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Swerve Strickland Questions Timing Of Toxic AEW Workplace Rumors

AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland addresses rumors about the locker room ahead of ALL IN.

Dariel Figueroa

08/21/24 AEW Dynamite - Cardiff, Wales (Lee South)
08/21/24 AEW Dynamite - Cardiff, Wales (Lee South) /

It seems like ever since CM Punk joined AEW in 2021, the wrestling promotion's locker room has been stigmatized as troublesome.

CM Punk's tirade at the All Out post-show presser in September 2022 set off a chain of events that would drastically affect the company's main event scene, and result in firings, suspensions, an alleged dog assault, and even a bite.

The Second City Saint's time in AEW came to a boiling point at All In 2023, when he attacked Jack Perry in the gorilla position after an argument concerning Perry's use of glass in an earlier match.

After rejoining WWE, Punk told Ariel Helwani during an April 1 interview that following the fight with Perry, he told Tony Khan "This place is a f****ing joke. You're a clown."

MORE: AEW All In 2024: Date, Start Time, Full Match Card, Live Stream & TV Channels

Most recently, an alleged verbal altercation between Britt Baker, MJF, and Alicia Atout resulted in Baker's brief suspension, further fueling specualtion that AEW's locker room was in shambles.

In an interview with the New York Post this week, Will Ospreay called the incident "the most completely blown out of proportion thing I ever seen in my entire life.”

In the wake of these incidents and others, AEW's locker room has been branded as problematic. No wrestling organization is without its backstage drama, of course, but AEW seems to maintain a particular air of negativity in pro wrestling media and beyond.

On Friday, reigning AEW World Champion, Swerve Strickland, addressed the toxic locker room stigma in an interview with Barstool Rasslin'.

MORE: Swerve Strickland Delivers Perfect Response To Bryan Danielson's Child's Wish For All In Outcome

"It's definitely been blown out of proportion," Swerve told host Brandon F. Walker.

Strickland went on to question why the gossip seems to surface whenever AEW has a big show.

"It's almost calculated to a tee," Strickland said. "Right before every pay-per-view, right before every big moment we have, there's always something that comes out. There's always bickering in the locker room. That's universal in any workplace."

Despite the toxic workplace whispers, Strickland will defend his AEW World Championship against Bryan Danielson in a title vs career clash at All In this Sunday.

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Dariel Figueroa
DARIEL FIGUEROA

Dariel Figueroa joined On SI and The Takedown in 2024. He previously served as senior features writer at Uproxx, and has written for Heavy, Fansided, and Paste. Figueroa graduated with a double bachelor’s from Rowan University in journalism and multimedia production, respectively. You can follow him on X (fmr. Twitter) @figgyflow.

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