AEW star Swerve Strickland took to social media on Wednesday to claim that AEW management is intentionally keeping him away from television, revealing he will not appear on tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite in Asheville, North Carolina.

In a video shared online, Strickland said he has been forced to stay home while recent promos have been filmed remotely instead of at live AEW events.

“As you can see everybody, I’m not at AEW right now. I’m not at AEW Dynamite tonight in Asheville, North Carolina. I’m here at home because of AEW management,” Strickland said. “They want to keep me away from TV. I’ve been shooting the last couple promos that you see off-site. I haven’t been at AEW TV. AEW management is responsible for that.”

The comments came shortly after Strickland posted and later deleted a message questioning why he had been absent from AEW programming. The former AEW World Champion has not wrestled on television since falling to Kenny Omega on the March 25 edition of Dynamite, although he did appear during the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh last month as part of promotional work tied to Warner Bros. Discovery and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Strickland also referenced AEW President Tony Khan during the video, thanking him for the ambassador opportunities while expressing frustration over being unable to compete.

“Shout out Tony Khan, thank you for having me do some ambassador work for WBD. Thank you for sending me to the NFL draft to do the Jacksonville Jaguars’ fourth-round pick with Roger Goodell and everybody. I appreciate that, but you’re keeping me away from doing my f, -ing job, and that is getting in the ring and hurting people,” Strickland said. “The longer I’m away from the ring, the longer I’m away from championship gold. And you are willing to keep me away from doing what I do best, and that’s hurting people.”

Later in the video, Strickland specifically called out Bandido while accusing AEW officials of fearing what he might do if allowed back on Dynamite.

“That’s why they’re banning me from AEW Dynamite, because they’re afraid of what I’m going to do to Bandido. They’re afraid of what I’m going to do to the rest of the people on the staff and the locker room of All Elite. Going all the way back to what I did to Kenny Omega earlier this year. I’m a danger to AEW Dynamite, and now AEW Dynamite is going to be keeping me away until further notice. They’re going to play games with my career. But like I said, I want power, and I want it all.”

Tonight’s edition of AEW Dynamite airs live at 8 p.m. ET on TBS and HBO Max from the Harrah’s Cherokee Center.

Why @Aew is keeping me from doing my job pic.twitter.com/e5oQ9IrMNT

, Swerve Strickland (@swerveconfident) May 13, 2026