6 Replacements for Swerve Strickland at AEW Full Gear after potential injury announcement
As of last week, former AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland was scheduled to face Bobby Lashley at Full Gear 2024. This match stemmed from The Hurt Syndicate's assault on Strickland following the debut of The All Mighty on Fright Night Dynamite.
However, on the November 13 episode of Dynamite, Swerve, after defeating Lio Rush, called out Lashley to a confrontation, spurring another beatdown at the hands of the former WWE Champion and his stablemate Shelton Benjamin. Concerningly, the Washington native recently took to X/Twitter and shared a photograph of an X-ray of his shoulder, with a caption alluding to the damage his body has taken from the attacks carried out by the former Hurt Business.
Seeing how no concrete announcements have been made yet regarding a potential injury, Swerve's post may be simply a storyline tactic to highlight the viciousness of his opponent and his faction mates. However, in case Strickland has to actually be replaced this coming Saturday, there are a few stars who could benefit from a blockbuster match with Bobby Lashley at AEW Full Gear in his stead.
Let us consider six such names.
#1. Adam Cole vs. Bobby Lashley for Full Gear 2024
Adam Cole lost his opportunity to compete at Full Gear against his arch-nemesis MJF after the latter's Dynamite Diamond Ring enabled Konosuke Takeshita to steal a victory against the former NXT Champion last week. Cole's Undisputed Kingdom stablemate Roderick Strong, however, did win three straight matches this month and will take on The Wolf of Wrestling at the pay-per-view.
If Swerve Strickland finds himself on the shelf due to injury, Bobby Lashley could issue an open challenge to the AEW roster to face him this Saturday. The call could be answered by Adam Cole, who could jump back on the PPV card in a first-time-ever marquee matchup against The Destroyer.
#2. Wardlow could make his comeback at Full Gear against Lashley
Critics of AEW have argued that the promotion has struggled with properly booking and presenting several of its long-time talents, especially Wardlow. Currently, Mr. Mayhem is said to be recovering from a knee injury and has not been seen on programming since March this year.
Wardlow was reportedly present backstage last month on Fright Night Dynamite, although no confirmed plans have been brought up regarding his comeback as of late. If the former TNT Champion is ready for active competition, he could be brought back as a surprise opponent for Bobby Lashley at Full Gear 2024, leading to a hard-hitting bout between The All Mighty and The War Dog.
![Wardlow and Bobby Lashley could go one-on-one at Full Gear [Source: WWE's website, AEW's Instagram]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/11/e6948-17319792291006-1920.jpg?w=500)
#3. Powerhouse Hobbs could test himself against Bobby Lashley
Powerhouse Hobbs returned to AEW television to team with Ricochet against his former Don Callis Family allies a few weeks ago. The 33-year-old star has evidently joined forces with The One and Only, as well as with Will Ospreay and Mark Davis. Interestingly, Ricochet also received an offer to link up with The Hurt Syndicate some time ago, although the former WWE Speed Champion firmly refused.
Many AEW viewers have recently been speculating on the prospect of Powerhouse Hobbs actually ending up joining The Hurt Syndicate after turning on Ricochet. To plant the seeds for such an angle, The Embodiment of Willpower could be booked to test himself against the faction by acting as a substitute for Swerve Strickland - if the latter turns out to be injured - and taking on Bobby Lashley at Full Gear.
#4. Ricky Starks could make his AEW comeback at Full Gear
All Elite Wrestling fans have been clamoring for quite some time now for the return of Ricky Starks. The Absolute has not competed inside an AEW ring since March despite, in his own words, being ready for action. While Starks is set to compete in a promotion outside of the Jacksonville-based company soon, the latter could undoubtedly benefit from bringing Stroke Daddy back to its televised programming.
As such, should Bobby Lashley require a new opponent for Full Gear 2024, Starks could step up and take former rival Swerve Strickland's place and thus face the former WWE US Champion in a first-time-ever dream match. A hard-fought loss to a star of Lashley's caliber could definitely raise the former FTW Champion's stock greatly in his return to the squared circle in All Elite Wrestling.
#5. Mistico could represent CMLL against Bobby Lashley
In course of 2024, All Elite Wrestling succeeded at building an ostensibly fruitful collaboration with the renowned Mexican promotion, CMLL. Stars from both companies have been featured on the other's programming this year, and on that note, AEW recently announced that several CMLL names are set to appear on television soon, including the legendary Mistico.
The masked luchador was last seen in action in All Elite Wrestling when he teamed with Hologram on Collision in August. Considering Mistico has never faced Bobby Lashley one-on-one, the 41-year-old star could be booked to represent CMLL against The Dominator in a blockbuster inter-promotional bout at Full Gear this Saturday.
![Bobby Lashley has never wrestled Mistico in singles action [Source: AEW's Instagram, Mistico's X profile]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/11/ca193-17319831514366-1920.jpg)
#6. Chris Jericho could seize a chance to appear on Full Gear
Chris Jericho is currently not on the card for Full Gear 2024. The reigning ROH World Champion, who has claimed a central role behind AEW's success, could take exception to be left off the pay-per-view and, in the storyline, maneuver himself onto the show. A huge opportunity of this nature could arise if Swerve Strickland has to be replaced as Bobby Lashley's opponent for the event.
Jericho could thus negotiate with Tony Khan to allow him to wrestle Lashley in place of Swerve at Full Gear in a bid to appear on the PPV. The inaugural All Elite World Champion has notably never faced The Hurt Syndicate member in a singles match, a fact that would also elevate the hype for a bout between the two men this Saturday - not to further mention Jericho's past history with Lashley's stablemate, MVP.