AEW Worlds End 2023: 10 Things That Must Happen
5. Swerve Strickland Beats Keith Lee
Right, we're finally here.
Tony Khan has wanted to put Keith Lee vs. Swerve Strickland in the ring on pay-per-view for a long time, but this match should've happened in 2022 or earlier in 2023. Instead, it's happening on the cusp of 2024, which is a little late in the day to salvage anything meaningful from the feud.
Swerve has to go over, then the rebuilding process for Lee can begin on TV afterwards. Strickland avoided eating the pin in Wednesday's Gold League finale, so it'd be nonsensical if he stared at the lights for Keith when their story is one most fans moved on from a looooooong time ago.
Strickland is a World Champ in waiting come the new year, so he shouldn't be hitting any unnecessary speed bumps along the way. Sadly, and this is a damning commentary on his AEW run to date, Keith is one of those unnecessary bumps.
This is Swerve's match all day long.