Ladies and gentlemen, hold onto your overpriced wrestling merch, because Swerve Strickland just hit the jackpot! While he may have dropped the AEW World Championship to Bryan “Yes, I Have More Lives Than a Cat” Danielson at All In, this man’s bank account is doing a powerbomb on poverty. According to Fightful Select, Swerve just signed one of the fattest deals in AEW history—like, we’re talking a contract so big it probably needs its own entrance theme.
Remember when Strickland was just another ex-WWE superstar looking for a new home in 2022? Fast forward, and now he’s on the Forbes list of “People Who Could Buy Their Own Wrestling Promotion But Prefer to Stay in One for the Drama.” Strickland’s initial three-year contract, which was supposed to run until March 2025, has been torn up and tossed out like last week’s storylines. Why? Because the guy “outperformed” his deal faster than you can say, “Where’s my popcorn?”
Not only did he make history by defeating Samoa Joe to become AEW’s first Black world champion, but he also apparently convinced Tony Khan to “lock him down for years to come.” And by “lock down,” we mean the man is now set to be AEW’s top talent until at least 2028. That’s right, folks—Swerve Strickland isn’t going anywhere. Not unless you’ve got a Delorean and a flux capacitor handy.
Now, if you missed the spectacle, Swerve signed this new deal right in front of our very eyes during the “Zero Hour” preshow at All In, alongside the one and only Tony “I Book Matches in My Sleep” Khan. The two sealed the deal just before Swerve went on to main event the show at Wembley Stadium—a venue so iconic even the ghost of Freddie Mercury was probably watching.
But wait, there’s more! AEW isn’t slowing down because All Out in Chicago is coming up on September 7. And in true wrestling fashion, Swerve has been trading verbal haymakers with “Hangman” Adam Page for months. Rumor has it, these two are set to collide at the event, so prepare your snacks, folks—this is one showdown you won’t want to miss.