WWE Legend closely working with Swerve Strickland backstage in AEW - Reports

AEW has established Swerve Strickland as one of its top stars in the last year. The All Elite locker room has several veterans to lean on, including names like Jerry Lynn, Jim Ross, Taz, Chris Jericho, and Chris Hero. However, another legendary name was just revealed as the one behind a significant assist to Strickland.

The New Flavor has not been seen since AEW All Out earlier this month. Strickland dropped the World Championship to Bryan Danielson in the All In main event, but 13 days later, he lost to Adam Page in the Unsanctioned Lights Out Steel Cage main event of All Out. The 33-year-old is currently taking some time off. One wrestler not slowing down in 2024 is Dustin Rhodes. The 55-year-old currently holds Ring of Honor's World Tag Team Championship with Sammy Guevara, and the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship with The Von Erichs.

The Natural has been working behind the scenes with The Realest, according to a new report from RSN. It was noted that Rhodes is mainly helping Strickland with his matches.

Backstage sources said Strickland's improvement is obvious. They pointed to how there's a clear difference in the quality of Swerve's in-ring outings when Rhodes has been involved, as opposed to when he was not involved in the pre-match training.

Rhodes is said to be "always ready" to help out any wrestler who is willing to listen to him. The 36-year industry veteran has been with AEW since the beginning, signing on as a talent and a coach. He debuted in ROH this past July.

Strickland and Rhodes have faced off in two singles matches. Rhodes won their first outing via DQ on the February 17, 2023, Rampage episode, but Strickland then got the win back at World's End last December.

Swerve Strickland AEW status update

Swerve Strickland took time off following his loss to Adam Page at AEW All Out. Officials reportedly knew of the planned hiatus when Strickland signed his new multi-year contract last month.

The Realest has been rumored to make his return at WrestleDream on October 12 in Tacoma, Washington, as this is his hometown. However, a recent report about the pay-per-view noted that Strickland is not planned for WrestleDream.

Plans can always change, but it looks like Swerve is planned for a longer hiatus than some originally thought. Strickland's new AEW contract is said to be for five years, and worth major money that top stars have been signed to this year. The reports on Swerve's contract terms have led to some significant criticism from others in the industry.