At the end of the penultimate match of AEW Revolution 2024, the Three-Way bout for the AEW World Championship, Swerve Strickland did something pretty much unprecedented for his current character: he put honor over an easy win.

That's right, as the match was winding down, ‘The Realest' had a chance to ice out his opponent with Prince Nana's crown, securing the easy pinfall victory, but opted against it, giving the headpiece back to his manager before watching in horror as “Hangman” Adam Page, his biggest rival, tapped out to the “Samoan Submission Machine,” Samoa Joe.

Was this a minor mental effort, an example of a wrestler who, in the fog of war, forgot to stick to his nature and paid for it? Or was this the very moment where Strickland realized that he's seriously lost the plot and needed to reevaluate how he does business after, you know, breaking into “Hangman's” house and messing with his baby?

Needless to say, AEW fans tuned in to Dynamite to see what Strickland would have to say, and talk he did, reinforcing that he's had a change of heart.

“You know, I don't know if I deserve that, Tony. You know, what's a Swerves House without the keys, you know what I'm saying? I mean, this past Sunday, I wrestled in a three-way match for the AEW World Championship and I just couldn't get the job done, I didn't come out the victor. Do you know who did? Samoa Joe did.

“You know, funny enough, it was like two years to the day that me and you, Tony, we stood on that stage at Revolution 2022 in Orlando, Florida; I came out on that stage, and you offered me the AEW contract, and I signed it right there on the dotted line. You remember that, right? You remember what I said, too, right? I told you I was going to come out here, and I was going to give my all to AEW, and I was going to win championships. H*ll, I said I was going to be the AEW World Champion. But here I stand, no gold around my waist, around my shoulder, nothing.”

Whoa, interesting stuff, right? Well, wait, it only gets bigger and better from there, as Strickland had plenty more to say on the future of his AEW career.

Swerve Strickland wants to make good on the AEW fan support.

After laying out the groundwork for how his Revolution efforts came to an end, Swerve Strickland turned his attention to the future, revealing that maybe he's been fighting for the wrong reasons, and that's why he simply hasn't found the success he's been hoping for.

“Part of me thinks it's a little bit of karma for all of the bad things I've done, you know? I've done some really terrible things here in AEW bro, maybe this is payback for that, maybe I'm paying for this now, I don't know. As a matter of fact, I've got some doubt in my head; maybe I'm not supposed to be a champion here. Maybe I'm supposed to just be a role player, and I'm just supposed to be the guy that just gets close enough but just can't grasp it, and I've just got to settle for this,” Swerve Strickland continued.

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Swerve Strickland with a text bubble reading "But let’s be real, we are the best wrestling" next to Grayson Waller with the AEW logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ¡

Chris Jericho with a text bubble reading " He is the right guy for the job" next to Swerve Strickland with the AEW Dynasty logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ¡

The blacked-out silhouette of Booker T with a text bubble reading "H*ll of a worker" next to Swerve Strickland with the AEW Dynasty logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ¡

“I'm gonna tell you all a little something: something about Sunday felt real different. Just a little different. You see, I go to all of these different arenas, every cities, every arenas, I'm seeing y'all sing, I'm seeing y'all chant my name, I'm seeing y'all doing the dance and all that, but something about Revolution in Greeneboro, North Carolina, on Sunday felt very different. And it felt like people were truly rooting for me for the first time. It felt like y'all really wanted me to win, and make history.

“Hey, I've actually heard that some people flew all the way across the country from my home city, my home state of Washington just to be in the presence of Swerve winning and becoming the World Champion and making history. And for that, I will not let you down. The fact remains, nothing changes from this point on, Samoa Joe, whether you're holding that World Championship or not, I'm coming for you. I don't know when, I don't know where, but I do know how; I am going to defeat you for that AEW World Championship, I promise.”

… so yeah, that's a babyface promo, right? Strickland is embracing the support he's receiving from fans and will fight for their honor moving forward, aka Babyface 101. How will this impact his association with Prince Nana and the Moguel Embassy? Only time will tell, but that's why fans watch wrestling, right, to see how these sorts of things shake out.