Swerve Strickland Claims Tony Khan is Keeping Him Away From AEW

Swerve Strickland is airing his frustrations about not being used in AEW.

Former AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland hasn't competed for the company since the March 25 episode of Dynamite, when he lost to Kenny Omega in a number one contender's matchup. Since then, we've seen Strickland at the NFL Draft and doing other work outside of the company.

In recent weeks, vignettes have aired teasing a potential match between Swerve Strickland and Ring of Honor World Champion Bandido. While some fans predicted a potential match between the two men at Supercard of Honor, Bandido will be defending the title against Blake Christian instead.

So why hasn't Swerve Strickland been featured on AEW programming as of late?

Swerve Strickland blames Tony Khan for not being on Dynamite

Earlier this week, in a now-deleted social media post, Swerve Strickland declared it was time to start asking why he hasn't been featured on AEW programming recently. Today, ahead of tonight's episode of Dynamite, Strickland took to social media to elaborate further on the situation, blaming Tony Khan and AEW management for keeping him away from doing what he loves.

"What's going on, everybody. This is Swerve Strickland here, former AEW World Champion. And I'm just going to get some things off my chest and address what I said on Twitter earlier this week about asking questions about me being on television. So actually, you know what? As you can see, everybody, I'm not at AEW right now. I'm not at AEW Dynamite tonight in Asheville, North Carolina; I'm here at home because of AEW management. They want to keep me away from TV.

"I've been shooting the last couple promos that you see off-site. I haven't been at AEW TV. AEW management is responsible for that. Shout out Tony Khan, thank you for having me doing some Ambassador work for WBD. Thank you for sending me to the NFL Draft to do the Jacksonville Jaguars fourth-round pick with Roger Goodell and everybody. I appreciate that. But you're keeping me away from doing my freaking job, and that's getting in the ring and hurting people.

Why @Aew is keeping me from doing my job pic.twitter.com/e5oQ9IrMNT
— Swerve Strickland (@swerveconfident) May 13, 2026

"The longer I'm away from the ring, the longer I'm away from championship gold. And you are keeping me away from doing what I do best, and that's hurting people, and that's why they're banning me from AEW Dynamite, because they're afraid of what I'm going to do to Bandido. They're afraid I want to do to the rest of the people on the staff in the locker room of All Elite.

"Going all the way back to what I did to Kenny Omega earlier this year, I'm a danger to AEW Dynamite, and now AEW Dynamite is going to be keeping me away until further notice. They're going to play games with my career? Bet. Like I said, I want power, and I want it all."

What will Swerve Strickland's direction be when he returns to AEW?

While this whole situation is very likely a work, it's worth questioning what this all is leading to when Swerve Strickland finally returns to AEW programming full-time.

The Hurt Syndicate | All Elite Wrestling - Lee South

Strickland mentioned his desire to "hurt people" multiple times in his social media promo. This certainly falls in line with the mission statement of The Hurt Syndicate, a group that recently noted that they were looking to add additional talent to the faction.

While the pairing would likely work short-term, we can't see the egos of Swerve Strickland and Bobby Lashley co-existing for very long, as both men want to be at the top of the mountain in AEW.

Regardless of what company's plans are for Strickland upon his full-time return, his presence is definitely missed on AEW programming, and he will be welcomed back by the fans with open arms upon his return.

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