Tony Khan's handling of Swerve Strickland is AEW's biggest mistake of 2026

The Chase That Dragged Too Long

AEW has a lingering problem with its main event scene heading into Full Gear 2026. Swerve Strickland is the hottest act in the company, again. We all hear the deafening crowd reactions in every single arena from Chicago to London.

But the autumn title picture is a total mess. Tony Khan is hesitating.

Look back to Swerve's original title run in 2024. He was untouchable for months, carrying the banner through a weird, transitional period for the company. Now, two years later, we are watching a frustrating replay of his stop-and-start booking. Darby Allin holds the AEW World Championship after an emotional victory at Wembley. Swerve is the absolute obvious challenger. Yet, week after week on Dynamite, Swerve is stuck wrestling competitive, draining matches against guys like Kyle Fletcher instead of confronting Darby directly.

The pacing is entirely off. When someone gets this hot, you do not throw them into endless heatless bangers. You point them directly at the champion and get out of the way.

Numbers Don't Lie

Let's look at the actual stats. Swerve is 14-1 in singles competition since Double or Nothing. That lone loss was a heavily overbooked screwjob against MJF in July.

He has earned this spot. The fans clearly want this match.

Why is AEW so terrified of pulling the trigger on a direct, personal feud? Darby Allin vs. Swerve Strickland has years of built-in history dating back to the Pacific Northwest indies. They know each other's rhythms. It sells itself. Instead, the company introduced a convoluted four-way number one contender's eliminator that completely cooled off Swerve's white-hot momentum from All Out. It is classic overthinking from a creative team that sometimes refuses to take the easy layup.

We do not need another multi-man bracket. We need blood and hatred. Swerve excels when the stakes are deeply personal, not when he is just another guy fighting for points in a confusing system.

The Ghost of Hangman Page

You cannot talk about Swerve Strickland without mentioning Hangman Adam Page. Their Texas Death Match at Full Gear 2023 remains one of the most violent, perfectly executed bouts in AEW history. That match elevated Swerve from an upper-midcard heel to a permanent main event fixture.

Here we are, three years later. The company desperately needs that exact same energy for Full Gear 2026.

Darby and Swerve possess that same chaotic, dangerous chemistry. But the television build over the last month has felt completely disjointed. Darby is busy fighting off the remnants of the Don Callis Family in pointless tag matches, while Swerve cuts cryptic promos in the rafters with Prince Nana. It feels like they are starring in two completely different shows.

We do not need another convoluted multi-man tag to tell us Swerve is the most dangerous man in this company. We just need five minutes of him and Darby standing face-to-face in the ring.

Instead, inexplicably, Swerve wrestled a random trios match on Wednesday against the Premier Athletes. It makes absolutely no sense to drain your top star's momentum right before a major pay-per-view.

Booking the Easy Path

Full Gear is historically AEW's best pay-per-view for pure in-ring storytelling. Think about MJF winning the belt from Jon Moxley in 2022. Think about Swerve and Hangman breaking each other's spirits in 2023.

Tony Khan needs to clear the deck right now. Get the secondary factions and the unnecessary managers out of the way. Let Darby and Swerve talk, bleed, and fight over the most important prize in the sport.

AEW often falls into the frustrating trap of trying to protect everyone on the roster. That mentality directly leads to muddy finishes and confusing multi-man matches that help nobody. If Swerve is going to take the title at Full Gear, he needs to beat Darby clean in the middle of the ring. No interference. No lights going out. No sudden betrayals.

There is a massive difference between booking a long-term storyline and just dragging your feet. Right now, Khan is dragging his feet. The crowd wants to see Swerve hold the gold again. They want the coronation he missed out on the first time around when the roster was dealing with endless backstage drama.

A Roster Out of Balance

When you look at the rest of the card shaping up for November, the hesitation with Swerve becomes even more glaring. Will Ospreay is tied up in a meaningless international feud. Kazuchika Okada is phoning in another six-man tag title run. The main event scene is wide open for a defining, era-shifting feud.

Swerve brings an edge that nobody else on the current roster possesses. He walks to the ring with the aura of a legitimate superstar. When he smiles, you genuinely believe someone is about to get hurt.

Contrast that with Darby Allin's reign. Darby is a fantastic underdog. He takes bumps that make viewers wince. But an underdog champion needs a terrifying monster to overcome, or eventually succumb to. Swerve is that monster. Trying to frame this as a respectful athletic contest does a massive disservice to both men.

AEW built its entire reputation on giving fans the matches that other companies were too scared or too stubborn to book. They promised an alternative to the stagnant, repetitive main events of the late 2010s.

This is the moment to prove that philosophy is still alive. Swerve Strickland is standing right there. The audience is practically begging Tony Khan to pull the trigger. If they fumble this autumn title picture, it will be the biggest creative failure of 2026.

Just ring the damn bell.