 Strickland in March 2025 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Stephon Strickland (1989-09-30)September 30, 1989 (age 36) Tacoma, Washington, U.S. |
| Children | 3 |
| Relative | Fred Strickland (cousin) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring names |
|
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[1][2] |
| Billed weight | 240 lb (109 kg)[3] |
| Billed from | Tacoma, Washington[1] |
| Trained by |
|
| Debut | 2011 |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  Reserve |
| Service years | 2008–2017 |
Stephon Strickland (born September 30, 1989) is an Americanprofessional wrestler and rapper. He is signed toAll Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under thering nameSwerve Strickland. He is also known for his tenure withWWE from 2019 to 2021, where he performed under the ring nameIsaiah "Swerve" Scott.
Strickland began his career in 2008 asShane Strickland, working for several independent promotions until 2019 such asMajor League Wrestling (MLW),Evolve Wrestling, andCombat Zone Wrestling (CZW). He is a one-timeMLW World Heavyweight Champion, one-timeEvolve Champion, and one-timeCZW World Heavyweight Champion. From 2014 until 2018, he performed inLucha Underground as a masked wrestler namedKillshot. In 2019, he signed adevelopmental contract withWWE, where he worked asIsaiah "Swerve"Scott inNXT and was part of theHit Row stable; he won theNXT North American Championship once and was soon promoted to the main roster onSmackDown, but was released in November 2021.
Under the ring name Swerve Strickland, he signed with AEW in March 2022, going on to become a one-timeAEW World Champion and one-timeAEW World Tag Team Champion (withKeith Lee). He was the leader of theMogul Embassy stable until May 2024.
Stephon Strickland[4] was born inTacoma, Washington,[5][6] on September 30, 1990.[7] He is the cousin of formerNFL linebackerFred Strickland.[8] His father, who was asergeant first class cook in theUnited States Army, moved the family to Germany when Strickland was two months old to live on a U.S. military base inFrankfurt. Strickland spent the first seven years of his life in Germany. The family later returned to the U.S. and settled inMount Joy, Pennsylvania, where he attendedDonegal High School. He danced in talent shows and excelled infootball,basketball, andtrack and field.[7]
Shortly after graduating high school, Strickland felt the need to follow in his father's footsteps and enlisted in theArmy Reserve at the age of 17. He completed hisBasic Training inSouth Carolina, then underwent 22 weeks ofAdvanced Individual Training atFort Gordon inAugusta, Georgia. He was then stationed inYork, Pennsylvania, where he served as a 25U Signal Support Systems Specialist for eight years. He left the Reserve in 2015.[7][9][10]
Strickland decided to become aprofessional wrestler when he was 18 years old.[9] He began training at Ground Xero (Zero) Wrestling Training Academy in August 2008,[10] doing so while still serving in the United States Army Reserve.[9] He soon began getting bookings around theMaryland andPennsylvania areas.[7] He had Army Reserve commitments inYork, Pennsylvania, which obliged him to wrestle only in that general area'sindependent circuit in the early years of his career.[9] In September 2011, Strickland made his first appearance with theNational Wrestling Alliance, losing to Phil Brown.[11] In March 2012, he defeated Alex Payne in his debut forEast Coast Wrestling Association.[12] He would go to debut forWorld Xtreme Wrestling in a six-man match on September 15, 2012.[13]
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Strickland made hisCombat Zone Wrestling (CZW) debut on February 4, 2012, in a dark match.[14] On March 10, 2012, at Aerial Assault, Strickland participated in the main event, a Best Of The Best 11 Qualifying Aerial Assault Elimination Match won bySamuray del Sol.[15] On November 10, 2012, at Night of Infamy 11, Strickland participated in a CZW Wired TV Open Challenge, but was defeated by the championA. R. Fox.[16] At Best of the Best 12, Strickland participated in the Best of the Best tournament, but he was defeated in the first round by Alex Colon.[16]
On September 14, 2013, at Down with the Sickness, Strickland participated in the main event a Chris Cash Memorial Fatal 4 Way Ladder match for the CZW Wired TV Championship, but the match was won by Colon.[17] At Cage of Death XV, Colon defeated Strickland in a title match.[18] On March 8, 2014, at High Stakes, Strickland defeated the CZW Wired Champion Devon Moore to win the title for the first time.[19] At Best of the Best XIII, Strickland retained the title against Moore in a Ladder match.[20]
Then, Strickland started a feud withJoe Gacy. At Dojo Wars 6, Strickland lost the title against Gacy.[21] However, Strickland regained the title two weeks later at Dojo Wars 7.[22] In October 2014, Strickland participated in the World Triangle Tournament, a tournament held by Westside Xtreme Wrestling, Combat Zone Wrestling and Big Japan Pro-Wrestling. Strickland ended with 3 point in the Block B.[23] Finally, at Cage of Death XVI, Gacy defeated Strickland for the title.[24] After a lengthy absence in which he wrestled for WXW in Germany, Strickland made a one-time appearance in 2015 in a victory overDavid Starr.
