AEW's Swerve Strickland On Why He And Will Ospreay Have Chips On Their Shoulders

While AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland has been tested since winning the title from Samoa Joe at AEW Dynasty, defeating the likes of Claudio Castagnoli, Christian Cage, and Roderick Strong, none of those matches compared to the challenge he faced from Will Ospreay at AEWxNJPW Forbidden Door this past Sunday. It was a test that Strickland passed, defeating Ospreay after not one, but two House Calls, and one Big Business, which finally put the resilient Ospreay down for good.

Speaking at the post-Forbidden Door media scrum, Strickland said it was humbling to still be champion, while noting that he had once again proved his doubters wrong. That, Strickland said, is a huge motivation for stars like himself and Ospreay, as the two want to prove that they're not only as good as they say they are, but that AEW is as well.

"I feel like me and Will, we have this chip on our shoulder to just constantly prove why this place is special," Strickland said. "And we are so, like, competitive, in every aspect of this game. And that's why I've always respected him. I still respected him all the way up until this match. I have my methods, I get into people's heads. And that's kind of my boxer's mentality. I want to get in your head, and I'll poke at every part of you until I get you where I need you to be. And that's what got me the win tonight."

Even still, Strickland knows there is still more work to be done.

"I feel like I silenced a lot of critics," Strickland said. "And now I'm going to have to do more, because there's going to be more questions coming up, probably tomorrow, at 'Dynamite' on Wednesday, or by All In at Wembley."