Swerve Strickland and Ricochet have been feuding for months despite only ever facing off once in an AEW ring thus far. That's about to change at AEW Revolution, when the pair square off in a rematch this time to become the No. 1 contender for the AEW World Championship. Adding in the stipulation was the only way Strickland and Prince Nana could get Ricochet to agree to face "The Most Dangerous Man in AEW" once again, though his sole victory over Swerve was earned via a low blow.
The pair were previously familiar with each other from their days in Lucha Underground(though Killshot never faced Prince Puma) and had wrestled in promotions like MLW, CZW, and REVOLVER, but until Ricochet joined AEW last year, they hadn't clashed since 2017. The former WWE starnamed Strickland as an opponent he wanted to face in 2025, and in the closing months of 2024, he seemingly always had something catty to say to Strickland backstage when the men crossed paths, including reminding the former AEW World Champion about the Continental Classic tournament in 2023 while Ricochet was performing well in the 2024 tournament.
Things have only escalated since their backstage war of words, and now they're set to meet once again on the mat at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. This is The Story So Far.
Ricochet began to run his mouth to Strickland in various backstage segments throughout the weeks following the former champion's loss to a recently-debuted Bobby Lashley at AEW Full Gear. Despite The Hurt Syndicate giving Ricochet a business card, MVP rescinded the offer for him to join them in mid-December, telling the high flyer that "nobody liked a kiss-a**." It was around the time of the awkward encounter (though The Hurt Syndicate spared him physically) that Ricochet started to slowly descend into bad guy territory.
Ricochet finished the 2025 ContinentalClassic with a record of 3-1-1 and an impressive 10 points, but he lost toContinental Champion Kazuchika Okada in the quarter-finals at Worlds End. That's also whereStrickland took things further again without getting physical, choosing to make fun of Ricochet at his lowest moment instead. Strickland and Prince Nana made their way down to the ring in an attempt to "clean things up" with Ricochet, which involved the audience throwing toilet paper at the star in the ring as a tribute to the late Jimmy Rave and Nana's old ROH stable, The Embassy, in the Hammerstein Ballroom.
Ricochet got his revenge in a bloody way on the New Years Day episode of "AEW Dynamite," when he appeared in the crowd and attacked Strickland with a pair of scissorsduring his match against Jay White and Roderick Strong. He left Strickland a bloody mess, cemented his heel turn and unexpected pivot into a much-lauded AEW promo guy
Strickland and Ricochet finally faced off one-on-one in the middle of the ring on the February 5 edition of "Dynamite." Ricochet scored the victory off an accidental low blow to his opponent, but decided to take things a step farther once again. After the match, Ricochet took the Embassy Robe that Strickland had worn to the ring to honor Rave and left with it, much to the distress of Nana.
Over the weeks, he has refused to give it back to Nana, despite the manager's pleading, and has paraded around in it. The disrespect led to Nana issuing an ultimatum to Strickland that if he doesn't get the Embassy Robe back, that he's not sure he can stand alongside Strickland and take bullets be they in the form of "Hangman"Adam Page, Ricochet, or anyone else for him any longer.
On the most recent episode of "Dynamite," the pair sat down in the middle of the ring for a contract signing ahead of Revolution. As most contract signings do, it started with vicious words and ended in a violent brawl, with Ricochet going after Strickland with the scissors again. Strickland was prepared, however, with a pair of his own to fight back, and this time the former champion was the one to draw blood. In the main event, however, when Ricochet teamed with Okada to take on Strickland and upcoming Continental title contender BrodyKing, he hit Strickland with Okada's title belt behind the ref's back and scored a second pinfall win over Swerve. If he can make it three at Revolution, he'll earn himself a world championship match but Strickland will stop nothing to get his revenge and a chance to regain the belt in lost at WembleyStadium.