In 2016, Strickland had an acclaimed series of matches withDezmond Xavier and in the 2017 Best of the Best tournament, he made it to the finals before losing toDave Crist. In July that same year, he then went on to defeat Gacy,Lio Rush, andDavey Richards in a 4-way to win theCZW World Heavyweight Championship for the first time. He held on to the title until November before losing to Gacy, who then immediately lost the title toRickey Shane Page. Page then challenged both men to a Cage Of Death match for the title, which Strickland was unsuccessful at winning. Strickland's final appearance in CZW was at CZW Twenty, in a victory against KC Navarro.
On May 5, 2012, Strickland made his debut forEvolve Wrestling, where he teamed with Latin Dragon to defeat DMC and Nate Carter.[25] On August 4, 2018, Strickland defeatedMatt Riddle to win theEvolve Championship at Evolve 108.[26] At Evolve 114 he lost the championship to NXT'sFabian Aichner, ending his three-month reign.[27] Strickland wrestled NXT'sKassius Ohno at Evolve 116 on November 10, 2018, in a losing effort.[28][29] After not appearing for three months, Strickland returned to Evolve at Evolve 121 on February 15, 2019, to face NXT'sAdam Cole.[30] He would be defeated by Cole and the following night he would defeatA. R. Fox.[31] He faced JD Drake at Evolve 126 for theWWN Championship in a match he lost.[32][33]
In 2016, Strickland made his debut in Germany forWestside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw), taking part in the 16 Carat Gold tournament and later their World Tag Team League, which he won alongside David Starr. They beat many established teams such as,Angélico andJack Evans,Ringkampf (Timothy Thatcher andWalter),Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate andTrent Seven) and The Leaders of the New School (Marty Scurll andZack Sabre Jr.).[9] Shane Strickland would challengeCody Rhodes, at the inaugural Defy event, Defy1 in a loss. During 2017'sWrestleMania 33 three-day weekend, he wrestled seven matches for five different promotions, including four in one day.[10] On August 25, 2018, Strickland appeared atTriplemanía XXVI. He andA. C. H. appeared at that event to representMajor League Wrestling through the MLW and AAA partnership. They were in a Four-way match for theAAA World Cruiserweight Championship. Strickland would fail to capture the championship. On March 23, 2019, Strickland competed forThe Crash Lucha Libre in fatal-4-way forThe Crash Cruiserweight Championship.[34]
Strickland won the PCW Ultra Light Heavyweight Championship on March 26, 2018.[35] Two months later at their next event he defended against Douglas James withRicky Steamboat as the guest referee.[36] He finished the year with successful defenses againstDragon Lee,Flip Gordon,Rey Horus andDarby Allin, among others.[37] On December 7, 2018, Strickland defeatedPentagon Jr. for the PCW Ultra Heavyweight Championship, becoming a double champion as he was still holding the Light Heavyweight Championship.[38] He would vacate the Light Heavyweight Championship shortly after, and he defended the Ultra Heavyweight Championship at their A2K19 event on January 18, 2019, againstBrian Cage.[39]
On March 9, 2019, Strickland gave a farewell speech at aDEFY Wrestling event, indicating he will soon be signing with a major company.[40] At Wrestle Summit 2019, he appeared as PCW Ultra roster member.[41] At the event he lost his PCW Ultra Heavyweight Championship toMil Muertes.[42] Following Wrestle Summit, Strickland revealed that on April 6, he will wrestle for Wrestling Revolver at WrestleCon's Pancakes and Piledrivers event. In the match, he teamed withJoe Gacy andEddie Kingston to face-off againstoVe, in what was promoted as his last match on the independent circuit.[43]
