Fresh off the hot AEW All In London 2024 show, new storylines, and some questionable booking decisions have made their rounds through social media on Monday. One example is Bryan Danielson defeating Swerve Strickland for the AEW World title. Although going into the PPV event, insiders felt that the title would go to Danielson, this didn’t seem like the move to make as Strickland was only scratching the surface of his title reign or was he?
Swerve Strickland and Brian Danielson Went “All In” On Sunday
The match’s theme was title vs. career, as Danielson would be forced to retire if he did not secure the victory on Sunday at Wembley Stadium. The interviews that surfaced online from Danielson were more of a man going through the motions instead of one that would soon carry the company flag into the last quarter of the year. One thing that stuck out to me was FightsATW’s own Mario Mungia, who mentioned on the InFighting Podcast that Danielson getting the title would make sense for AEW, who is on the verge of signing a new distribution deal with WBD (Warner Brothers Discovery). It made for some conflicting thoughts as, on the one hand, you had Danielson acting dismissive about the match, but then a pending WBD deal that would need a known star carrying the flag, on the other hand.
The last two “go home” shows for AEW reflected a hot crowd, and the anticipation couldn’t be any higher for AEW’s version of WrestleMania. Hours before the PPV on Sunday, a kayfabe moment was posted showing Swerve signing an AEW contract extension with Tony Khan and Prince Nana. This moment felt like Swerve would retain in the main event, but little did we all know, it was a way to swerve the crowd as Danielson would win the title later in the evening.
It was finally time to see how all the storylines would unfold, and when it was time for the main event between Strickland and Danielson, the anticipation level could not get any bigger. Danielson would walk into the ring with the song “The Final Countdown” by Europe blasting through the speakers while the crowd sang it word for word. Danielson would go over to his family at ringside, and it all felt like it was his last match. Then it was Swerve Strickland’s time as Prince Nana came out first, followed by the AEW champion. What gave it even more of a pop was that internationally known DJ Whoo Kid introduced him with legendary rap artist Bun B and Buffalo’s Westside Gunn. The moment could not get any bigger, and we were all finally ready for the match.
The match over-delivered, and we saw the best of Swerve and a high-level version of Danielson that we’ve seen before not only in AEW but in WWE and all the other promotions he has wrestled. Danielson had a face full of blood, and with the crowd hanging on to every move, he had everyone exactly where he wanted them. Upon winning the title, Danielson got the confetti and a GOAT-like reception. All these are things someone like him deserves, but did it have to happen at All In? Would Danielson have been good with getting beat and entering his part-time wrestler role with a loss? These are all questions that we will never have the answers to.
Swerve Strickland Was Just Scraping The Surface
This desire to give Danielson the title on Sunday felt rushed and a move that screamed every bit of Tony Khan. Swerve has slowly been getting the rub from people outside of wrestling and in the hip-hop community, which is great if you are a company like AEW that is still looking to grow more than it is right now. It’s no secret that Swerve, being the top guy, came with some risk as he wasn’t an established star coming over from another company, but he was more so homegrown after a brief stint at NXT. Even with that, he was bringing in a new audience for AEW, which may not be tuning in if he isn’t the top guy.
Swerve proved he could hang with the best of them and was growing his profile week after week. After winning the title in April, it’s safe to say that AEW was riding a big wave with Swerve on top. But after four months of being champion, he drops the title at All In with a storyline now looking to develop with Hangman Adam Page. It’s a good story, but without the title, will it have the same type of impact? Strickland worked his butt off to win the title, and he could have carried the flag of the company for at least a year with the strap around his waist. Pulling it from him now didn’t feel right, and it may have killed all of the momentum he had built up to this point.
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