WWE reportedly believe Swerve Strickland’s new AEW deal to be over market value.
On the All In Zero Hour, prior to his match with Bryan Danielson later in the night, Swerve Strickland was shown signing a contract extension with AEW. It later emerged that the deal was believed to be one of the biggest in wrestling today, and now more is known about how the contract may compare to others on the All Elite Wrestling roster as well as WWE’s reaction to the deal.
Per Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it’s believed that Strickland’s new contract is at a similar level to that of what AEW offered Kazuchika Okada and Mercedes Mone.
“People were talking about how Strickland has become a rich man with the new deal, and it’s believed to be among the biggest deals in pro wrestling. It’s probably in the range of the Kazuchika Okada and Mercedes Mone range based on what were hinted about regarding those deals.”
-Dave Meltzer
On the WWE side of things, it’s believed that AEW’s deal with Swerve Strickland, as well as the extension believed to be offered to Daniel Garcia, are very far over what the market value for both would be.
“The deal, and the offer to Daniel Garcia, were told to us by someone on the WWE side for Garcia and more than one on Strickland, as being bad for the sport because they are so far over what would WWE would perceive the market value for both to be.”
-Dave Meltzer
It will undoubtedly have come as a major relief for AEW to have tied down Swerve Strickland for many years to come, and it appears as if fans can look forward to seeing him feature as a top star for the company for the duration of his new contract.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on Swerve Strickland’s new AEW contract as soon as we hear more.
