Swerve Strickland has defeated Samoa Joe to win the AEW World Championship at the crux of the inaugural Dynasty pay-per-view.

Strickland, a perennial fan favourite following his transcendent switch into the anti-hero babyface role over the last few months, toppled ‘The Samoan Submission Machine’ in a frenzied affair, the Swerved Stomp being the nail in the coffin to Joe’s title reign. The St. Louis, Missouri crowd were firmly on Swerve’s side throughout the heated contest, reacting accordingly as Swerve Strickland formally made AEW his house.

The win marks the second championship victory in AEW for Strickland; alongside the currently inactive Keith Lee, Swerve held the AEW World Tag Team Championships once, reigning for 70 days after usurping The Young Bucks in June 2022. They were subsequently felled by an uber-hot Acclaimed that September.

With the loss, Samoa Joe’s AEW World Championship reign ends at 112 days. Seeing off a banged-up MJF in the main event of Worlds End last December, Joe lifted his first World Title since his third NXT Championship run in 2021. His reign, the tenth in the title’s lineage, encompassed three successful defences, including one vs. Swerve Strickland at Revolution; that bout also involved ‘Hangman’ Adam Page.

Swerve Strickland Could Become A Triple Crown Champion

The concept of the Triple Crown in professional wrestling varies between promotions but in All Elite Wrestling, it is perceived as covering the company’s World, World Tag Team, and World Trios Championships, with AEW original Kenny Omega the only performer to have achieved the honour.

Multiple wrestlers are one title away from joining ‘The Best Bout Machine’, though, including ‘Hangman’ Adam Page (a former World and World Tag Team Champion) and Scorpio Sky (a former TNT and World Tag Team Champion); now, Swerve Strickland joins them. A World Trios Championships victory is a possibility for Swerve, owing to his allegiance to The Mogul Embassy but for now, the AEW World Championship is his top priority.