This past Sunday night, at the AEW Dynasty pay-per-view, the leader of the Mogul Embassy, Swerve Strickland defeated Samoa Joe to become the new AEW World Champion. This was a history-making victory as Strickland became the first African-American wrestler to hold the top prize in the Jacksonville-based promotion.
Recently, while speaking on River City Live, Swerve Strickland shared that the championship means so much to him. He also stated that the AEW World title is the heaviest title he’s ever held.
“Man! This thing [the AEW World Heavyweight Championship belt], yeah, it’s a beauty man. This is a different design, this might be the heaviest championship I’ve ever held in my life. And I’ve held a lot of championships in my career. This on is just at the very, very top. It’s not even close. The moment, the championship, the match, the pay-per-view, the headline, the opponent all of that means so much because of this championship.”
Swerve Strickland shares the significance behind holding the AEW World Championship
While speaking on the same show, Strickland mentioned the reason why this championship win means so much to him.
“Being the first of anything is going to hold significance to not only just the performer but the company going through the airport the day afterwards, I took pictures with fans that were like, literally flew from other states and other sides of the country to come see this event happen. Because they just felt like, ‘This is the moment. This is the coronation of something historic.’ And people crying in the crowd, front row. After the victory people were shaking after I’m hold… Shaking their hands. I’ve never had that experience before. And seeing how much that means to everybody, it felt like, we won. And that’s what you kind of want from your fan base and I feel like that’s what made the main event special.
“Hats off to Ospreay, Bryan Danielson, having a classic banger out there, which I knew they would. But just, this one hit home a little differently because it was to the heart. It was to the sentiment, it was just something special even me coming out in the Killmonger attire coming out. And which is… Sitting in front row was my buddy Gui DaSilva. He actually wore the suit in the Civil War, Marvel Films, and Infinity War, and Black Panther. Every time you saw the Black Panther stunt, that was Gui DaSilva.
“So it was more of an homage to a friend of mine. And he was going to be sitting in front row. So it was more towards that. But it just felt like a momentous occasion seeing Dynasty and seeing the set and the colors and everything. I’m like, ‘This just all feels right at the time,’” Swerve Strickland said.
Are you happy to see Strickland hold the AEW World Title?
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