Why Swerve Strickland Has Been Gone From AEW TV

Swerve Strickland has been gone from All Elite Wrestling's programming since a loss to Kenny Omega on the March 25 episode of Dynamite, and the reason for his absence has been revealed.

According to Fightful Select, Swerve Strickland was recently filming promotional materials for Warner Bros. Discovery. What project Strickland is working on with WBD is unknown, however.

Strickland was also absent from the AEW Dynasty pay-per-view. He wasn't scheduled for the show, though, and was actually in Houston, Texas between April 10 and April 12 as part of Nostalgia Con.

Strickland kicked off a fully fledged programme with Kenny Omega on the February 18 edition of Dynamite when he laid out Omega following his win over the AEW EVP, turning heel in the process. Omega made his return at Revolution, making the save for Brody King during a Swerve post-match beatdown. Omega levelled the feud at 1-1 with his win on March 25.

Strickland had been a babyface since May 2024, but he believes his heel turn was needed, having told Bleeding Cool in March:

"It was needed, and it was needed with the right person at the right time with Kenny Omega. There's no more of a lightning rod of attention in AEW to get than Kenny Omega. Everybody's always interested in what Kenny is doing when he's on-screen, when he's active, and he's very much healthy and at his best. There's no more of a top performer in the industry than Kenny Omega. 

"So going over 25 minutes with him in the main event, taking him out at the end the way that I did, it sparked a lot of noise throughout the industry. It sparked a lot of noise throughout AEW. That also woke up Nana in a lot of ways. In a lot of different ways, I'm able to navigate and move through AEW the way that I want to. The way I'm meant to, I would say."