Strickland participated inEl Rey Network professional wrestling television seriesLucha Underground. Strickland became a central character on Lucha Underground, as one of a small group of characters to appear in every season.[7] His friend Ricochet being on the show led to him sending Konnan some of his demo tapes in late 2014. This led to a tryout match withWillie Mack and him later being signed by the company.[7] He portrayed the character of Lt. Jermaine Strickland, a military vet who carries dog tags to honor the memories of his fallen comrades and wrestled under a mask asKillshot.[44][45] During the first season, he aligned withBig Ryck andWillie Mack and participated in a tournament for the LU Trios Championship, but they were defeated in the finales by the eventual winnersAngélico,Son of Havoc andIvelisse.[46] Following the first season, Strickland asked head writer Chris DeJoseph if he could write some background and story for his character. This led to it having more military elements.[7]
In Season 2, had a feud withMarty Martinez after Marty stole his dog tags after a match between them ended in a no contest. Their feud ended in a Weapon of Mass Destruction match, where Killshot defeated Martinez.[citation needed] After the match, Killshot started a storyline when he received a letter fromA. R. Fox, a former brother in arms who Killshot left for dead in battle. They faced each other at Ultima Lucha Tres Part I in a Hell of War match where Killshot won.ESPN called it "one of the most brutal contests to ever be televised in professional wrestling."[7] Two weeks later, The Mack reunited Killshot and Fox and won the Trios Championship. During Season 4, Killshot had a feud with Son of Havoc which culminated at Ultima Lucha Cuatro in a mask vs mask match. After losing the match, Killshot surrendered his mask to Son of Havoc and revealed his identity as Lt. Jermaine Strickland. As he was leaving the temple, he apologized to Dante Fox and asked to be relieved of duty. Being granted permission, Killshot exited the Lucha Underground temple.
On October 5, 2017, Strickland debuted in the main event ofMajor League Wrestling's 2017 rebirth showOne Shot by defeatingRicochet.[10] On April 12, 2018, Strickland defeatedMatt Riddle at one of MLW's first major shows, to win an eight-man tournament and the vacantMLW World Heavyweight Championship.[7] He lost the title to wrestlerLow Ki after Strickland had a few successful defenses, with his reign lasting 91 days. Following that he feuded withSami Callihan, which ended in a street fight won by Strickland.[citation needed] They also participated in a War Games match in September 2018, where Callihan attacked Strickland during his entrance, removing him from the match. This was reportedly done to write him off television if contract negotiations changed.[47]
On episode 32 of MLW's weekly programMLW Fusion, Strickland faced Low Ki in rematch for the Heavyweight title. However, after a distraction, Ki "ripped" out some of Strickland's hair and rolled him up for the win. After the match, Strickland grabbed a microphone and begun aworked shoot towards MLW management turningheel in the process. He mentioned ownerCourt Bauer and blamed management for his bad luck as of late. He ended the promo with, "As of right now, I am terminating my contract and I'm.." as his microphone got cut off. Strickland proceeded to throw trash at the MLW employees that were confronting him, hefliped off one of them and hopped the rail into the audience and left.[48]
