Swerve Strickland (@swerveconfident) is a professional wrestler currently signed to AEW. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet in Houston, TX to discuss becoming the first black AEW World Champion, levelling up in AEW, wrestling Sting at All In 2023 and Bryan Danielson the year after, his brutal matches with Adam Page, the needle spot in his steel cage match, why he re-signed with AEW, and more!
On bulking up:
“I am definitely bigger, and it’s miserable maintaining it. Because there’s times where I’m in bed, and I’m like, I gotta get one more something. Because Applebee’s is my go-to, at like, 11:45-12, most places are closing down. So let me order just a salmon and asparagus and rice. It gets there, and I’m like, I don’t even have the energy to use a fork. I’m just picking at it with my hands to my mouth and, in bed, just feeling like [crap].”
How big are you looking to get?
“I don’t even know. I didn’t even know I could get to this. Honestly, I got to a point where it was like, I didn’t know I could do this. What more can I do? So it’s like that’s the addiction to it.”
On getting out of his comfort zone:
“It’s facing fear, in a sense, but it’s not always the feeling of fear. It’s just a feeling of discomfort. I think people confuse the two. It’s like you’re not afraid of it, you’re just uncomfortable. There’s nothing to fear in any of this stuff. That’s why I relate to Fight Club, it is my favorite movie, I relate to it so much, because once you hit rock bottom, now there’s everything you can do. Once you go so low that you can’t go any lower, all the fear is gone. What’s the worst that can happen? It already happened. You’ve experienced it. And if you’re still around and you’re still alive and you can still make money, you can still make things happen at rock bottom, now you have no ceiling.”
What was the rock bottom point for you in your pro wrestling career?
“I would say just the independent grind between 2011, 12, 13, it was the point of just spinning wheels over and over again. That’s also when my both my daughters were born. So it’s just like, Okay, now it’s making very little money, no car, two daughters to feed, two different households. I still had the military, but I have all these commitments. But it took me a good couple of years to really find my footing and my groove, to really get into, just to maintain okay, that’s settled, that’s handled. All right, this is still behind, but I can figure something out. I think that’s where it was. It was just the process of figuring it out.”
On splitting the time between wrestling and music:
“I feel like they’re kind of one in the same now. I’ve done so much with wrestling that’s kind of got me into the doors with the music in a lot of different ways. Artists look at me a little bit more in a unique kind of space, because I know what I’m talking about, because I do it weekly on TV. So I was like, okay, he’s not full of sh*t, there’s something here to it. Now, we just got to see if he’s good. But I’ve done all the work and all the writing camps. I’ve studied and performed, and I’ve actually competed in songs with super MCs, like Mickey Factz, who’s literally teaching college courses on hip hop with Lupe Fiasco and competing against some of the greatest lyrics that’s out there in the world, getting nurtured and tutored by him and John Connor, who’s a Shady Aftermath former artist. Just all these guys, like Benny the Butcher, I have to compete on songs with these guys lyrically. So once again, it’s uncomfortable to step in a booth or I’m really not that seasoned yet, but these guys have been doing it for like 15-20 years, have gold plaques and are on songs with J Cole and songs with Eminem and Dr Dre produced records. These guys is who I’m on songs with. So that’s an uncomfortable room I have to put myself into to feel like I can compete, to have these dreams and aspirations to do like the stuff that I really want to do.”
On saying he wanted to be the first black AEW World Champion:
“I wasn’t sure, but that’s something I was just putting in the universe because I felt the momentum that I was gaining at the time. I was like, it has to be some point soon, has to be. I was never sure. I was never reassured. It wasn’t even written in my contract that I had to be World Champion by X amount of time. I didn’t have any of those specialties, I didn’t have any of the commitments. I didn’t have any promises. It was just like, that’s something I have to believe. And if I believe it, the fans will believe it. And if the fans believe it, that’s what gets you to those championship moments.”
On why he is presented differently in AEW compared to WWE:
“I would explain it to somebody like this. It’s like, you can have a talented quarterback drafted number one, if he’s not in an organization that allows him to be a franchise quarterback, he’s not going to play like a franchise quarterback. Your quarterback and your talent on a team is only as good as your organization allows you to be. If they don’t allow you to be as great as you possibly could be, then you’re not. Imagine a lot of these great quarterbacks that came through in franchises, if they had Bill Belichick [they’d be even better].”
When did you feel like that about yourself:
“It takes losing the job to really believe it. I also felt like I was too giving, especially when they handed me Hit Row. I felt like Triple H wanted me to be LeBron in the [Miami] Heat, scoring, not passing the ball. That’s why I don’t think we did as well. I think I should have gotten the ball and been the LeBron with the team. Like when he lost it in the finals with the Mavericks, I felt like I should have been like, No, give me the ball. I felt like that was one of those moments. I didn’t take that initiative enough, strongly enough, and have been the franchise guy.”
