WWE HOFer Jim Ross Discusses Swerve Strickland's AEW World Championship Win

Swerve Strickland achieved his dream of becoming the first Black AEW World Champion at the company's newest pay-per-view event, Dynasty, last week, dethroning Samoa Joe in the main event. WWE Hall of Famer and current AEW commentator Jim Ross was on the call for Strickland's match and spoke about him winning the title on a recent episode of his "Grilling JR" podcast. 

"That's one of the things that attracts me to [Swerve Strickland], is that he is a very, very physical, tough guy," Ross said. "I want to know more about his military service, got to address that because he's mentioned it two or three times in interviews and so forth. And I think that's a good thing to sell for a babyface, especially, that you served your country. He's a tough guy. The angle going into that match with he and Joe, I thought was extremely well done, very physical."

Ross said he gives a lot of credit to Joe for how physical the match was. He said that you need a dance partner going into a main event like that, and he called Joe an "amazing" dance partner and a great champion, who may likely hold the gold again in the future. As for Strickland, Ross said the new champion is living the dream.

"Being the first Black AEW Champion was a big deal to him," Ross said. "It wasn't like it was just a throwaway promo line. He really, really was motivated to accomplish that feat and for him, he did it."

Ross, who is currently commentating for AEW only on pay-per-views in his new deal, called the first match on the card, Kazuchika Okada versus PAC for the AEW Continental Championship.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Grilling JR" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.