Swerve Strickland may not be an AEW original, but the past year of his run in All Elite Wrestling has cemented himself as one of the company’s cornerstones. Strickland broke out in Fall 2023 when he feuded with Hangman Page, targeting the former AEW World Champion in an effort to take his place on the card. After going 2-0 against Hangman, Swerve graduated to the world title scene, eventually dethroning then-champion Samoa Joe to capture AEW’s top prize. Over the next four months, Swerve racked up successful defenses against the likes of Christian Cage, Will Ospreay, and Claudio Castagnoli before eventually dropping the gold to Bryan Danielson at AEW ALL IN: London.
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Swerve Strickland Signs Massive New AEW Contract
Even without championship gold, Swerve Strickland’s AEW future has never been more certain.
As revealed on the AEW ALL IN: London – Zero Hour pre-show, Swerve has inked a new deal with All Elite Wrestling. Fightful Select added to this news by reporting that Swerve’s new contract keeps him in the company until at least 2028 and is one of the biggest contracts in AEW history. Swerve’s previous deal, which he signed upon his AEW debut in March 2022, was set to expire next March, but both sides felt he had outgrown that contract’s terms.
It’s unclear how much Swerve signed for, but given the value of top AEW contracts, it is likely to be in the seven-figure ballpark. Main event talent like AEW TBS Champion Mercedes Moné, AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada, and MJF are all reportedly making in the millions per year on their deals.
“It’s almost like I won the NBA Championship, now there’s the new draft of guys coming in the next year that’s about to alter the whole way the next year of the NBA is going to be. That’s what it honestly feels like,” Swerve told ComicBook earlier this year when asked about maintaining his spot at the top while AEW acquires new free agents like Moné and Okada. “It’s almost like the new wave of quarterbacks in the NFL. It’s Patrick Mahomes at the top. I want to be the Mahomes. I want to be the dynasty of what AEW is about to be. It’s not like we’re searching for the next guy, who’s it going to be? No, he’s here. We see it, we want it, we need it.”
Swerve is expected to rekindle his feud with Hangman Page beginning this Wednesday on AEW Dynamite ahead of a likely contest between the two at AEW All Out on Saturday, September 7th.
