Swerve Strickland has weighed in on the future of Aleister Black and Zelina Vega following their WWE releases.
Speaking on Bootleg Kev, Strickland stopped short of advocating for or against Black returning to AEW. He focused instead on hoping Black and Vega land somewhere that fulfills them.
“I just hope that Aleister — I’ll speak to, I hope Tommy finds what he’s looking for in this industry, this part in his career. [Black and Vega are] both very talented, incredible people. Incredible talents in itself. I just hope they find something that gives them the type of — I don’t know what it is that he’s really [looking for], whatever it is, I hope they find some place that gives them that, you know what I mean?”
Strickland credited Black with having a significant influence on his own career development.
“Because he has so many great ideas. He’s one of the guys that got me into NXT. Like, him talking with Terry Taylor and he’s like, ‘This is the guy you gotta watch out for.’ I did tape studies with him in 2017. My last indie run, he was the guy I was going to. He really helped my mind a lot at that stage in my career. So I just hope, like, he finds the place that gives him whatever it is that can fulfill him in the industry again.”
Black and Vega were both released by WWE in April 2026. AEW has denied being in negotiations with Black for a return. Black previously left AEW in 2025 for WWE, and there are unconfirmed reports he was reluctant to lose matches during his AEW run — claims Black has denied.