Swerve Strickland would love to see Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods land in AEW, but he made clear on the latest episode of TMZ’s Inside the Ring podcast that his primary concern is that the two New Day members do whatever is best for them after their WWE departure.
Strickland was asked directly whether he wants to see Kingston and Woods sign with AEW when their 90-day clauses expire following their May 2 release from WWE.
“Oh yeah, of course. Absolutely. I also just want them to do what’s best for them. If they want to take like a five-year hiatus, they’ve earned it. They’ve more than earned it. They know their value as well, and that’s the most important thing. I hope that’s the lesson that everybody learns in this, not just like as a fan but as a professional yourself in this industry, they know their value, and they understand who they are, and they understand what they bring, and what they brought and their legacy they leave behind.”
Kingston and Woods departed WWE after being offered a significant pay cut one year into a five-year contract, choosing to walk away rather than accept reduced terms from TKO. Strickland revealed he reached out to Kingston shortly after the news broke.
His praise for Kingston went far beyond a supportive text message, placing him among the best who have ever worked in the business and describing him as a role model in the purest sense of the term.
“He’s like the epitome of professionalism when it comes to that. Especially in our culture, you look at Kofi as one of the top five greatest ever to do it. He’s truly a model — a role model, but he’s the model type of role model. He’s the perfect type of role model.”
Strickland also connected Kingston’s legacy directly to his own historic moment in AEW, explaining that Kingston’s WrestleMania title win was one of the key inspirations behind the emotion of his own April 2024 AEW World Championship victory, which made him the first Black wrestler to win the men’s AEW title.
“I meant every word I said when I won the championship and was like, ‘Kofi’s a big inspiration for that.’ It’s like, man, how do I do something so cool like that and make it my own? How do I do that in my own legacy, in my own career, something that Kofi did at WrestleMania. He’s the only Black wrestler to win the World Championship at WrestleMania. You cannot take that away from him. He’s the only one.”