AEW Dynasty Post-Show Media Scrum: Swerve Strickland on AEW World Title Win, Will Ospreay on Triple H Comments, Jack Perry, Mercedes Mone In-Ring Update, AEW Streaming Deal Plans, MJF

AEW held a post-show media scrum following Sunday’s AEW Dynasty event in St. Louis, Missouri.

Some of the notable highlights included:

• During his portion of the media scrum, Swerve Strickland gave his thoughts on becoming the first ever black AEW World Champion in AEW history. Strickland stated “A ton of hard work went into this. Nothing was guaranteed at all. Nothing was handed out to me. I had to do a lot of inner searching to figure out what I needed to change up, what I needed to improve, and have a lot of humility to be honest with myself and say, “Yeah, you’re not great here. You’re not the best here,” and figure it out and just work at it. No excuses ’cause in my culture where I come from, we’re not awarded excuses. Excuses get us nowhere, or killed, and I’m gonna stay alive. I’m gonna keep pushing.I have so many things to fight for, so many people to fight for, and that’s what drives me every day. I get up early. I stay late. I make the extra drives, and I stay in the weight room.I stay disciplined. I do the things that a lot of other people don’t wanna do. I get on the plane two days earlier than I gotta be there because that’s what’s required in this, and I want that to be the standard for being a champion. We’re not rewarded rest. We gotta be restless ’cause where AEW is and where we’re going, I want the fans to see how hard we’re working. I want the people who aren’t fans to see how hard we’re working to try to join us and be fans and join this company ’cause this is special.Two back-to-back amazing pay-per-views of Revolution and Dynasty tonight, and I was in back-to-back championship matches in both of them. That’s never been done in this company as an African American man.“
• On the topic of what message he wanted to send to black boys and girls over his title victory, Strickland stated “It’s hard to choose just one message. I think this one moment sends many messages to everybody. And primarily it’s just like, it’s possible. It can be done, but it’s not easy.I kept saying this throughout the week through all these interviews and media I was doing, is like, what happens if this doesn’t work out — I don’t win the championship? I’m like, “Oh, we’ll push it down the road. We got to wait for a bigger moment. We got to push it down the road again.” That’s happened several times in history and pushing it down the road results to missed opportunities, as it never happens. And I’ve seen that way too many times as a kid growing up. I’m sure you have too, and I’m sure a lot of other people have. They’ve seen opportunities for us pushed down the road. We want to build it to something bigger around the corner and, boom, injuries, boom, somebody else gets the opportunity in front of them. Boom, that person’s not as hot as they were before. When it’s our moment, we have to take it. That’s the message I wanted to send. That’s why I came out in the outfit that I wear. I’m not coming to be rewarded the crown and the throne. I’m here to take it. That’s what we have to do. We have to take it.“
• On the topic of what kept him motivated and pushing on, Strickland stated “Friends of mine, seeing friends like my friend, Kofi. In the last five years that was probably one of the biggest inspirational things you’ve ever seen, not just in black wrestling history, but just wrestling history period. And that’s like, that’s motivating, that’s inspiring. And that makes me wanna do that for the next generation, you know? And I don’t wanna just do it once, I wanna do it multiple times. And it’s not just me, it’s a team. Like Nana’s a part of that. My people, my family, all these people right here, none of this happens without any of these guys together. All this is like pushing me, like pulling something out of me that I didn’t know I had. Like Tony believing in me, putting me in the opportunity. He didn’t give me anything. He gave me an opportunity to make something out of it. And it was up to me to do the work. And that should go for anybody, not just any black person, any person period. You’re never given, like some people, I hate the feeling of hearing on social media, something like, “Oh, they weren’t given a chance.” I’m like, “No, they were given chances. What did they do with those chances?” You’re given chances, whether they’re big or small, but you gotta make something out of that shit. I was given small opportunities, company after company after company, time and promotion and like, it didn’t matter. I found a way to make something out of it. And I pushed forward and I made it uniquely me. It was Swerve doing it. It wasn’t another wrestler doing it, it was Swerve doing it. That’s the only way to progress in this game.“
• Prior to leaving, Strickland also promoted his new pressure 1s shoe brand that will be getting released soon and gave a pair to AEW CEO Tony Khan as a special gift.