They followed this up two weeks later onFusion with a scene of Strickland and Court Bauer arguing behind his closed office door. After this, it was stated he was "contractly obligated" to appear at the December 13, 2018, MLW event, Never Say Never. At the event he was defeated byCMLL luchadorRush.[49] This match aired onMLW Fusion on January 18, 2019. Strickland opened the show with a heel promo disparaging the fans and the city until he was interrupted by Rush.[50] This would be Strickland's last regular appearance in MLW.[47] On January 15, 2019, Strickland stated on Twitter that he was now a free agent.[51]
Strickland returned to MLW in March, 2022 atIntimidation Games, appearing as the mystery opponent forMyron Reed'sMLW World Middleweight Championship in a losing effort, and aligning himself withAzteca Underground'sCesar Duran.[52][53]
On April 17, 2019, it was announced that he signed a contract withWWE and begun working at theirPerformance Center, and his ring name was changed toIsaiah "Swerve"Scott.[1][54][55] He wrestled his debut match againstCameron Grimes, a dark match that took place before the May 1 NXT television tapings.[56] In June, it was announced that Scott would compete in a tournament namedNXT Breakout Tournament,[57] where he made his debut on the July 3 episode ofNXT, but lost to Cameron Grimes in the first round of the tournament.[58] On the July 23 episode of205 Live, he debuted on thebrand by losing toCruiserweight ChampionDrew Gulak.[59] AtWorlds Collide on January 25, 2020, Scott challenged for the Cruiserweight Championship in a fatal four way match againstTravis Banks,Jordan Devlin, and then-championAngel Garza, but was unsuccessful.[60][61]
On April 12, Scott was announced as a participant in a tournament to determine theinterim NXT Cruiserweight Champion, representing Group B in the tournament, where he was defeated byAkira Tozawa andGentleman Jack Gallagher, but was able to defeatEl Hijo del Fantasma (who had also worked for Lucha Underground under the name King Cuerno), leaving him with one win in the tournament, thus failing to advance to the finals.[62][63] Scott then began feuding with Cruiserweight Champion Santos Escobar, El Hijo del Fantasma's new ring name, after Scott claimed to be the only one who has pinned Escobar. On the August 26 episode ofNXT, Scott challenged Escobar for the title but lost after Escobar hit him with a loaded mask.[64] On the September 1 episode ofNXT Super Tuesday, Scott and Breezango (Tyler Breeze andFandango) defeated Legado del Fantasma in a Six-Man Street Fight after Scott once again pinned Escobar, thus earning Scott a title shot atNXT TakeOver: 31.[65] At the event, he lost to Escobar.[66][67]
Scott then entered theDusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament, where he was paired withJake Atlas, but the two were eliminated from the tournament by the eventual winnerMSK (Nash Carter andWes Lee) and following the match, argued with one another.[68] On the February 17, 2021, episode ofNXT, Scott attackedLeon Ruff after losing a match to him, turningheel in the process.[69] AtNXT Takeover: Stand & Deliver, Scott would participated in a 6 Way match, where he eliminated Ruff and Cameron Grimes but would be last person eliminated in the match byBronson Reed.
