Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay have created magic together in the ring, and it seems that their chemistry inside the squared circle is down to the respect they have for each other, which was evident in Strickland’s effusive praise of Ospreay.

Ospreay recently returned to AEW television at the Revolution pay-per-view after a long layoff due to serious neck injuries. Strickland said in an interview with “WhatCulture Wrestling” that he kept tabs on Ospreay’s progress and also spoke passionately about the friendship he has with him.

“I was keeping up with him like every step of the way, the last couple of months. I’ve seen him come through time and time again. But once again, it’s always like, it felt like he was never left in my mind because every time I see him, it’s like right back to where we were like at All In in Texas,” he began. “He’s someone I care deeply about, as far as like more than just a professional wrestler, but as a friend and like a younger brother and he looks up to me the same way. I knew when I seen him when he was like 18 years old in the UK, he was going to take over the world, and it sucks that a possible like career-altering injury could have, you know, halted all that momentum.”

Strickland credited Ospreay’s discipline and hard-working nature for his swift return to the ring, noting how the British star pushed hard to return ahead of schedule.

“But he’s such a freak of nature of an athlete and a hard worker and so disciplined that I knew that it wouldn’t — he was going to come back stronger, faster, and like really, really pushed the recovery time ahead. Really pushed forward and that’s just a matter of, like, that shows you how you know special of a performer he really is.”

Ospreay, on his return to AEW, attacked Jon Moxley and the Death Riders after Moxley had retained the AEW Continental Championship against Konosuke Takeshita. 

AJ Styles has provided an update on what he has been up to in recent weeks following his retirement. 

Styles, since retiring from in-ring action, has kept himself busy training WWE’s budding stars, which includes NIL stars, while also training his son, who wants to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a pro wrestler. On his “Phenomenally Retro” YouTube channel, Styles revealed that he is trying to adapt to his new post-retirement life, while also scouting and training wrestlers. 

“Trying to figure this whole retirement — not retired thing. It’s a little, you know, but I have a problem with if I have a job, I want to really do it well. And so I’m just trying to figure out all the little knick-knacks, the little things in between to do well. Easier said than done. I’m just trying to figure out this whole job of mine,” said Styles. “I’ve been trying to focus on, again, this job of mine and what it entails, and scouting and training my son at the same time. So, I’ve been in the ring doing stuff like that.”

Styles joked that the toughest problem he has post-retirement is that he has to keep in shape and not get fat. “The Phenomenal One” may not be stepping into a ring in the future, but he will be at a WWE event soon, the 2026 WWE Hall of Fame, where he will be inducted alongside Stephanie McMahon, Dennis Rodman, Demolition, and Sid Eudy, aka Sycho Sid, and has promised to keep his Hall of Fame speech short and sweet.

One of the most eagerly awaited match-ups at this year’s WrestleMania is the clash between two huge men, Brock Lesnar and Oba Femi, and WWE legend Booker T is keen to see how it unfolds.

Oba Femi has taken to the main roster quickly, and in just a few weeks, fans have bought into the hype of the former NXT Champion. Booker T, on the “Hall of Fame” show, said that the match could be a valuable learning experience for Oba Femi, who he feels is in a great position to learn from someone like Lesnar. 

“What Brock Lesnar did for Oba Femi too on that night was, you know, it made me feel good as far as, like I say, Brock Lesnar is one of the guys that’s going to be able to really show Oba Femi what it really means to be a monster, a beast. If anybody could teach Oba Femi, you know, and give him those little bitty things that he’s going to need to catapult himself to that next level, it’s going to be somebody like Brock Lesnar. Brock Lesnar’s been a student of the game for so many years. Not just this game, but just wrestling in general. So Brock Lesnar, I don’t know what he is as a coach, but I can imagine he could be a hell of a coach, I’m dead serious. I like the match-up,” said Booker T.

The “NXT” commentator further praised Lesnar’s ability to safeguard his gimmick, something that not many people in the modern era are capable of.

“Brock has been very, very smart as far as knowing how to protect his character. And that’s the one thing so many people do not understand as far as protecting that character,” he added.

Booker T contrasted Lesnar’s understanding of pro wrestling to that of others who have made the transition from other forms of combat sports, like Lesnar’s former opponent, Cain Velasquez, arguing how Lesnar has combined MMA and pro wrestling very well.