Swerve Strickland says AEW doesn’t have a “QB1” mentality but is more of a “Fab Five,” with several names at the top of the promotion.
In a recent interview with The Radio Big Mack Show ahead of Full Gear, Strickland said he isn’t a fan of the term, noting that it’s a matter of opinion, and compared WWE’s structure to a pyramid.
“AEW doesn’t really have the QB1 mentality,” Strickland said. “WWE, for sure, it does have that. It’s a pyramid. Whoever’s at the top is at the top, so you can make the claim for QB1 with them over there. With AEW, it’s not really like that. We’re more of a Fab Five.”
When it comes to AEW, at least, the numbers are on Strickland’s side. Since Full Gear in November 2025, the AEW World Championship has had six title reigns and five different champions. Samoa Joe, MJF, Darby Allin, and Kenny Omega have all held the title, and Will Ospreay is the current champion.
However, WWE has also had more than one name at the top since then. During that time, the Undisputed WWE Championship has had five reigns between Drew McIntyre, Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn, and CM Punk. Zayn regained the title in September and is the current champion. The difference between the two promotions is just one title change.
Strickland named Hangman Page and Ospreay among those at the top of AEW, adding that it’s the same for the women’s division.
“Hangman and Ospreay, it’s always a multitude of guys, not just on the shoulder of one person,” he said. “And a multitude of girls. It’s more multilayered at the top because it rounds off and it switches between them, and we’re always kind of intertwining our stories.”
Page and Ospreay will be in action tonight at Full Gear from the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Ospreay will defend his AEW World title against Kyle Fletcher, while Strickland and The New Level challenge Page, Bandido, and Brody King for the AEW World Trios Championship in a Texas Death Match.