PARKS’S TAKE: So I was wrong and Swerve Strickland indeed turned heel, but was it a good decision after all?

Earlier this week on the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast weekly Flagship episode, I noted to Wade that I didn’t believe Kenny Omega or Swerve Strickland would turn in their Dynamite match that was set for Wednesday.

Well, I was wrong.

Strickland not only beat Omega, but put him on the shelf for time indeterminate with a brutal post-match attack that included a JML Driver through the announce desk. I figured Strickland’s mic work opposing Omega the previous week, where he came across as more heelish (though I wouldn’t say an out-and-out heel) was just to give an otherwise babyface vs. babyface match a little juice. In the end, it was an appetizer to the actual main course of a turn that took place after their match.

On the Flagship, I did note that AEW has so many top babyfaces, they could certainly afford to turn one of them heel. My belief at the time was fans wouldn’t truly boo Omega given his status as a legacy star of AEW. And I thought it would be an uphill battle to get fans to boo Strickland given his cool factor, though if you had told me one would turn, I would’ve guessed or suggested Strickland for that role.

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…

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One of the interesting components of this is what happens with the relationship between Strickland and Prince Nana. Heel or face, Nana has been beside Strickland for as long as they’ve been in AEW. Is this attack a bridge too far for Nana? Or will he continue to appear at the side of Strickland for the foreseeable future?

Strickland was a very good babyface, but he’s also a very good heel. If challenging MJF for the World Heavyweight Title wasn’t going to be in the cards any time soon, maybe a heel turn, slotting him in right underneath MJF in the heel pecking order, is the right way to go after all.