AEW may be entering a bold new era and it all started with Roderick Strong nailing a backbreaker on his wife.
According to Bryan Alvarez, AEW is fully leaning into intergender wrestling, following the intense reaction to Roderick Strongs stiff spots on his real-life wife, Marina Shafir, during AEW Worlds End and the December 31, 2025 edition of Dynamite.
Alvarez added that AEWs creative direction tends to follow fan reaction and the crowds explosive response to Strong hitting Shafir with a brutal backbreaker was impossible to ignore.
This comes after a viral moment from Worlds End, where Shafir posted a brutal photo of her back on January 1st. The image showed a massive handprint and visible welts all from a stiff chop Strong delivered during their Mixed Nuts Mayhem Match, after Shafir kicked him square in the face. Her caption? Motherf******.
With fan reactions off the charts and social media still hyped over the Shafir-Strong spots, AEW seems ready to push the envelope on intergender wrestling in 2026. If these moments keep landing with the crowd, we may be seeing more real-life couples throwing down in the ringand not holding anything back.
Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.
Are you in favor of AEW diving deeper into intergender wrestling Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.
