Former WWE champion reveals why he re-signed with AEW

Recently, a former WWE champion talked about his career in AEW. The star also spoke about his contract with the Jacksonville-based promotion.

Former NXT North American Champion Swerve Strickland recently revealed why he re-signed with All Elite Wrestling. The New Flavor joined AEW in 2022 and quickly became one of the company's top stars. He admitted that he signed a new contract with the company around the time of All In 2024.

Strickland believed that the motive behind signing his second deal was a little different than before. Speaking on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet, The New Flavor highlighted the amount of trust Tony Khan has in him. The former AEW World Champion added that he wants to deliver exactly what Khan envisions for his character. The AEW President has complete faith in him to do that.

Strickland said that trust was one of the reasons for him to re-sign with All Elite Wrestling.

“Everything. Me and Tony Khan were bonding as well. I didn’t get that trust yet from him, and once I finally did, not only just to trust to do what I want on TV. I think people think it’s like, oh, just do what you want on TV. It’s like, No, it’s not like that. It’s trust to be like, I need something done on TV that will work. You’re the guy to do it. That’s a different trust," said Swerve. [H/T: chrisvanvliet.com]

Over the past few years, Strickland has become a key player in AEW's success. The former WWE star recently made his return to the company at Full Gear, creating a lot of buzz around his name once again.

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Swerve Strickland reveals his dream match in AEW

Swerve Strickland has faced several top stars in All Elite Wrestling over the past few years. He has given exceptional performances against stars like Bryan Danielson and "Hangman" Adam Page in the company. However, Strickland revealed an unexpected name as his dream opponent in pro wrestling.

In the same interview on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet, Swerve named Kyle O'Reilly as someone he wants to face in the company. The 35-year-old said that they had only interacted in some battle royals before. Therefore, O'Reilly is a star he wants to see in the ring down the line.

“Kyle O’Reilly. Man, I’ve been asking for Kyle O’Reilly for so long. We interacted in a battle royal, the two-ring battle royals and stuff. But that was it, and that was when Bobby Fish was still here. Buddy Matthews, rest up, hope he comes back soon, because he’s a beast.” he said [H/T: chrisvanvliet.com]

Besides, Strickland wished a speedy recovery for Buddy Matthews, calling him another star he wants to face in the coming years. Only time will tell when the former NXT North American Champion will be able to get his dream matches in All Elite Wrestling.