Worst Fear About Swerve Strickland's AEW Future Has Been Reportedly Confirmed

Former AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland has been one of the promotion's most exciting and fastest-growing stars. The 34-year-old star challenged Kazuchika Okada at Forbidden Door 2025 for his AEW Unified Championship but proved unsuccessful in his attempt to dethrone the champion.

Fightful.com recently reported that The Realest has been suffering from a torn meniscus since 2019. The wrestler has been competing with the injury since, and it was reported that the injury might force Swerve to have surgery to recover from it.

That news seems to have now been confirmed by Bodyslam.net, as they reported that The King of Swerve would be undergoing surgery this Wednesday. He was subject to a brutal attack from Okada after their match got over, and it was likely done to write him off television as he gets his surgery done.

Following the match between Okada and Strickland, the Unified Champion continued his assault on his challenger. He trapped Swerve's leg between the steel steps and the ring post and continued to strike his right knee repeatedly with a steel chair till Prince Nana came out with a baseball bat to defend Swerve.

Former AEW champion Joins Forces With Kazuchika Okada

After Prince Nana came to The Realest's save following Okada's assault, former AEW TNT Champion Wardlow made his much-awaited return to the promotion. The 37-year-old star had been missing from programming since March 2024, and his return proved to be truly shocking for all the fans in attendance.

Mr. Mayhem appeared to join forces with Kazuchika Okada and Don Callis as he appeared behind Nana and started attacking him mercilessly. He even took out a few security members who tried to stop the former champion. He was then confirmed as the new member of the Don Callis Family as he hugged both Callis and Okada before being welcomed by the other members of the Family.

About the author

Faiz is a WWE writer at Sportskeeda Wrestling. He is a BBA graduate who is passionate about sports and wants to make a career in that field. This passion led to a postgraduate degree in Journalism, which helped him pivot into becoming a sports writer. When writing, he puts the utmost importance on accuracy and thorough research.

Faiz has six years of work experience across four companies. He started his career with Zomato and then moved to Amazon. He shifted to becoming a football writer at TV9 Digital and is now with Sportskeeda. He covered the Wrestling Xtreme Mania event in Gurgaon in 2025, where he had the opportunity to interview Raj The Maharaja, fka Jinder Mahal. At the same event, he also got quick interviews with former WWE Superstar Dijak and Japanese Joshi legend Emi Sakura.

When it comes to his favourite wrestlers, Faiz has two names in mind. He loved to watch Triple H before the current WWE CCO retired, and he is a huge fan of Roman Reigns. Being a loyal fan since the Tribal Chief's SHIELD days, Faiz credits Roman's mic skills and unmatched in-ring storytelling for his mega success. When he was young, one in-ring story left a lasting impression on his mind and eventually got him hooked on WWE. That match was Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania 24. Apart from that, he is also a fan of RAW.

When Faiz is not writing for Sportskeeda, he loves to keep up with other sports. He is an avid cricket and football fan, a huge gamer, and loves playing some RPGs on the PlayStation.

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Edited by Faiz Ahmed