Swerve Strickland is currently wearing a fresh coat of paint as a character in AEW.
And he pulled the trigger on the change with the right guy.
During a recent Bleeding Cool News interview to promote AEW Dynasty 2026 and other projects, the former AEW World Champion spoke about his recent heel turn, and how Kenny Omega was the right person to execute it.
“It was needed, and it was needed with the right person at the right time with Kenny Omega,” Strickland stated. “There’s no more of a lightning rod of attention in AEW to get than Kenny Omega. Everybody’s always interested in what Kenny is doing when he’s on screen, when he’s active, and he’s very much healthy and at his best. There’s no more of a top performer in the industry than Kenny Omega.”
Strickland continued, “So going over 25 minutes with him in the main event, taking him out at the end the way that I did, it sparked a lot of noise throughout the industry. It sparked a lot of noise throughout AEW. That also woke up Nana in a lot of ways. In a lot of different ways, I’m able to navigate and move through AEW the way that I want to. The way I’m meant to, I would say.”
Swerve Strickland is coming off of a loss to Kenny Omega in an excellent show-opening performance on the March 25 episode of AEW Dynamite in St. Paul, MN. The outcome of the bout saw him lose his No. 1 Contender status to Omega in a match where if he had won, he would have become the new AEW EVP.
