Revealed: Why Swerve Strickland's Debut As AEW Champion Was So Lowkey
No celebration for Swerve Strickland on AEW Dynamite, but Collision will be a different story
Swerve Strickland's...unremarkable start to life as AEW Champion on Wednesday's edition of Dynamite has been cleared up somewhat following news that he will appear on a significant edition of Collision this Saturday night.
This is according to Fightful Select, who noted that they were informed that a massive lead-in from the NBA over the weekend will generate a potentially massive audience for the new titleholder in Collision's opening segment. The report added;
"The idea that was relayed to us was that hopefully Swerve would benefit from the best lead in of AEW's 2024 year, as Celtics vs. Heat in the NBA Playoffs heads right into the show."
Somewhat lost amidst the immediate discourse surrounding an edition of AEW Dynamite that had nothing to do with its top prize was the odd handling of Strickland following his victory over Samoa Joe at Sunday's Dynasty pay-per-view. On a unique edition of the flagship hailing from Daily's Place, Swerve defeated Kyle Fletcher in a relatively indistinct back-and-forth match with neither a pre- nor post-match promo or celebration of any kind.
The news of a bigger night with potentially way more eyes on the Champion on Collision goes some way to explaining the decision. Wednesday's edition of Dynamite drew 683,000 viewers (0.23 in the key demographic), in a number The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer noted on X that was "expected well in advance" due to sports competition.