AEW president Tony Khan says a rematch between Swerve in our Glory (Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee) and The Acclaimed (Max Caster and Anthony Bowens) would be great for AEW Grand Slam in New York. The champions are down for the match, but they’re tired of feeling like they have to keep proving themselves.
At AEW All Out, Strickland and Lee retained the titles against The Acclaimed in an instant classic that captivated the audience and delivered one of the most memorable matches of the night. After the match, many fans started buzzing about AEW potentially running the bout back at Grand Slam.
During a media scrum after the show, the champions, alongside Khan, were asked about a potential rematch. Lee noted that he and Strickland make their opponents look great and dared any potential challengers to step up and climb the proverbial Mount Everest.
“First of all, let me be honest with you, social media is very much beneath me,” Lee said. “It is very rare that I read it. [Swerve] literally reports to me and sends me links because I don’t give a damn. Everything that I’ve done in this business, in this industry, just because we’re in the ring and we make someone look incredible and we’re good at it, we’re very good at it, stories are told, things happen. We pull something different out of everyone that we’ve ever fought. Now I challenge you to, if this happens again, with someone else, to have a better match than what we just put on out there. Accept the challenge and then show me. Until then, it sounds arrogant, but I’m being very honest. Mount Everest. Someone should climb it.”
Khan noted that the title match at AEW All Out was one of the best tag team matches AEW has ever had on a PPV, and he stated that Grand Slam would be a great place for a rematch.
“If I may, that was one of the best tag team matches we’ve had ever on AEW pay-per-view,” Khan said. “The reaction of the crowd spoke to how great of a match it was and how excited they were to see it. Just last night on the Elevation special, there was a big milestone in AEW. The Acclaimed became the all-time leader in tag team wins in the history of AEW, for their career as a tag team. The winningest tag team in AEW history. They’re tremendous. They put on a show tonight. That was a great match, I think we can all acknowledge that, and I think you guys are all saying how great of a match tonight was. I personally think that with Grand Slam coming up, I think that I can’t imagine a better match for New York than hypothetically, a rematch between Keith and Swerve versus The Acclaimed.
Lee then noted that The Acclaimed stepped up, and they made magic together. Strickland responded by pointing out that they’re the common denominator when that magic is made.
“We’re the common denominator when it comes to the magic in this. I don’t know how much more we gotta keep proving to everybody,” Strickland said.
Khan noted that people are asking him about the bout, and he thinks it’s the best thing AEW could do at Grand Slam.
“I’m just saying, I think it would be a great match,” Khan said. “People are asking me, I mean, you’re asking me right now, I think it would be the best thing we could do at Grand Slam.”
Swerve: “I think they asking because this is another f— tag team that’s coming up that says they want the belts on them rather than us. How many times are we gonna do that? Khan. You heard the reaction of the crowd.
Lee stated that he enjoyed the match at AEW All Out, but he’d like to see The Acclaimed drop the silliness in a potential rematch.
“I will admit, I enjoyed the battle,” Lee said. “They brought it. They stepped up. However, if they want to bring it properly, I would advise putting away the stereotypes, the silly raps, the jokes.”
Khan again emphasized that he’d need to take some time to think about it.
“I need to take some time to think about it, but I’m just saying it would be a great match for Grand Slam and it would be great for the fans of New York,” Khan said.
Khan also highlighted the importance of the match in a separate sense.
“Tonight was a great milestone in this company, one of the best matches we’ve had,” he said.
Strickland responded by saying, “By four African-American people in that ring too. Boom. Making more history, that we’re gonna keep doing.”
Finally, Khan stated again that The Acclaimed vs. Swerve in our Glory would be a great match for Grand Slam.
“I’m just saying, it’s the world champions against the all-time wins leaders, coming off one of the best matches in the history of the company on the biggest pay-per-view,” Khan said. “I don’t know, I just think it would be something special. I think tonight was a big night, but I’m just putting something out there I think would be really great for Grand Slam”
Swerve noted that Khan pays the bills, and he’ll be there, and when Khan noted that the match sounds good, Strickland parted with a final message.
“Alright, don’t be surprised if somebody get hurt,” he said.
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