Swerve Strickland has cemented himself as a top dog within AEW. The former NXT North American Champion joined the young company just last year, signing his contract at AEW Revolution in March 2022. Like many new AEW signings, Swerve teetered on getting lost in the shuffle in his first couple of weeks in the land of All Elite, but a tag partnership with Keith Lee squashed all of those fears. Those two went on to win the AEW World Tag Team Championships and reigned with the gold throughout Summer 2022 before losing the gold to The Acclaimed that September. From there, Swerve’s tag team with the Limitless One was on borrowed time, and by year’s end he had turned on him, cementing himself as a singles heel.
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That initial turn saw Swerve form Mogul Affiliates, a faction that included rapper Rick Ross as the mouthpiece. In the weeks that followed, Mogul Affiliates underwent a facelift, merging with Ring of Honor’s The Embassy to become the Mogul Embassy.
Swerve Strickland Teases Rick Ross’s AEW Return
While he has yet to mingle with the new-look Mogul Embassy, The Boss is always an arm’s length away.
Speaking to ComicBook.com, Swerve Strickland teased that Rick Ross could be back in AEW at any point.
“You stay tuned. He could pop up anywhere,” Swerve said. “This man just dropped a huge single with Meek Mill. He’s busy working, but he’ll always have time for AEW and especially myself. He can drop in at any moment.”
The Mogul Embassy currently consists of Swerve leading the charge, Prince Nana serving as the manager, and the unit of Brian Cage and the Gates of Agony holding down the fort in Ring of Honor where they reign as ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions. Since merging earlier this year, the Mogul Embassy has not added any new members, but that’s not to say there aren’t prospects out there.
Swerve’s former stablemate in WWE, “Top Dolla” AJ Francis, was released this past September. When asked if there’s an opportunity for a reunion within AEW, Swerve noted that the Mogul Embassy’s focus is on building up its current members rather than adding new ones.
“Good luck on anything he’s trying to do, man. He needs to do his own thing and become his own man,” Swerve said. “I don’t know about room [within the Mogul Embassy]. I’m still working on growing us, getting the individuals acquainted with the audience. Those guys still have a lot more to grow, and I’m happy with what we have. We’re going to grow with those guys.”
Swerve Strickland takes on “Hangman” Adam Page this Saturday, November 18th at AEW Full Gear in a Texas Death Match.
