Swerve Strickland Shares Thoughts on Replacing Big E in Trio With Kofi & Austin Creed

Swerve Strickland was involved in one of the most buzzworthy moments at AEW All In, as he formed an alliance with The New Level. Now, Strickland has discussed the origin of this pairing.

The New Level, formerly known as The New Day, began a new chapter after they left WWE in May. Kofi and Austin Creed were one of the most decorated duos in the wrestling world. Alongside their New Day stablemate Big E, they won the tag team titles twelve times on the main roster.

Kofi is also a former WWE Champion. At All In, Strickland, Kofi, and Creed picked up a major victory when they won the Trios Roulette match to capture the trios titles.

In a new interview, Strickland detailed how this new pairing came together and commented on taking Big E's place as their teammate.

Swerve Strickland says he could never replace Big E

Speaking on Black Couch Booking, Strickland was asked whether he had a conversation with AEW boss Tony Khan about working with Kofi and Creed before they joined the company. Strickland shared his reaction to their departure from WWE, noting that he was surprised when it happened.

“Honestly, when I first heard about the news of their contract situation, it was a shock to me," Strickland said. "I was like, really? It didn’t feel real. It didn’t feel believable at the time. It was just like, man. Okay. So I knew that was something that’s a possibility. It was just floating in the clouds at the time."

Strickland went on to explain that after he lost to Will Ospreay in the finals of the Owen Hart Cup at AEW Forbidden Door, Khan wanted him to join the trios division. The former world champion stated he sought to do something new and fresh by teaming up with wrestlers who weren't in the company yet.

"I was like, if I’m going to go into this, it has to be new, it has to be fresh," Strickland said. "It has to be a moment with the guys that hasn’t been here before. I have to go through outsourcing to get some new teammates, but it has to be something that’s like, you look at it, it’s something you didn’t know is what you wanted, but now that you see it, it’s like, man, how did we not see this? That’s it."

Regarding his pairing with Kofi and Creed, Strickland pointed out that there has been some negativity from critics who claim that he's not Big E. Strickland stated that he can't replace Big E, but the new trio can move forward and create something different.

"Some people…to shake the doubt of the people that already going to have negativity towards it, like, ‘Man, it’s not Big E.’ And shoutout Big E," Strickland said. "I can never replace a Big E. But we can do something new that moves forward, instead of looking backwards, and that’s why New Level…all these things just hit at the right time...to put a shockwave into the energy of the wrestling world. I was like, that’s the only way I could do something like that. These are the guys to do it with."

What a first night in AEW for @AustinCreedWins & @TrueKofi! Time to celebrate with @SwerveConfident as the NEW AEW World Trios Champions!

Watch #AEWAllIn London LIVE on HBO Max PPV pic.twitter.com/GnCwccfykU
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) August 30, 2026

Big E has not wrestled since 2022, when he fractured two cervical vertebrae during a match, and he confirmed his retirement earlier this year. He has since transitioned to an on-screen personality role in WWE.

Strickland and The New Level defended their titles on the September 2 episode of AEW Dynamite, and their next feud may already be simmering. The Young Bucks confronted the trio, setting the stage for a long-awaited dream match. Otherwise, the new champions will aim to live up to their name and take AEW's trios division to a new level.

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