Swerve Strickland Is No. 1 Contender To AEW World Title, Will Face Samoa Joe At Dynasty

The world title match for AEW Dynasty is officially set in stone. After defeating Konosuke Takeshita in the main event of Wednesday's "AEW Dynamite," Swerve Strickland emerged as the company's top-ranked male singles wrestler and No. 1 contender to Samoa Joe's AEW World Championship.

While the match was fast-paced and hard-hitting, Strickland's victory was seen by many fans as a foregone conclusion, given the fact that he's been feuding with Joe for some time now. Joe managed to retain the title in a triple threat match against Strickland and "Hangman" Adam Page at Revolution, but Strickland wasn't involved in the finish — Page tapped out in Joe's clutches, possibly more quickly than he had to in order to keep the championship out of longtime rival Strickland's hands. Despite Page's efforts, Strickland will likely be seen as the favorite to win the title at Dynasty, becoming AEW's first Black world champion in the process.

Strickland vs. Joe is the latest addition to AEW's newest inaugural PPV. The first-ever Dynasty will also feature Bryan Danielson vs. Will Ospreay and the finals of the AEW World Tag Team Tournament, as well as Julia Hart defending her TBS title against Willow Nightingale following Nightingale's own No. 1 contender's match victory on "Dynamite."