Swerve Strickland overcomes Kyle Fletcher in his maiden title defense as AEW World Champion

Swerve Strickland started his title run with a win over Kyle Fletcher. The Prince Nana successfully defended the title after a good match which was steady. The crowd started to chant Swerve's name as soon as he made his entry to the arena for the first time after being the champion. He is currently so over among the fans and rightly so. 

After beating Samoa Joe on AEW Dynasty, Strickland put on a great performance against Kyle Fletcher. Both wrestlers aimed to work with their opponent's weakness. It seemed like Fletcher found one. In an attempt to deliver Swerve Stomp, Strickland hurt his ankle. Fletcher saw it as an opportunity and repeatedly targeted the ankle region of the world champion. The crowd did not like it.

Strickland, however, was defiant. He overcame the ankle lock of Fletcher and put the pressure back on the mid-card champion. The usual notion is that pairing up a mid-card champion with a high-profile champion does not necessarily lead up to a good match. However, the duo proved it to be a wrong theory. Fletcher was impressive in the bout. Against the world champion, he gave a good performance.

Audio problem in the arena

During the show, there was a serious audio problem. The fans complained about it on X and other platforms. Even during the segment between the Bucks and Kazuchika Okada, one could not hear what they were saying. Meanwhile, Swerve and Fletcher started to deliver their finishing moves. In a funny segment, Fletcher tried to find a table under the ring but failed to get one, which cracked up the commentators.

Both wrestlers worked with the crowd. Strickland was repeatedly teasing around with a girl. It was a great start to the night and Strickland just showed why he belongs at the highest level as the champion. With his finisher move, Swerve overcame Fletcher to defend his world title and celebrated it with his dance moves. It will be interesting to see what happens with Fletcher when Mark Davis returns.