It's hard to look at 2023 as anything but a breakout year for Swerve Strickland.

From forming the Mogul Embassy, forged an incredible feud with “Hangman” Adam Page that culminated in an all-time great Texas Death match at Full Gear in Los Angeles and was the least-pinned man in the Continental Classic, even if that wasn't enough to secure a spot in the finals at Worlds End, let alone the Modern Day North American Triple Crown featuring the Ring of Honor Championship, the New Japan Strong Openweight Championship, and the AEW Continental Championship.

A pretty impressive resume, right? Mark Henry certainly thinks so, as, in an appearance on Premier Live TV, the World's Strongest Man put over the former leader of Hit Row to an incredible degree, naming him the breakout wrestler of 2023 not just in AEW but across the business as a whole.

“[Swerve Strickland] is definitely the breakout wrestler of ‘23,” Mark Henry said via Fightful.”But you gotta look at this too, is he the same guy that he was at WWE? At NXT? He's not the same guy. He grew up. He's 20 pounds heavier. He looks more the part. Also, he didn't do a lot of the hardcore and tough character building, the face that you do, ‘Hey, man, be careful. That dude ain't right. He's willing to put himself through pain in order for you to have pain.' He wasn't that guy. So he's the same man, but just elevated.”

In this age of extreme wrestling tribalism, it's hard to really identify one performer as the “breakout” wrestler of 2023, as fans of WWE will point to LA Knight or Dominik Mysterio as their pick, Lucha Libre AAA fans will point to 2023 as the year El Hijo del Vikingo went mainstream – yeah, both of his Kenny Omega matches happened in 2023 – and fans of New Japan, All Japan, and even of Impact will have their own picks for the prestigious honor. Giving the honor to Strickland is a pretty safe bet, however, as he really has grown to a previously unimagined level in 2023 and is now arguably the most popular performer in AEW period. If he doesn't spend at least a solid portion of a champion, if not the World Champion in 2024, Tony Khan will miss out on a major moment.

Swerve Strickland is done waiting around for Keith Lee.

While there are plenty of goals Swerve Strickland would like to accomplish in 2024, one he won't be waiting around for is another shot at Keith Lee, as, after the “Limitless One” was removed from the card at Worlds End due to an inability to get medically cleared, he's moving past a grudge match.

“Keith absolutely did want to wrestle. There is a process there and it involves a doctor examining the wrestler every time before they go out and wrestle but also keeping in touch with him during the week. Keith mentioned he got injured in his match at Final Battle. He had a great match with Shane Taylor hard hard-hitting match in Dallas at Final Battle. Then after that, Keith had gotten back in the ring and had a great match with Brian Cage. Did a great number on Collision,” Tony Khan told the assembled media at Worlds End via SE Scoops.

“Keith, today when he went in to see the doctor, his injury had gotten worse during the week and really it was worse than it was after the Shane Taylor match and it was worse than it was after the Brian cage match. The swelling had gone up and with the swelling being what it was the doctor didn't feel comfortable clearing Keith. So it's a tough call. But the doctor did what he thought was right and I respect the medical team's decision.”

Unfortunately for Lee, his absence from Worlds End was not his decision but instead a judgment call from Doc Sampson and company, who felt it would be medically inappropriate to clear him for a hard-hitting match against the “Realest.” While neither man would likely turn down a match if it was offered at some point down the line, the idea of Strickland turning his attention to winning gold and Lee pursuing him when he's finally healthy enough to go in the ring sounds like a darn a pretty good idea for both men, as holding either man back until they can have a build-less match over a year in the making feels like a poor use of their man's time. Throw Strickland in the World Championship picture, TK, it's really not hard.