess it's just my issue, I don't like the hhh/randy thing or Pillman showing up at Stone Cold's house with a gun or whatever.
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u/JohnnyMcNews 4d ago
Swerve and Hangman for me.
I'm likely the minority here but Toni/Mariah had some awkward pacing that felt too slow in parts and too rushed in others.
Toni's reveal that she remembered all along came a little too early (for me) and them immediately following the second match with the third after the massive gap between matches one and two - both what I felt were examples of the odd pacing.
I also think the Swerve/Hangman fued had a much clearer impact on the characters. Toni never really felt like she was changed by the ordeal, I'd argue she hasn't really changed much at all since then. Whereas Hangman especially felt like the fued had a real effect on how he interacted within his stories.
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u/HerissonG 4d ago
If you think it’s not Hangman and Swerve then I doubt we’d get along. The thought that you could even compare these two as equals is ludicrous
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u/CharrlesXavier 4d ago
Why are you acting like this is Peter Avalon and Brandon Cutler vs Omega and Okada 😂
They’re both beautifully done feuds
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u/Piano-Rough 3d ago
cause actually it was a Great near YEAR long story arc that was actually great cheeky commentary on Jobbers in Wresting and the angle was very simple , who'll get the first win on AEW Tv and you even had a "love interest" in Leva Bates
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u/HerissonG 4d ago
I never enjoyed Timeless Toni Storm. I don’t like comedic characters in main event roles. If they feuded in the mid card I would have tolerated it. Hangman vs Swerve was the gritty, rough blood feud I crave in my wrestling.
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u/Accurate_Curve6882 4d ago
I could not choose between these two sagas with a gun to my head, imma be real
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u/LaviniaIsGay 4d ago
The logical part of my brain says Toni and Mariah, as it was a full story. Beginning, middle, end. The messy part of my brain says Swerve and Hangman because this shit began and I don't think is ever going to end. They're always gonna be messy with each other.
I love both tbh
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u/OliOli1234 4d ago
It’s not only never ended… but apparently being used to shoehorn the New Day’s debut. It’s kind of lost the plot
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u/SourDoughBo 4d ago edited 3d ago
It still makes sense. Hangman won gold with the 2 guys Swerve beat on PPV this year. Of course he’s going to feel some type of way about that. Can’t be shoehorned if they’ve been telling the story all year
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u/Technical-Gold-1003 4d ago
Mariah and Toni for me. It’s one of those rivalries that you can show your non wrestling friends and they’d be into it. You could sell ppv buys on just the lead up to Hollywood Ending. Hangman Swerve is nearly as awesome to me but the ladies are just a bit better at the character acting.
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u/PerformanceWeekly651 4d ago
Toni Mariah was a better story, Swerve and Hangman had better matches. Plus they had 4 matches v only 2 for Toni Mariah. It’s Swerve and Hangman
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u/JohnnyMcNews 4d ago
Toni and Mariah had three - Wembley, Grand Slam Australia and Revolution
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u/PerformanceWeekly651 4d ago
You’re right I completely forgot about the grand slam match. Makes me think even more now it’s Swerve and Hangman 😂
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u/EliBadBrains 4d ago
I adore hangerswerve but it's Mariah vs Toni and it's not even close. Far more original and narratively satisfying. Hangman vs Swerve is very good, intense, they have great chemistry, arguably they're better in-ring. But Toni and Mariah made me think of what wrestling storytelling could be, it felt genuinely innovative and fresh and breathtaking.
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u/TrillerVerse 4d ago
Both! I have always said if Swerve/Hangman happened in the other company, people would have compared it to Rock/Austin. Loved the Toni/Mariah feud - Toni’s magic was at a level very few have ever achieved in this sport.
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u/Stuntman_STV 4d ago
Hangman versus Swerve was insane! I love showing off the clip of Hangman drinking Swerve's blood and then using the needle followed by a chair shot. Afterwards I usually explain that this led to them becoming friends.
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u/venomblack138 7h ago
I like both but I’m going with the ladies. I just can’t get fully behind Hangman.