In April, Swerve Strickland and Damian Priest became World Champions in their respective promotions, with the former defeating Samoa Joe at Dynasty to become the AEW World Champion and the latter cashing in his Money in the Bank contract to unseat Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 40 to become the World Heavyweight Champion.

Since then, both performers have defended their staps on PPV/PLE, been fixtures of television, and pushed to make their marks on the professional wrestling world, but have they? Well, in the opinion of WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray on Busted Open Radio, that is very much up in the air, as he doesn't necessarily believe things will get better moving forward.

“One of the things that stood out to me about the Judgment Day last night — and this hit me a couple of weeks ago — is [that] I'm not sure being a part of the Judgment Day is doing Damian Priest any favors as world champion right now,” Bully Ray explained via Wrestling Inc.

“I think being in the Judgment Day… I don't want to use the term ‘Holds Priest back,' I know it's the story he's involved in. They haven't given us a reason for him to not be a part of the Judgment Day. But I don't feel like Priest is being allowed to be the world champion he can be while still being a part of the Judgment Day. I almost thought about Priest last night in the same context I thought about Swerve Strickland as World Champion in AEW. I'm not quite sure either one is getting the true World Heavyweight Champion treatment.”

Is Ray on the money? Yeah, it sort of feels like he is, as Strickland and Priest both had their first title defenses in non-main events and have been relegated to middle-of-the-show segments on their respective shows instead of being clear headliners worthy of being placed in a position of prominence. While that could change in the future, one has to wonder if that will actually happen, especially with fan favorites like Will Ospreay and Drew McIntyre waiting in the wings for June title shots.

Swerve Strickland isn't going to hand MJF a title opportunity in AEW.

While the professional wrestling world is currently very excited about the prospects of Will Ospreay versus Swerve Strickland at Forbidden Door III, a match that is technically AEW versus AEW despite the former's extensive experience in New Japan Pro Wrestling, the “Ariel Assassin” isn't the only hotshot in the promotion looking to take a shot at the World Championship, with a returning MJF likely interested in recapturing the Triple B in the not-too-distant future.

Asked about MJF's big return at Double or Nothing during the show's media scrum, Strickland noted that he's happy to have the “Salt of the Earth” back, even if he isn't just going to hand the “Wolf of Wrestling” a shot at his belt without putting in the work.

“It’s a possibility, and that’s the beauty of this whole company: everything’s possible. I know he has probably some unfinished business with what Undisputed Kingdom did to him and Adam Cole, he probably wants to finish up some things. But it just goes to show you, I’m not one of the ones you can just walk over and come at any time, any place, anywhere when you see fit. While you were gone, I was building. And while I was building, I was making this place a fortress,” Swerve Strickland told reporters at the Double or Nothing media scrum via SE Scoops.

“So you can come in. And I’m not even saying you can’t even challenge for the World Championship. But you got work to do, just like I had work to do. You’ve got work to do. Show me something, because this ain’t the same All Elite Wrestling from where you left.”

Would a match between Strickland and MJF draw money? Sure, they had some back-and-forth chirping at the end of 2023 and could easily bring that back in the future should AEW need to call on that match for a future show. Still, it's worth wondering if Tony Khan will have a chance to get to that storyline, as Ospreay very well could unseat the “Realest” at Forbidden Door, or could have the match booked in such a way that they continue to feud all summer long, heading into a rematch at All In this summer at Wembley Stadium, with Strickland turning heel on the “Billy Goat” and adding even more intrigue to his character. Either way, fans will have to tune in to find out, as it's going to get very interesting indeed.