• During her portion of the media scrum, Willow Nightingale reflected on how far she has come along in her career over the past four years leading to her TBS Championship victory at Dynasty. Nightingale stated “For me, even getting to AEW in the first place, I had to put work in like every day, every moment. Because I really started here. I was coming down to Jacksonville during the pandemic and I was sitting front row in the crowd and cheering for everyone. And I was in the dark matches and trying my best to put my best foot forward and be the best Willow I could be and make an impression. And while I did feel like there were people who were paying attention, it was like, “How do I make this happen? I want this to be my job. I want to work here. I love AEW.” I was sitting down during quarantine at home every Wednesday watching in my Philly apartment with my boyfriend. I was like, “I know this is where I wanna be.” For me, it felt like a very long journey, but I think it really started last year in May, when I first wrestled Mercedes in the Owen Hart tournament that I won. And even having the first women’s main event in Ring of Honor history against Athena, like bang, bang, bang, back to back — that felt like a new level for me entirely that I was reaching. And so at that point, that’s when it was clear to me, it was like, “Okay, I can be this performer. I can be this high-level competitor.” And now we’re here, and you always think about like getting to the finish line, but this isn’t the finish line. It’s like, now I’m kind of just starting.“
• On the topic of her goal for the TBS Championship, Nightingale stated “I guess I take pride in like being someone who’s gone overseas, gone to work with our partners at New Japan and CMLL and I’ve wrestled in Japan and in Mexico, being the first woman in our division to go representing AEW specifically. And personally, I hope that I would have opportunities to bring in people from different countries. You know, I think we have an amazing roster. I wanna face as many of the girls that we got here as possible, but also if we could get any of those STARDOM and CMLL wrestlers in, if that could be possible, I would love that.“
• During “Timeless” Toni Storm’s portion of the media call, AEW CEO Tony Khan responded to a question about the idea of Storm getting a match against Wendi Richter in the future. Khan stated that it would be very unlikely to happen and implied it was due to Ritcher’s old age.
• On the topic of Nikki Bella revealing she had been interested in working for AEW before dropping the idea due to family-related reasons, Storm responded stating “How long do I have to do this? Week after week, night after night, before you realize that I am the one who is transcending this business. Just because I don’t go out there and say it doesn’t mean it’s not true. Do I really have to tell you every single night, are you that thick? Too busy chasing people blithering about goosebumps and levels and storytelling and cinema. Go see a fucking movie. Nicole Garcia thought about joining AEW when she saw Mercedes did. You know why she didn’t? Because then she saw me and realized she can’t hold a pussy-scented candle to what I do. I am the one taking this company to new heights, and I don’t even try to, I’m just being me and it’s the greatest thing I could ever be. It’s the greatest thing that could happen to you too. For every one of you who saw me all those years ago and thought, ‘She has potential.’ You had absolutely no idea it was going to get this good, did you? Tomorrow morning, your headlines should read, ‘Holy fuck was I wrong.’ Antony [Tony Khan], I promise no matter how many matches I win, no matter how many stories I finish, I will never call you into the ring to celebrate with me. Being Timeless means I’m not on your watch. My success is my own, and you’re damn lucky to be a part of it.“
• During his portion of the media call, Will Ospreay gave his thoughts about the ending to his match against Bryan Danielson and apologized for not seeing the doctor’s call before he laid out Danielson with a Hidden Blade finisher. Ospreay also stated that he will be retiring the Tiger Driver 91 from his moves arsenal after seeing the damage it did to Danielson following their match.
• On the topic of the recent “lack of grind” jab made by WWE CCO Paul “Triple H” Levesque against him, Ospreay stated “Yes, of course. I don’t want to address it anymore. I can remember a generation of when I grew up where like, you throw a jab, I throw one back. Although I wasn’t mentioned by name, it was clearly about me. All due respect, I’m kind of done mentioning anyone over there now. I don’t want to do that anymore because I feel I lowered myself to that standard. I don’t need to do that anymore. Look what I just did in the ring with Bryan. That’s only match two from pay-per-view. I’ve got a fuckload more to go down. With all due respect, if you take everything into consideration, of course I’m annoyed about a jab that I took. I threw one back, I don’t think it was anything bad. It’s a joke from 20 years ago for fuck sake. Don’t be too butthurt. That’s the first time I’ve ever experienced true tribalism between the two. It’s not nice. It’s unnecessary. I’m over it. I can’t be bothered with it. I just want to be focused on promoting AEW. I don’t regret what I said. You take the entire thing into consideration, it did piss me off, but from this day on, I won’t go down that road. I don’t need to. I’m the best wrestler in the world. I don’t need to fuck with guys below me.“
• On the topic of the reports of him paying for a ring for Soft Ground Wrestling promotion in Uganda, Ospreay stated “Honestly, that gave me so much joy and happiness to see what they did because it reminds me of when we used to backyard. And seeing that over there, I couldn’t believe the joy and the energy that they were bringing. I see so many people being negative all the time. And in a place like this, I can’t believe how lucky I am to be here. I cannot believe how lucky I am to be a part of this roster. To have that — those fans today were ridiculous. I can’t believe how lucky I am. And to see people like moan, and then to see like they have the wrestling on the ground, for f–k’s sake, like to see that, and to see their enthusiasm, their energies. I want to be a part of that too…I’m saying, I really want to go over to Uganda and go do some wrestling.“