On not being that well-known when he signed with AEW:
“Which worked in my favor, because they didn’t have anything to compare me to. A lot of people were like, ‘Who’s that?’ ‘Who’s this?’ On the day that I did the contract signing at Revolution, I was just like, I can take this as a disrespectful way and be bitter about it and feel petty, or I could use this in my favor and be like, okay, they know me, this is a fresh start. Once again, that rock bottom feel, there’s nowhere else to go but up. I’m not having to compare myself or work towards what I did in the past; I felt like that was so tough for a Bryan Danielson, because he was coming from being Daniel Bryan. He’s a Hall of Famer, just that in itself, is a Hall of Famer. So Bryan coming into [AEW], and for people that only know him as being Daniel Bryan to doing what he did as Bryan Danielson in AEW, that’s a whole other Hall of Fame career. Just like 2 to 3 years of him doing what he’s done here in AEW, so I feel like he had huge shoes to fill. Moxley the same way. Moxley reinvented himself three, four times here in AEW. Those guys had it harder than I did, I feel like, because they had this huge reputation. They had the big names when they came in. They’re coming in and already had super successful careers in WWE to like, Oh, I hope he’s better than what we’ve seen there. Or like, Oh, he’s not as good as what we saw over there, they already had the comparison.”
On wrestling Sting at Wembley:
“Wembley was great, but it was like, Sting, and one of my good friends, Darby, and a legend I grew up watching with Christian as my tag partner is just like, man, I couldn’t [imagine] that scenario in my career, once again. It’s exceeding what I thought I could do.”
On the moment where Sting’s bat saved him from the coffin shutting:
“Because we always get the tease of, like, no, no, no, no, no. So I was like, the speed of, especially if you’re watching from way up there. Oh, it’s over. Yeah, it’s done. Wait, what?”
Do you ever feel like you push it too far?
“Not to a point that’s overly dangerous, as far as I go.”
You’ve never felt uncomfortable?
“No, no. Like I said, I’m in the ring with the best in the world. There’s no reason to ever feel uncomfortable with these guys and girls.”
On Bryan Danielson saying their match was his favorite:
“Which always blows my mind to even being considered, even in a top five or 10 or 15 of Bryan Danielson’s matches. After what he did with Will [Ospreay], after what he did with Kenny [Omega], and rest in peace, after what he did it with Bray [Wyatt]. After what he did with so many greats, Orton and Triple H and Batista, then over here, this it blows my mind. But once again, telling moments and making stories and playing the role that I need to play to get the most out of it. I always like to go into any match like, What elements do I have to play with that can make this match not better, but just different from those other great matches that I named, and I had Brie Bella sitting right there with the kids, that was the key element to the match, was the fact that he wanted to wrestle in front of his kids, and he never got to do it. So I was like, I get the honor of being with the guy to face off and take advantage of that. But that’s where the story elements of Swerve the character always uses family against the opponent. I always pick at the heart of the opponent. That’s what took Hangman down, playing with his child. They know the elements of teasing him with that. I beat Darby because of Nick Wayne. I’ve played with that. I played mind games with The Acclaimed with Billy Gunn. Always tug at the heartstrings, which is something that Shawn Michaels told me. So I tug on the heartstrings of Bryan Danielson’s family being there, but Bryan used it as a strength, as his power, and it turned against me. So that’s what actually fired him up and got him to turn it back against me. I’m the only one that’s been able to actually tell and carry that story all the way through that whole year.”
Why do you and Hangman have such great chemistry?
“Because we are both sick individuals. The thing is, the chemical romance between us is that we need each other. I think that’s why it works.”
Hangman burned down your home:
“Well, the whole point was I wanted to drag him down to show him that you’re just as bad as I am. And I proved it. It’s like Joker with Batman saying, you’re no better than me. They just glorify you for what you do. Deep down, you’re just as willing, or just as dirty as I am.”
On handing Hangman the chain at All In:
“To me, when we had the conversation right before All In on Collision, I don’t extend to the world title without him, but I also don’t lose that all in without him. So we kind of need each other. We hate each other, but we need each other. We also made each other better. People were talking about Hangman being done as a main eventer, as a World Champion in 2023. They were like, we got to look past Hangman, it’s Will Ospreay’s time now, because he just wasn’t there. Mentally, he just wasn’t there. I broke him, but I also did it intentionally, because I know Hangman is that guy. The character of Swerve respects Hangman. That’s why I went after him. I wouldn’t go after anybody that I wouldn’t get anything from, because I had motive. I want to get to the World Championship. I wanted to make history and be the first black world champion in AEW, he’s how I can get through to it. So I’m not talking him down. I’m actually talking him up, because I know if I move him out of the way, I can get there.”
What do you think broke Hangman?
