# Swerve Strickland to Face Ninja Mack at Fourth Rope on Nov. 12 Label: CONFIRMED Promotion: AEW By WrestlingNews.com Staff Published Nov. 7, 2026, 9:10 AM ET URL: https://wrestlingnews.com/story/swerve-strickland-booked-vs-ninja-mack-fourth-rope-nov-12/ > Fourth Rope announced on Nov. 2 that AEW's Swerve Strickland will wrestle Ninja Mack at its Heelmatic show on Thursday, Nov. 12, at the Melrose Ballroom in New York. It is two days before AEW Full Gear. ## The quick version - Swerve Strickland wrestles Ninja Mack at Fourth Rope's Heelmatic on Thursday, Nov. 12, at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, New York, per Fourth Rope's own post on Nov. 2. - It is his first match outside AEW since July 2024, per F4W and WrestleZone. - AEW Full Gear is Saturday, Nov. 14, in Phoenix. Strickland is advertised there in the Trios title match. Swerve Strickland will wrestle Ninja Mack at Fourth Rope's Heelmatic show on Thursday, Nov. 12, at the Melrose Ballroom in New York. Fourth Rope announced the match on Monday, Nov. 2, in a post quoted by Fightful: "HEELMATIC will be one for the ages. First announced match @NinjaMack1 vs @swerveconfident. TIX on sale now." ## What is set Fourth Rope is the independent promotion founded by rapper Westside Gunn. Heelmatic is a joint show with the record label Mass Appeal. Strickland vs. Mack is the first match Fourth Rope announced for it. A 103 JAMZ story on Nov. 4, which quotes Fourth Rope co-founder Smoke DZA, lists Rick Sosa and Hype Kuro on the card as well, with "more" to come. We did not find a bell time. Tickets are on sale. Mack is known for high-flying work on the indies. F4W and WrestleZone note he has also worked for NOAH and NJPW, and made several ROH appearances in 2022 and 2023. ## Why it stands out Strickland's last match outside AEW was in July 2024, when he beat Amazing Red at House of Glory's High Intensity show in New York while still AEW World Champion, per F4W and WrestleZone. F4W and WrestleZone call this his first match outside AEW since then. ## What comes next for him Two days after Heelmatic, Strickland is part of AEW Full Gear on Saturday, Nov. 14, in Phoenix. He, Kofi and Austin Creed challenge Hangman Adam Page, Brody King and Bandido for the AEW World Trios Championship under Texas Death Match rules. See our [Full Gear card story](https://wrestlingnews.com/story/aew-full-gear-card-six-matches-nov-14/) and our story on [Creed's message to Bandido](https://wrestlingnews.com/story/austin-creed-tells-bandido-no-more-fun-and-games/). AEW has not said anything about the Fourth Rope date that we could find. We have not contacted AEW, Fourth Rope or Strickland. **How we know.** Source: Fourth Rope's own post of Nov. 2 as quoted by Fightful, with F4W, WrestleZone and Wrestling News Source for the match, the venue and Strickland's history, and 103 JAMZ for the other names. We did not open Fourth Rope's post ourselves. Nothing in this story is a rumor. ## Sources - Fourth Rope (@4thRope), post announcing Swerve Strickland vs. Ninja Mack for Heelmatic, Nov. 2, 2026, as embedded by Fightful. No link: we read it only inside Fightful's story. - Fightful (Andrew Thompson), "Swerve Strickland To Be In Action At 4thRope's 11/12 Show", Nov. 2, 2026. https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/swerve-strickland-to-be-in-action-at-4thropes-11-12-show/ - F4W/WON, "Top AEW star announced for rare indie match", undated on the page we read (published after Nov. 2, 2026). https://www.f4wonline.com/news/aew/top-aew-star-announced-for-rare-indie-match - WrestleZone (Bibon Sinha), "Huge AEW Star Booked for First Indie Match in Two Years", Nov. 2, 2026. https://www.wrestlezone.com/news/1669539-swerve-strickland-first-non-aew-match-in-two-years - Wrestling News Source (Ben Kerin), "Swerve Strickland To Wrestle At Fourth Rope's Heelmatic Event", Nov. 2, 2026. https://www.wrestlingnewssource.com/news/100863/Swerve-Strickland-To-Wrestle-At-Fourth-Ropes-Heelmatic-Event - 103 JAMZ (Tony M. Centeno), "Smoke DZA Wants To Inspire Voters With His New EP 'We Outside'", Nov. 4, 2026. https://103jamz.iheart.com/content/2026-11-04-smoke-dza-wants-to-inspire-voters-with-his-new-ep-we-outside - WrestlingNews.com staff reporting: compared four outlets' accounts of the booking and checked Full Gear details against our own earlier stories. How we credit sources: [Editorial standards](https://wrestlingnews.com/editorial-standards/).