All Elite Wrestling has a new faction on the block. After months of crescendoing tension, December’s AEW Dynamite: Holiday Bash saw Swerve Strickland finally turn on tag partner Keith Lee. Strickland did not execute this attack alone, as he had the assistance of Parker Boudreaux, Granden Goetzman and rapper Rick Ross. Boudreaux and Goetzman got physical with Lee, setting him up for a cinderblock stomp from Strickland, while Ross repeated “Mogul Affiliates” over and over again on the microphone. Ross’s not-so-subtle tease turned out to be the name of the faction, as the trio of Strickland, Boudreaux and Goetzman officially introduced themselves as such in the following weeks.
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While Ross has not appeared with Mogul Affiliates since December, Strickland emphasized that the rapper is very much supporting both the faction and AEW as a whole from the sidelines.
“He’s fully invested in what we’re doing,” Strickland told The Cruz Show. “It’s true. Him coming in and showing his passion for what we do, for who I am, Swerve the brand, he’s really promoting and he’s passionate about us and passionate about AEW in general.”
Aside from his placement in storylines, Ross unintentionally made headlines in both of his AEW appearances. His first segment launched the “false accusations” meme, while his second saw him drop an f-bomb on a live microphone.
Ross has been a long-time wrestling fan, appearing backstage at past episodes of Monday Night Raw. He began to get involved with AEW in an on screen capacity in 2022, largely in part due to his relationship with Strickland. It’s unclear when or if Ross will be back on AEW TV.
Beyond the Teflon Don, numerous top artists from hip-hop have been involved with AEW. Lil Uzi Vert was in attendance for AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam in September 2021. While Uzi did not appear on camera, he did have a brief dark segment with The Acclaimed and AEW President Tony Khan. This past year’s AEW Rampage: Grand Slam was home to another rapper’s involvement, as Action Bronson teamed with Hook to take on Matt Menard and Angelo Parker.
