Swerve Strickland reacts to former AEW champion's historic achievement

AEW star Swerve Strickland is gearing up for a major challenge at this year's Double or Nothing pay-per-view, but he took the time to congratulate his colleague on a momentous achievement. The former AEW World Champion reacted to Darby Allin's successful summit of Mount Everest today.

Darby Allin has been off television for all of 2025 due to his preparations to ascend Mount Everest. He's been keeping fans updated on his status as he climbed the tallest mountain in the world and finally reached the summit today, May 18.

The former TNT Champion is now the first professional wrestler ever to achieve the feat, and Swerve Strickland sent out a message to hype him up on X/Twitter. Check it out:

"TOP OF THE WORLD!!! @DarbyAllin," Swerve wrote.

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Latest report on Darby Allin's status in AEW

Darby Allin was climbing into the main event scene before he went on hiatus, and there were reportedly big plans for the face-painted star if he managed to return in the spring.

The 32-year-old had been mixed up with Jon Moxley and The Death Riders late last year, and many assumed he would be the man to dethrone Mox. Months later, however, The Purveyor of Violence remains at the top of the company.

According to Fightful Select, AEW had expected Darby back in the spring and hoped to get him back on television by the time the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament rolled around. Unfortunately, Allin was still on Mount Everest when the tournament started, which nixed those plans.

If Allin couldn't make it back by then, the expectation was that he could return by Double or Nothing on May 25. Many of the company's storylines are currently being locked in place for the pay-per-view, and with Darby Allin having just reached the summit of Everest, it's unclear whether he'll be ready to make his comeback in just one week.

About the author

Jacob is an AEW contributor and editor at Sportskeeda Wrestling. He has edited and published over 8,000 articles for Sportskeeda Wrestling in just over two years, and subsequently donned the hat of a contributor, demonstrating his commitment to continuous learning. His experience goes beyond wrestling, with five years as an editor for several independent publishing houses and three years as a captioning specialist.

Jacob's first memory of pro wrestling dates back to Sting vs. Ric Flair for the World Heavyweight Championship at Great American Bash 1990. He later began writing for a newsletter and blog at the University of North Texas, and his love of wrestling naturally led him to seek opportunities in the media.

His favorite wrestler is The Icon, as he feels Sting has evolved throughout his career on a parallel path with his own growth as a person. He was Jacob's childhood hero and teenage idol, and now he makes him less afraid of getting older.

Jacob ensures relevance and accuracy in his articles by working hard to maintain his ideals and objectivity without sacrificing his unique voice, inspiring other writers in the section to follow suit.

Jacob’s non-wrestling interests include Anime, video games, and fantasy novels.

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Edited by Jacob Terrell