On the May 4 episode ofNXT, Scott defeated Ruff in a Falls Count Anywhere match afterA. J. Francis interfered on Scott's behalf. The following week, Scott was joined by Francis (who was now called Top Dolla), Tehuti Miles (now calledAshante "Thee" Adonis) and Briana Brandy (nowB-Fab), forming the stableHit Row.[70] On the June 29 episode ofNXT, Scott defeated Bronson Reed to win theNXT North American Championship, his first title in his WWE career.[71] As part of the2021 Draft, Scott along with the rest of Hit Row, were drafted to theSmackDownbrand.[72] On the October 12 episode ofNXT, he defeated Santos Escobar to retain his NXT North American championship, only to lose toCarmelo Hayes, ending his 105-day reign. On November 4, B-Fab was released from her WWE contract, shortening the group. Two weeks later on November 18, Scott was released from his WWE contract along with Adonis and Dolla.[73]
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On February 13, 2022, Strickland made his return to DEFY Wrestling after three years, confrontingDarby Allin andNick Wayne.[74] On October 8 at DEFY City of Thorns, Strickland defeatedChristopher Daniels to become the newinterimDEFY World Champion.[75] On November 26 at DEFY Fightwave, Strickland won asix-wayladder match to become the undisputed DEFY World Champion, officially starting his third reign holding the title.[76] On April 8, 2023 at DEFY The Realest, Strickland lost the title to Nick Wayne, ending his reign at 133 days.[77] Strickland made an appearance at theHouse of Glory (HOG) eventHigh Intensity on July 26, 2024, defeatingAmazing Red.[78]
On March 6, 2022, Strickland signed withAll Elite Wrestling (AEW), debuting under the new name Swerve Strickland at theRevolutionpay-per-view event.[79][80] He made his in-ring debut for AEW on the March 11 episode ofRampage, defeatingTony Nese.[81] The following week, Strickland aligned himself withKeith Lee in a feud withTeam Taz (Powerhouse Hobbs andRicky Starks). Strickland and Lee would then begin tag teaming, dubbing themselves "Swerve In Our Glory".[82] In April 2022, Strickland made his debut for AEW's sister promotion,Ring of Honor (ROH), defeatingAlex Zayne atSupercard of Honor XV.
AtDynamite: Fyter Fest Night 1 on July 13, Swerve In Our Glory defeated defending championsThe Young Bucks and Team Taz in aTriple or Nothing match to win theAEW World Tag Team Championship. They had successful title defenses against the likes ofThe Lucha Brothers and theGunn Club (Colten andAustin Gunn). They would then enter a three match series with The Acclaimed (Max Caster andAnthony Bowens), defeating them atAll Out, losing the belts to them in a rematch atDynamite: Grand Slam, and losing to them once more atFull Gear after Strickland slapped Lee when Lee refused to usepliers as a weapon, causing Lee to walk out on the match.[83] The following month, at the ROH eventFinal Battle, Swerve In Our Glory faced Shane Taylor Promotions. During the match, Strickland followed suit, walking out on Lee after a sequence of friendly fire attacks between the two, causing Lee to narrowly defeat Shane Taylor Promotions.[84]
On the December 21, 2022, edition ofDynamite, Strickland turned on Lee, forming a new stable, "Mogul Affiliates", withParker Boudreaux,Granden Goetzman (Later named Trench), and the rapperRick Ross.[85][86] Strickland feuded with Lee until March 2023, when he and Boudreaux lost to Lee andDustin Rhodes.
In April 2023, Mogul Affiliates merged withPrince Nana's stableThe Embassy to createMogul Embassy.
