Swerve joined Mojo Muhtadi on "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs nightly on FS1) ... and talked about the Texas Deathmatch at AEW's Full Gear, which Strickland ultimately won. But, he paid a price.

"It was that Hangman Moonsault with the chair and barbed wire. Hangman is a deceptively massive man in itself. Receiving a Moonsault from him at that height and that weight and that speed and velocity already takes a lot out of you," Swerve told us.

"Add in a metal chair wrapped in like probably hundreds of yards of barbed wire wrapped in a spool around it, it just scraped across me, along with Hangman landing across me. Out of all the brutal stuff we did in that match, that was probably the one that stuck out."

With the big match under his belt and Strickland's stock being at an all-time high, we asked him what was next.

Swerve mentioned competing in the upcoming Continental Classic tournament ... but also has his sights set on something more historic.

"I feel like I catapulted myself as one of the top guys in the industry. And I said this before, earlier in the year, I really feel I can be the first African American AEW world champion."

Great matches require two wrestlers putting in work ... and Strickland spoke very highly of his opponent. In fact, he thinks "Hangman" Adam Page could be this generation's Mick Foley.