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AEW fans will be treated to another highly anticipated debut after it was announced by Swerve Strickland that he will take on Nick Wayne on the July 12 episode of Dynamite.
Nick Wayne is a 17-year-old wrestling prodigy currently competing on the independent circuit. He faced Swerve Strickland on February 26, 2022, at the DEFY 50 event at Washington Hall in Seattle. It was later revealed on Twitter that after losing the DEFY title, Strickland challenged Wayne to a match on AEW Dynamite after he turns 18.
The former NXT North American Champion clarified that it will not be a title match.
Tony Khan signed Nick Wayne to an AEW contract when he was only 16. However, the terms of his contract stated that he couldn't wrestle for All Elite Wrestling until he graduated high school. He has a strong wrestling lineage with his father, Buddy Wayne, wrestling for WWE during his career.
Buddy Wayne wrestled the likes of Tajiri and Mark Jindrak on different episodes of Velocity and Sunday Night Heat. He also trained former TNT Champion Darby Allin, the man who presented Nick with his All Elite Wrestling contract.
Nick Wayne spoke about his AEW contractual situation
Nick Wayne has had a lot of hype surrounding him, and fans are eager to watch him wrestle on national television.
In a recent interview, he opened up on his contractual situation with Tony Khan's company.
"As of right now, I can't do any in-ring work with them until I turn 18, which will be this July. From last February until July, it's just a learning experience, trying to learn TV wrestling and how AEW does things around here."
The 17-year-old added:
"I had no clue [Allin] was here or in town or anything," Wayne said. "And he did something with Daniels, then he got on the microphone, he was talking for a bit, and then he pulled a paper out of his pocket and it was the AEW contract. I said 'yes' in front of the fans and it blew up online. I was trending like No. 7 in the world on Twitter for this contract. I just felt like I was on cloud nine forever, and I still do," he continued. (h/t: WrestlingInc)
Swerve Strickland is an experienced star and will be a great first opponent for Nick Wayne's All Elite Wrestling debut.