• During his portion of the media scrum, AEW CEO Tony Khan gave his thoughts about Jack Perry’s surprise AEW return at the event and the decision to air the All In backstage altercation footage. Khan stated “I do think we made a bold call in the run-up to this match, and really, it heightened the circumstances, and I do think it added to the presentation of the moment of Jack Perry’s return tonight at AEW Dynasty, and the pay-per-view was a home run, and I think a lot of people felt like it was a great return. Also, I felt like it was important to explain partially where Jack’s been, because the last time we saw him on AEW television was at Wembley Stadium.“
• On the topic of if Mercedes Mone is currently medically cleared to wrestle in AEW, Khan stated “She’ll be cleared at Double or Nothing for the singles match, and that was a big part of this, knowing that it’s been a major road for her to return from the injury. When she wrestles at Double or Nothing, it will be a full year since she last wrestled.”
• On the topic of the city of St. Louis getting another AEW pay-per-view event in the future following Dynasty, Khan stated that AEW’s PPV schedule for 2024 is already full but he is interested in a potential return to the city for a PPV event in the future.
• On the topic of if there was a possibility of AEW taking all three of their television series to a streaming platform, Khan stated “Well, it’s a great question. I think it’s something to consider. There are sports that have done that, and when you look at different media rights, some people have split among a platform of streaming and linear TV, cable TV. We’re gonna have a lot of great options. Right now, I think we’re in an exclusive negotiating window with Warner Bros Discovery, which is amazing. We have really an amazing relationship, and I think it’s a really great thing to have wrestling on TBS and TNT for the fans every week. It’s a great tradition. It’s a great American tradition. And I really, really love it, and all things, you know, to me, I love being here, and I can’t wait to keep talking, keep figuring it out, but I definitely think you can count on 2025, at a minimum, the opportunity to stream the amazing library that we’ve built.“
• On the topic of if future AEW PPV events will be available to purchase on multiple streaming platforms, Khan stated “Right now, I think that deal is set for at least two more pay-per-views, that it’s gonna be distributed across multiple platforms, so definitely for Double or Nothing in May, and then in June, Forbidden Door, those will be streamed across, I think, all these platforms. I believe pretty much all of them we saw tonight, Triller, YouTube, obviously Bleacher Report, our home since the beginning, and ppv.com — a number of streaming platforms in addition to cable. I believe we know for at least the next two pay-per-views, the multiple platform approach is gonna be there, and then we’re planning for the future.“
• On the topic of if Warner Brothers Discovery is happy with AEW’s current product, Khan stated “Very happy, I heard from them, “Great show tonight”, and I’ve been hearing really great things. The past few weeks, the Dynamite numbers were significantly up from where they were the last couple weeks, and the pay-per-view tonight, tremendous. They were thrilled with it, so I’ve already got the text right before I walked in here about what a great event it was, how happy they are with it, and really, really good feedback on Dynamite and also Collision last night.”
• On the topic of MJF’s current absence from AEW due to a shoulder injury, Khan stated “MJF, one of the biggest stars in AEW, we haven’t seen him in recent months. I would love to get MJF back here sooner. Sooner than later, like really soon. We have so many great things happening and I think that would be really added. He’s one of our great wrestlers and we’ve had great things happening in AEW lately. A lot of great milestones in the last couple of months. Everything is going great for AEW right now, that would be something that would add a lot. That’d be awesome to have MJF back, and soon, I would love that.“
• On the topic of Kenny Omega and Britt Baker’s current abscesses from AEW due to injury-related issues as well, Khan stated “I look forward to seeing both of them as soon as we possibly can. I think both of them have been recuperating from totally different things. Both great, former world champions for AEW and hopefully we can see them both soon. Going to Winnipeg, it would be great, even if he can’t return, to see Kenny Omega, that would be pretty awesome for the fans up there. That is something, I’m optimistic, hopefully we could do. For Britt Baker, the sooner she’s back, the better, she’s a great world champion for us and a great representative for AEW. We’ve missed her. That would be tremendous. We saw Adam Cole back tonight and hopefully we’ll seen Dr. Britt Baker back sometime soon too. We miss Kenny Omega. I’ve talked to him a few times this week. He’s one of our greatest champions and greatest stars ever. He’s been here from the beginning. We definitely miss him.“

Full AEW Dynasty post-show media scrum video:

Transcript h/t: F4WOnline.com, PostWrestling.com 1, 2, 3, & 4, Fightful.com 1, 2, & 3