AEW leaned into creative storytelling again with a cool new vignette that hints at Swerve Strickland’s next feud. The video had a Western theme and showed Strickland as a bounty hunter.
Strickland is returning after being away from AEW TV for a while. His last match was on March 25, where he faced Kenny Omega in a World title shot vs. executive vice president role match. Strickland lost, which slowed his momentum for a bit.
There were also rumors that he was absent because of filming a Warner Bros. Discovery project, but his representatives later denied it.
AEW’s western-style bounty hunter video points to Swerve Strickland’s next feud
A vignette aired on the April 29, 2026, episode of AEW Dynamite, which showed Strickland as a bounty hunter looking for Bandido.
The vignette played out in a Western-style town. The camera moved toward a saloon as people were seen running around in fear. Suddenly, a beaten-up man was thrown out of the saloon. Later, a lone figure walked out and then noticed a “Wanted” poster for Bandido lying on the ground. As the camera moved up, the man was revealed to be Strickland. Prince Nana then handed him a gun-shaped lighter, and Strickland burned the poster, sending a message to Bandido.
AEW later shared the full video online with the caption, “Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.”
Bandido being the focus isn’t surprising. Over the past few weeks, AEW has shown similar Western-style videos featuring him.
However, Bandido has been appearing less often in AEW. Since losing to MJF in January, he has only wrestled a few matches. His last match was in the TNT Championship Casino Gauntlet at Dynasty.
Strickland and Bandido do have some history. They have been in the ring together before in tag matches, but they haven’t had a singles match in AEW yet. Their last one-on-one match was back in 2019 in OTT Wrestling.
With AEW Double or Nothing coming up next month, this match could happen there.
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