AEW star Swerve Strickland undergoes surgery
One of AEW’s top stars is recovering after undergoing successful surgery.
Swerve Strickland had surgery on Wednesday to finally repair a torn meniscus that he suffered in 2019. The legitimate knee issue had recently been worked into AEW storylines, culminating in an injury angle that took place at Forbidden Door to explain Strickland’s upcoming absence.
After surgery was performed this morning, Strickland posted a brief update on social media: “Success.” He also shared a photo to his Instagram stories showing his knee bandaged up.
Via @swerveconfident’s Instagram Story #SwerveStrickland #Swerve #SwervesHouse #AEW pic.twitter.com/m2Mk6clR10
— Swerve-Strickland.Com (@SwerveSCOM) August 27, 2025
Strickland faced off against Kazuchika Okada for the AEW Unified Championship at Sunday’s Forbidden Door pay-per-view in London. After Okada retained the title, there was an angle where he targeted Strickland’s injured knee. Wardlow then made his return to AEW programming, being revealed as Okada’s newest ally in the Don Callis Family.
There hasn’t been any word on how long Strickland is expected to be out of action. Another one of AEW’s top wrestlers, Will Ospreay, is also sidelined post-Forbidden Door with a surgery coming up.
Strickland is a former AEW World Champion, having held the title for four months last year.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.