Swerve Strickland has first AEW match after three-month absence
Image: JJ Williams
For the first time since late-August, former AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland is back to being an active wrestler.
Strickland teamed with fellow former champion Hangman Page on Wednesday’s Winter is Coming edition of AEW Dynamite to pick up a victory over The Opps’ Katsuyori Shibata and Powerhouse Hobbs i a tornado match.
It was Strickland’s first match in 108 days after he underwent knee surgery to correct an issue that had plagued him since his days in WWE NXT. He last competed at August’s AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door in a losing effort to Unified Champion Kazuchika Okada.
Strickland will be in action later this week, taking on Josh Alexander in their first ever meeting as part of Saturday’s Collision from Cardiff, Wales.
The 35-year-old made his surprise return at November’s Full Gear, backing up Page after he fell in defeat to Samoa Joe in the steel cage match main event, dropping his World title in the process. That same match saw Hook rejoin The Opps and turn against Page, aiding Joe’s win.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.