A former WWE superstar refused an offer to join The Elite on the latest episode of AEW Dynamite. The talent in question is Swerve Strickland.
The New Flavor addressed the fans packing the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, IA. He spoke about his upcoming title defense at Forbidden Door 2024 against Will Ospreay.
Strickland acknowledged The Aerial Assassin’s victories in All Elite Wrestling so far and voiced his respect for the latter for defending his International Championship since winning it at Double or Nothing 2024. He then contrasted Ospreay’s conduct to that of The Young Bucks, who have not defended the AEW World Tag Team Championship since winning the belts at Dynasty 2024.
Swerve’s comments prompted The Elite to confront the AEW World Champion, with Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada boldly firing back against the Washington native. The Bucks then ran down their recent accomplishments and gloated over their victory in the Anarchy in the Arena match at Double or Nothing 2024.
The Jackson Brothers went on to call out the locker room for doubting their capacity for violence and challenged the best competitors on the roster to face off against The Elite at Blood and Guts. They went on to invite Strickland to join The Elite as the fifth member of their team and gifted him a pair of their signature Reebok pumps.
Swerve, however, refused the offer presented by Matthew and Nicholas Jackson and tossed the shoes into the crowd. This prompted The Elite to threaten to injure Strickland, but before they could do so, The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn ran out to make the save.
Afterward, interim EVP Christopher Daniels asked all the wrestlers to leave the ring except Jack Perry and introduced the latter’s opponent for the night, Dustin Rhodes.