“Oh, his child, because he’s a family man. Because the week prior to that, I had a number one contendership match with Bryan Danielson, which is the two times I’ve lost to Bryan Danielson because of Hangman. So I had the crown, he takes the crown from me, and Bryan Danielson beats me, so he took me away from a title opportunity. So I’m going to take something from him. All’s fair in love and war, in this whole thing. So that’s what caused me to go into his house and invade his house. Because people remember the moments, but if they go back and watch closely, there’s a reason why we got to that moment.”
What made you think you could do the syringe spot:
“It was just something that I don’t think has been seen on American soil, television-wise, in a major promotion like that in a while, because it’s something that’s like, why would you do that? Why would anybody do that? Good, that’s why I’m doing it.”
People have a fear of just seeing needles:
“That’s the point. If you’re sitting at home, you’re already getting uneasy, which we have so many little, small things that make people uneasy. I knew a syringe would make people feel uneasy. [It went through your cheek] Yeah, all the way through. I think I still have the needle.”
It got a lot of reaction online:
“[People said] “That’s dumb.” “Why would you do that?” Well you’re talking about it, it’s the moment, and I wouldn’t do that with anybody else. Right there, unsanctioned cage with Hangman, like, somebody that, like, I was just already depleted because I got power bombed on a cinder block right before that. So I’m like, it’s just punishment. We’ve already took it so far. He already burned down my house. Where else further do you go with someone that you hate? And it was just like he hates me that much to just do something like that. That came out of his boot, he had that. So that was something he just wanted to just punish me with.”
On the chair shot that followed:
“It felt like I got punched in the head from two fists. It was like from two different sides of the skull. Honestly, it was very John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, end of a movie, pow, you’re dead. It’s just as simple as that, there’s nobody coming to help you. We’re off in the middle of nowhere. You’ve gone so far as doing bad things. From doing bad things to earn the success. It’s going to catch up to you, and that’s what happened to my character. I’ve done all these bad things, invaded people’s homes, kidnapped people, beaten an 18-year-old kid up to a bloody pulp in this ring where his dad passed away, done horrible things, just despicable things, all for my own glory and all my own success. I did it for selfish reasons. I made history but it was ultimately for the wrong things. It’s like the character at the end of a movie, a drug movie, you’re doing horrible things to make it to the empire. We’re rooting for you because deep down, we understand why you’re doing it, but ultimately, you’re ruining the community. You’re hurting people, innocent people. There are people that are getting hurt from the things that you’re doing that you don’t even know about. So there’s all these residual effects from what you’re doing as well. Dude, it’s just so much bad karma. It’s got to come back to you. And that’s basically what it was.”
On why he re-signed with AEW:
“Everything. Me and Tony Khan were bonding as well. I didn’t get that trust yet from him, and once I finally did, not only just to trust to do what I want on TV. I think people think it’s like, oh, just do what you want on TV. It’s like, No, it’s not like that. It’s trust to be like, I need something done on TV that will work. You’re the guy to do it. That’s a different trust. I got this information from Paul Wight, Big Show. We’re sitting at catering one day. Also one of the times I was just coming off tagging with Keith Lee. So I was like, in that little singles void, which happens to everybody. It doesn’t happen just at AEW, it happens everywhere in wrestling, when a tag team has been tagging, then you split off into like, alright, what are these two guys do? Who’s going where? So he was just like, you know, one thing that I’ve always respected about John Cena, and you talked to the man, I was like, he always brought Vince what he wanted. He always made sure Vince got what he wanted. He’s the only guy I’ve ever seen, I sat in Gorilla and watched him, where before he would go out there, he would say, ‘Vince, what do you want? What are you looking for?’ And he would go out there and gave him exactly what he was looking for, exactly what he wanted. He came back, and Vince was like, ‘That’s what I was looking for.’ So Vince was like, That’s my guy to get exactly what I’m looking for, whether you agree with it or not, whether you like it or not, he’s going to come back and give this guy what he wants. And that’s why Cena is where Cena is. I was like, You know what? Let me flip my mindset for like, always thinking, I know what the best thing is. Let me just find out. What does he want? Tony, what are you looking for out of this? And if it’s just a good match, cool, simple. You got it. Hey, Tony, what do you need out of this promo? I need these things. You got it. No bickering back and forth. No, I don’t think it should go this way. I was just like, No, what do you need? How do you see it happening? How much time do you want? You got it. And that’s where I started building the trust with Tony. And that’s where things start opening up more and more and more.”
On a future dream match:
“Kyle O’Reilly. Man, I’ve been asking for Kyle O’Reilly for so long. We interacted in a battle royal, the two-ring battle royals and stuff. But that was it, and that was when Bobby Fish was still here. Buddy Matthews, rest up, hope he comes back soon, because he’s a beast.”
On some people thinking the staples were fake:
“Not one staple has ever been false. Not one thumbtack has ever been trimmed off. All of that stuff is legit.”
What is Swerve Strickland grateful for?
“The experience I’ve had, the flaws, and the ability to care.”
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