Swerve Strickland is back. The former World Champion made a surprise return on the August 12 episode of AEW Dynamite, stepping into the spotlight for the first time since losing to Will Ospreay in the Owen Hart Foundation tournament finals at Forbidden Door. And he wasted no time making his presence felt.
Strickland arrived with Prince Nana and immediately confronted Hangman Page, Bandido and Brody King. He revisited his history with Brodido before turning his attention to Page, who didn’t hesitate to fire back. Page told Strickland that despite all the “bad things” he did this year, he has nothing to show for it.
The tension escalated when The Demand arrived, backed by their new members in the Lethal Twist. Ricochet took the lead, verbally tearing into Strickland and the new AEW Trios Champions. He reminded Strickland that nine people were standing in the ring who didn’t like him and told him to “get to stepping.”
Strickland and Nana eventually backed off, but not before Strickland threw a final parting shot at Ricochet—one that clearly didn’t sit well with him.
The confrontation wasn’t random. The Lethal Twist are set to challenge Page and Brodido for the Trios titles on Saturday’s Collision. With Collision being taped after Dynamite, Strickland’s return raises the possibility that he may get involved in the match or continue stirring trouble in the division.
Strickland’s 2026 schedule has been unusually light. He has wrestled only 11 matches so far this year, including his loss to Ospreay and a failed attempt to defeat Kenny Omega in their rematch, costing him another shot at the AEW World Championship. His absence from AEW programming had become noticeable, but Wednesday’s return signals that he’s ready to re-enter the mix—and possibly target the trios division next.
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