Strickland began a feud withSting andDarby Allin, starting when Allin defeated Strickland on the April 12 edition ofDynamite.[87] On May 28 atDouble or Nothing, Stickland competed in the21-man BlackjackBattle Royal for theAEW International Championship, but was lastly eliminated byOrange Cassidy, who retained the title.[88] Strickland received a match for the title on the June 7 edition ofDynamite, but lost when he was defeated by Cassidy. After the match, Strickland and The Mogul Embassy attacked Cassidy only to be chased off by Allin and Sting.[89] The following month, Strickland was forced to reteam with Keith Lee in theBlind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament, but the duo were quickly eliminated by Allin and Cassidy.[90] The following week, Strickland defeated Allin's protege and rival on the independent sceneNick Wayne.[91] On the July 26 edition ofDynamite, Strickland avenged his loss to Allin, by defeating him. The feud further intensified when Allin's ally, AR Fox betrayed Allin, joining The Mogul Embassy.[92] On August 23, Strickland and Fox lost to Allin and Wayne, causing Strickland to kick Fox out of Mogul Embassy, ending their short term alliance, ahead of the duo's match against Allin and Sting atAll In: London. Soon after,Christian Cage was announced as Fox's replacement as Strickland's partner at the event.[93] On August 27, 2023, at All In: London, Strickland and Cage lost to Allin and Sting in acoffin match, after Strickland was shut in the coffin.[94]
Strickland returned, for the first time since being placed in the coffin at All In: London, on the September 6 edition ofDynamite, confronting"Hangman" Adam Page. Strickland berated Page, claiming that if he was given the same opportunities as him, he would be the "first blackAEW World Champion". Upon further mocking Page, Mogul Embassy member Brian Cage ambushed Page.[95] The following week, Strickland once again confronted Page during his match with Brian Cage. Following Page's victory, Strickland challenged him to a match atWrestleDream on October 1. Before Page could respond, Cage attacked him, though he was saved by The Young Bucks.[96] The feud intensified atRampage: Grand Slam, whereThe Elite (Page and The Young Bucks) defeated Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage, Toa Liona and Bishop Kaun) to win theROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship.[97] On the September 27 edition ofDynamite, Strickland and Page met in the ring for a contract signing to confirm their match at WrestleDream. The two insulted one another, leading to Page stabbing Strickland's hand with a pen.[98] On October 1 at WrestleDream in Strickland's home state ofWashington, Strickland defeated Page.[99] On November 18 atFull Gear, Strickland defeated Page in aTexas Deathmatch.[100] The match was acclaimed and but received backlash and some mainstream media attention for a moment in which Page cut open Strickland's forehead and drank his blood.[101][102][103][104] Strickland stated that telling people to avoid watching the match would have theopposite effect, and compared it to telling children not to go and see "a new insane horror movie".[105]
Strickland participated in the firstContinental Classic tournament, where he finished joint top of his block with 12 points, allowing him to advance to the semifinal round. In the semifinal round, Strickland lost in a triple threat match toJon Moxley, eliminating him from the tournament.[106] On December 30 atWorlds End, Strickland was originally scheduled to face Keith Lee; as Lee was not medically cleared to compete, he was replaced byDustin Rhodes, who Strickland defeated.[107]
On the February 7, 2024, episode ofDynamite, Strickland wrestled Adam Page with the winner facingSamoa Joe for the AEW World Championship atRevolution. However, their match went to a 30-minute time limit draw; as a result, both men were declared number one contenders with Joe in turn scheduled to defend the AEW World Championship against both in a three-way match,[108] which was won by Joe.[109]
At Dynasty, Strickland defeated Samoa Joe to capture the AEW World Championship. By defeating Samoa Joe, Strickland became the first recognized African-American AEW World Champion.[110][111] On the April 27 episode ofAEW Collision, Strickland defeatedClaudio Castagnoli in his first title defense.[112] On the May 1 episode ofDynamite, Strickland's opponent atDouble or Nothing on May 26 was revealed to be Christian Cage.[113] On the May 8 episode ofDynamite, Strickland was assaulted by Brian Cage, Bishop Kaun, and Toa Liona, resulting in the disbanding of Mogul Embassy and turning Strickland face.[114] On May 26 at the event, Strickland successfully defended the AEW World Championship against Christian Cage.[115] On June 30 atForbidden Door, Strickland successfully defended his title againstWill Ospreay.[116] On August 25 atAll In: London, he was defeated by Danielson via submission which was his first submission loss in AEW, ending his reign at 126 days.[117] Earlier in the day on the Zero Hour pre-show, it was shown that Strickland had re-signed with AEW in what was later reported by Fightful Select to be a multi-year deal and one of the biggest deals in AEW history.[118][119]
