Tony Khan Comments On Recent AEW Absence Of Former World Champion Swerve Strickland

Among the AEW Redemption card, a notable absence lies with former AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland, who last competed at the 2026 AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door event in June. According to AEW CEO Tony Khan, the reasoning behind that will be made clear in the coming days. For now, though, Khan has at least assured that the company and Strickland remain on good terms amidst the latter's television hiatus.

"I'm going to be with Swerve at the Comic Con this weekend. I'm really looking forward to that," Khan said on the AEW Redemption media call. "Swerve has been out of action since his last match and has been working on some things outside of wrestling. He's in very good standing with AEW. I'd be happy to answer more about it after AEW Redemption, but we'll see Swerve, certainly, as part of the San Diego Comic Con tomorrow. As far as when you'll see Swerve next on AEW TV, stay tuned. And as I said, I'll be answering questions after the pay-per-view."

At Forbidden Door, Strickland battled Will Ospreay in the finals of the Men's Owen Hart Foundation tournament, with "The Aerial Assassin" emerging victorious after executing a Paradigm Shift-Death Rider-Tiger Driver combo on Strickland. Ospreay's victory earned him the right to challenge for the AEW World Championship at All In, the promotion's biggest yearly pay-per-view event. Strickland, meanwhile, disappeared from AEW programming afterward.

As Khan noted, Strickland will make an appearance amidst today's San Diego Comic Con festivities, specifically for a panel discussing the future of wrestling and culture. AEW Women's Champion Thekla, International Champion Kyle Fletcher, Orange Cassidy, Ricochet, "Speedball" Mike Bailey, and Khan himself will join Strickland.

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