Unrecognized and fired at WWE, now a celebrated figurehead at the rival: Swerve Strickland is the new AEW World Champion!
“Whose House? Swerve’s House” – Shooting star Swerve Strickland is the new World Champion of WWE rival AEW!
Sunday night’s spectacular Pay Per View Dynasty ended with a bang as the 33-year-old Strickland defeated previous title holder Samoa Joe in his hometown of Tacoma to make a piece of wrestling history.
The charismatic Strickland is the first African-American World Champ in AEW and only the eighth black World Champion of a major US wrestling league – after Ron Simmons (WCW), Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (WWE), Booker T (WCW and WWE) as well as Mark Henry, Kofi Kingston, Bobby Lashley and Big E (WWE).
It’s the culmination of a stunning rise – two and a half years after Strickland was unexpectedly fired from WWE.
HE DID IT!
Swerve Strickland is the NEW AEW World Champion!Order AEWDynasty on PPV right now!
: https://t.co/ikg1uVbyrL
: https://t.co/i2toHZ2Ft1@SamoaJoe @swerveconfident pic.twitter.com/MKh6fowEnc– All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) April 22, 2024
Swerve Strickland: Fired from WWE, AEW World Champ
Strickland – Isaiah “Swerve” Scott in WWE – was the original leader of WWE’s Hit Row group, which got off to a promising start in the NXT promotion
WWE boss Vince McMahon, who was still in charge at the time, obviously didn’t see the potential: He fired Hit Row a few weeks after the promotion to the main roster – Strickland had only played one match on SmackDown. When “Triple H” Paul Levesque came to power the following year, he brought Hit Row back and would certainly have liked to have Strickland back – but he had tied himself to AEW in the meantime.
While the gutted Hit Row flopped in WWE even under Triple H, Strickland – cousin of former NFL linebacker Fred Strickland – took off at AEW: With charismatic performances, outstanding matches (most notably those against former champ Hangman Page) and congenial manager Prince Nana, Strickland established himself as a veritable main-event attraction.
Now, Strickland completed the rise in an emotional way at his home match – with recognizable pride in the accomplishment: Strickland entered wearing an outfit reminiscent of the revolutionary African-American Marvel blockbuster “Black Panther”.
The entrance also included a tribute to Nana’s former protégé Jimmy Rave, who died tragically young three years ago: Nana dressed Strickland in the same robe that Rave had worn two decades ago in ROH in his big matches against the young AJ Styles and CM Punk.
Salute to Prince Nana & Swerve Strickland. RIP Jimmy Rave. AEWDynasty pic.twitter.com/1ASmKfLFCM
– Think 1st (@DaKontradiction) April 22, 2024
Nana’s unexpected late rise to become manager of a World Champion is also a small fairytale
