Swerve Strickland mourns death of original trainer
AEW star Swerve Strickland is mourning the loss of someone who was very important to his career.
Strickland sent out a tweet today acknowledging the passing of Ron “The Pharaoh” Cromartie, who trained Strickland at the Ground Xero Wrestling Academy. Cromartie was best known in the Virginia area, where he was a wrestler, promoter, and trainer.
“R.I.P. Ron ‘The Pharaoh’ Cromartie,” Strickland wrote. “My original trainer passed over this past week. I just wanted everyone to know he was a great human and loved pro wrestling. He will be incredibly missed. I hope I made you proud.”
Strickland did make Cromartie proud with all he’s accomplished in wrestling — a fact that Cromartie made known in a Facebook post in April 2024 after Strickland won the AEW World Championship.
“All things right, as they should be. The universe is in perfect balance,” Cromartie posted. “Proud of you, kid. #SwerveStrickland”
Indie promotions RVA Pro Wrestling and Virginia Championship Wrestling both extended their promotions after Cromartie’s death.
“RVA Pro Wrestling would like to offer condolences to Ron Cromartie. Ron sadly passed away this week,” RVA wrote. Ron wrestled as The Pharaoh in The Mid Atlantic region and was co owner of GXW Wrestling Academy in Richmond where several of RVA Pro’s stars got their start. Rest in Power”
Swerve Strickland sets sights on AEW Trios titles —
In AEW at the moment, Strickland has his eyes on challenging Hangman Page, Brody King & Bandido for the Trios titles at All In on August 30. While unconfirmed, there’s been a lot of speculation that former WWE wrestlers Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods — who are newly free agents — will be Strickland’s partners.
Joseph Currier
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated’s wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.
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