New Reports Reveal Major Injury Update For Swerve Strickland

The injury bug has struck one of pro wrestling's top stars yet again and the road to recovery begins this week.

Fightful reported Sunday that Swerve Strickland had been dealing with a torn meniscus for the past six years. Strickland was already expected to take an extended break from AEW TV to recover after Forbidden Door. Now, an official date has been set for surgery to be performed on the meniscus that's been torn since 2019.

Strickland has wrestled three times since July 12. Most notably, he teamed with Will Ospreay to face the Young Bucks at AEW All In: Texas.

The former AEW World Champion is reportedly set to undergo surgery on the damaged knee Wednesday according to Bodyslam.net. Strickland wrestled Kazuchika Okada at Forbidden Door Sunday night in a losing effort. He also lost the opportunity to become AEW Unified Champion.

Okada retained the championship and left Strickland in a painful mess before leaving the O2 Arena Sunday night. After his retention, the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion lodged the knee of Strickland in between a ring post and steel steps. This allowed Okada to strike the defenseless Strickland with a chair to the damaged knee.

Strickland has had a painful year. In a winning effort against Ricochet at AEW Revolution earlier this year, he ruptured an eardrum. Strickland still defeated Ricochet to become the number one contender to the AEW World Championship despite the injury.

Strickland's knee injury is considerably more severe than a ruptured eardrum and he will be expected to miss more than a month this time around. Considering this is an injury he has been managing for six years, this extended period of time away will do wonders for the long-term health and career of the 34-year-old.

As @FightfulSelect reported on Thursday, Swerve Strickland has been dealing with a torn meniscus injury. Bodyslam has learned that Swerve is set to undergo surgery this Wednesday. We wish Swerve a speedy and healthy recovery pic.twitter.com/MvH1UyWUOE
— BODYSLAM.NET | WWE & AEW Wrestling News (@BodyslamNet) August 25, 2025

The pain tolerance and toughness of the former AEW World Champion since arriving has been one of his most admirable qualities. He's participated in his fair share of bloody and grueling matches over the past 12 months. For example, Strickland was powerbombed by Adam Page onto a cinderblock in a Lights Out Steel Cage match at AEW All Out September 4 last year.

Current WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins tore his ACL, MCL, and Medial Meniscus at a November house show in 2015 at 29-years-old. Rollins returned to WWE TV six months later at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view the following year. Strickland, 34, will work toward a similar speedy recovery once his surgery has been completed Wednesday.

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