Former WWE Superstar Swerve Strickland lost his AEW World title to Bryan Danielson at All In at Wembley Stadium this past weekend. Yet, Strickland’s rise in All Elite Wrestling over the past few years has been impressive.
Strickland debuted with AEW at Revolution in March 2022. His first singles match was on the March 11 episode of AEW Rampage, where he defeated Tony Nese. He soon teamed up with Keith Lee, and within a few months, they captured the AEW Tag Team titles. However, their partnership ended abruptly when Strickland attacked Lee, dissolving their tag team.
After parting ways with Keith Lee, Swerve Strickland soared in AEW. He created the Mogul Embassy faction and engaged in impressive matches. His rivalry with Hangman Page escalated quickly, fueling Strickland’s rise and leading him to win the AEW World Championship.
Although Strickland enjoyed great success in AEW, his time in WWE from 2019 to 2021 was less fruitful. Recently, Strickland reflected on his WWE experience and the challenges he encountered.
Swerve Strickland reveals what held him back in WWE
Former AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland, who previously spent several years in WWE, discussed what hindered his success. Recently, Strickland appeared on the Rich Eisen Show and compared his WWE experience to his time in AEW. He suggested that politics played a significant role in limiting his success.
The wrestler stated, “Political moves. Just political moves, I can say. I’ll just leave it at ‘political moves.'” Reflecting on his AEW career, Strickland expressed his satisfaction with having the chance to showcase his abilities in Tony Khan’s promotion.
Strickland said, “I worked my way up from the bottom, I don’t care. You can put me in battle royals, I’ll lose them all, I don’t care. Just give me the opportunity to show out. Give me the opportunity like ‘Hey, can I get a minute of TV time right here in this spot?’ ‘Absolutely’ ‘Okay, I’m going to make something matter.’ That’s something that you just can’t ask for anywhere else. You can’t just ask for a minute and get it, that’s really tough. I don’t care if it’s Dynamite, Rampage or Collision or Ring of Honor, getting television time forwarded to you is valuable. It’s up to you what you do with it.”
Strickland spent most of his time in WWE’s NXT brand until October 2021, when he was drafted to SmackDown with his faction, Hit Row. However, a month later, he was released from WWE. This turn of events led him to AEW, where he has since become one of the top stars in the promotion today.
