In a recent episode of the podcast “Busted Open After Dark”, wrestling legend Bully Ray expressed his opinions on Swerve Strickland’s reign as AEW World Champion. He commented,
“Something just doesn’t feel right to me [with Strickland’s tenure as champion.] And I don’t believe Swerve was successful in connecting with the audience tonight. There seemed to be no common ground between the Calgary fans and Swerve Strickland this evening. Swerve seemed to dismiss the fact that Danielson had won and [said something akin to], ‘Oh yeah, Danielson prevailed. Sure, I’ll compete against him, and yes, that’s all fine and dandy.’ I wasn’t fond of his placement in the show, and I have doubts about the way they’ve presented him.”
Strickland claimed the championship at AEW Dynasty in the spring of this year. He is the eighth individual to secure the AEW World Title and the initial African American to do so.
In the upcoming AEW All In: London 2024, Strickland is scheduled to defend his title against Bryan Danielson, who recently claimed the 2024 Men’s Owen Hart Cup.
Prior to that, Strickland will join forces with Team AEW for the upcoming Blood & Guts event scheduled for the July 24th episode of Dynamite. Here, he along with Mark Briscoe and other allies will confront The Elite.