Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay are "the two best wrestlers in the world" according to 3-time TNA champion

Will Ospreay and Swerve Strickland are both taping up their knuckles ahead of their clash on tonight's AEW Summer Blockbuster special. Ahead of the big-time match, "Speedball" Mike Bailey has called them the two best wrestlers in the world.

Ospreay and Strickland have shared the ring before. At last year's Forbidden Door, The Aerial Assassin challenged Swerve for the AEW World Championship in one of the most acclaimed matches of the year. Now, with The Aerial Assassin attempting to back Hangman Page in his quest to dethrone Jon Moxley, the British star will try to hold the line against the furious Strickland.

Fans are pumped for the match, and so is Mike Bailey. The three-time TNA X Division Champion spoke with Tyree Smith for KATU News ahead of tonight's show in Portland, OR, and referred to the rivals as the best two wrestlers in the world right now:

"We're gonna see Swerve Strickland against Will Ospreay. In my opinion, the two best wrestlers in the world right now, Will Ospreay, someone who I've wrestled five different times, five singles matches, never ended in a W or at least not yet. But it's going to happen, and Swerve, someone who isn't the AEW World Champion, was but hasn't been a long time. But in my opinion, someone who really champions AEW, he represents the company and what he's done, putting AEW at the forefront, talking about how important it is what we're doing is in mainstream media, I think is fantastic. So I think that match is going to be absolutely out of this world." [H/T: Fightful]

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Swerve Strickland is hyped ahead of his match against Will Ospreay at AEW Summer Blockbuster

Swerve Strickland seemingly needs to blow off some steam. The 34-year-old is having a difficult time coming to grips with his bitter rival, Hangman Adam Page, getting a shot at Jon Moxley's AEW World Championship.

Strickland schooled Will Ospreay at last year's Forbidden Door, and he's excited to face The Aerial Assassin again. Swerve took to Instagram ahead of Summer Blockbuster with a message for fans.

"The feeling vs. the franchise," he wrote.

This is in reference to Ospreay proclaiming himself the one who "restored the feeling" in All Elite Wrestling. Meanwhile, Swerve Strickland seems to regard himself as "the franchise" of the company.

Fans are having trouble predicting a winner for this blockbuster match. Regardless of who comes out on top, it's sure to be one of the most impactful bouts of the year.

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 Jeevak Ambalgi