Rich Swann Open To Impact & AEW World Title Unification Match With Kenny Omega

Impact Wrestling World Champion Rich Swan is gearing up for one of the biggest matches of his life. This Saturday night, Impact presents Hard to Kill live on pay-per-view. Swann will team with the Motor City Machine Guns against AEW World Champion Kenny Omega and Impact World Tag Team Champions The Good Brothers (Gallows & Anderson).

Swann appeared on Wrestling Epicenter this week and spoke to host James Walsh about the significance of this match. The full interview is embedded here, with highlights below.

Rich Swann is currently the top dog in Impact Wrestling, but it almost didn’t happen. He suffered a wave of injuries last year that almost forced him into retirement.

“It was excruciating, it was painful, it was something that I wouldn’t ever wish on my worst enemy,” said Swann. “I broke my leg, my fibula, my ankle… Everything in my ankle, my foot… And then, not only that, my back. My lower back was broken. You know, I was told that I probably would never wrestle again let alone walk the same way again. That was just another something that I had to overcome.”

Thanks to exhaustive physical therapy, he eventually trained himself back into fighting shape. Swann captured the Impact World Championship at Bound for Glory 2020. He says “the crown is heavy on the head” because so many legends before him have held that title. It means the world to him that he’s the leader of a company that has such a rich history.

Impact Wrestling‘s working relationship is one of the hottest angles in pro wrestling. As Impact World Champion, Swann is one of the key players involved in the inter-promotional conflict. He feels that the two companies working together is “awesome” for the business and for fans.

Last week, we saw The Good Brothers crash AEW Dynamite and come tot he aid of Kenny Omega. The Young Bucks joined in and the group embraced in what appeared to be a reunion of former Bullet Club members. Swann says he’s not surprised at what we saw. He feels that it was just a matter of time before the Bullet Club members threw up the Too Sweet symbol and showed their true colors. Even though he’ll be standing across the ring from Omega and the Good Brothers this Saturday night, he can’t help but admit that it’s cool to see them together again.

Don Callis has been claiming that Kenny Omega is the “real” world champion, which has to be seen as a slight to people like Rich Swann. When asked how he feels about this, Swann said he does not let it get under his skin.

“No, it doesn’t get under my skin because I know what I had to do to win the World Heavyweight Championship,” said Swann. “So, for someone to say that they’re the “real” world champion, guess what? You are the real world champion… in AEW! Maybe thanks to the tactics that he used with Don Callis, don’t forget to mention! I did it the old fashioned way – With heart, determination, and the power of love of professional wrestling. If you look at our wins, if you compare those two, who is the real World Champion?”

AEW World Chamion Kenny Omega has made it known that he is on the hunt for more titles. Would Rich Swann be interested in a match to unify the AEW and Impact World titles?

“I’m from Baltimore, Maryland.” said Swann. “I’m not afraid to step into the ring with no man. I fear no man and I only fear one thing. The thing is, that is not one thing that I would ever fear. If he (Kenny Omega) wanted to step into the ring and do a Unification… We’ve it. We’ve seen seen him go into Mexico and he beat Loredo Kid in AAA. Do I think he could come into my house and do what he did there? I don’t know. Time will tell.”

With just days until Impact’s Hard to Kill pay-per-view, Rich Swann says he and the Motor City Machine Guns are ready with “a whole lot of ammunition and we’re ready to unload.”