Swerve Strickland Raises Questions About NJPW-AEW Partnership As Forbidden Door Approaches

By: Thom Fain

Swerve Strickland has offered a candid assessment of the AEW-NJPW relationship ahead of Forbidden Door 2026, suggesting New Japan is still in the process of developing the next generation of talent needed to match AEW’s current wave of rising stars.

NJPW was recently sold by Bushiroad to competitor CyberAgent, who split ownership in half with longtime New Japan television partner TV Asahi.

“I think New Japan is in an interesting place,” Strickland said. “They’re still trying to find their new stars, their talents that take them into the next generation. Can their guys match the amount of guys that we have stepping up? That’s the challenge right now.” He acknowledged emerging NJPW names like Callum Newman and Yota Tsuji, but questioned whether their pipeline could meet AEW’s at the same moment.

Strickland extended the same observation to the women’s division, noting STARDOM would need to match AEW’s rising female talent wave to make future crossovers feel balanced.

The comments carry some irony: Strickland himself faces Will Ospreay — one of NJPW’s most prominent exports — in the Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament Finals at Forbidden Door. The fifth annual joint PPV takes place June 28 in San Jose.

Photo c/o AEW