During Strickland's match at All In: London, Adam Page made an appearance, distracted Strickland, which allowed Danielson to gain the upper hand. On the August 28 episode ofDynamite, Strickland confronted Page and challenged him to asteel cage match atAll Out on September 7, which was later made official.[120] On the September 4 episode ofDynamite, a contract signing was set for the cage match between Strickland and Page. While Strickland arrived to sign the contract, Page didn't show up as he was at Strickland's childhood house, which Strickland had just recently purchased. Page proceeded to burn down the house as Strickland watched in horror. This forced AEW president Tony Khan to not sanction their steel cage match at All Out, turning the match into alights out steel cage match[121] On September 7 at All Out, Strickland lost to Page, ending their year-long feud.[122]
After a brief hiatus, Strickland returned on October 12 atWrestleDream, where he started a feud with the debuting stableThe Hurt Syndicate (Bobby Lashley,MVP, andShelton Benjamin).[123] On October 30 atFright Night Dynamite, Strickland defeated Benjamin, but would be attacked by a debuting Lashley afterwards.[124] On November 23 atFull Gear, Strickland was defeated by Lashley.[125] After losing to Lashley, Strickland began a feud withRicochet.[126][127] On the February 5, 2025 episode ofDynamite, Strickland was defeated by Ricochet, who proceeded to steal the "Embassy" robe that Strickland wore in honor ofJimmy Rave.[128][129] On March 9 atRevolution, Strickland defeated Ricochet, regaining the robe and earning a shot at the AEW World Championship. Later in the show, Strickland attacked reigning champion Jon Moxley after his successful title defense.[130] On April 6 atDynasty, in a controversial main event, Strickland failed to defeat Moxley after interference fromThe Young Bucks (Matthew and Nicholas Jackson).[131] On May 25 atDouble or Nothing, Strickland teamed withKenny Omega,Willow Nightingale, andThe Opps (Samoa Joe,Powerhouse Hobbs, andKatsuyori Shibata) to defeat theDeath Riders (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli,Marina Shafir, andWheeler Yuta) and The Young Bucks in anAnarchy in the Arena match.[132]
After Double or Nothing, Strickland began a storyline with Will Ospreay after refusing to join Ospreay in assisting Adam Page against the Death Riders, due to Strickland and Page's past rivalry.[133] This led to a match between the two on June 11 atDynamite: Summer Blockbuster, where the bout ended in a time-limit draw. After the match, Strickland and Ospreay were both attacked by The Young Bucks, leading to a tag match being scheduled forAll In: Texas on July 12, where Strickland and Ospreay defeated The Young Bucks. Per the added stipulation of the match, The Young Bucks were stripped of their executive vice presidents positions of AEW (inkayfabe). In the main event world title match between Jon Moxley and Adam Page, Strickland made an appearance, prevented The Young Bucks from interfering, and proceeded to hand a chain to Page that he would use to submit Moxley.[134][135][136] On August 24 atForbidden Door, Strickland unsuccessfully challengedKazuchika Okada for theAEW Unified Championship.[137] Following Forbidden Door, Strickland took time off to have atorn meniscus that he had been dealing with since 2019 surgically repaired.[138][139]
On November 22 atFull Gear, Strickland made his return after a three-month hiatus, confronting AEW World ChampionSamoa Joe following his title winning victory over Adam Page.[140] That night, he debuted a new theme song that featuredWu-Tang Clan rapperRaekwon.[141] On December 27 atWorlds End, Strickland failed to win the AEW World Championship in a four-way match, which was won byMJF.[142]
Strickland has two daughters and a son.[143]
Strickland is a member of thehip hop group Swerve City and also performs solo as Swerve the Realest.[144]
As Isaiah "Swerve" Scott, he made his video game debut inWWE 2K22.[145] As Swerve Strickland, he was added as a playable character toAEW Fight Forever asdownloadable content.[146]
| Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Son of Havoc (mask) | Killshot (mask) | Boyle Heights, California, United States | Ultima Lucha Cuatro | October 31, 2018 (air date) |
Swerve weighed in at 230 lbs.
Strickland becomes AEW's first African-American World Champion, their 11th overall World champion, and eighth unique World Champion
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