Swerve Strickland: Element of unpredictability is ‘so big’ for AEW
Swerve Strickland believes having an element of unpredictability is a very good thing for AEW’s main event scene.
While speaking with radio station 107.7 The Bone, Strickland discussed how he’s used comic books as one of his pro wrestling inspirations. He thinks it’s a good thing for characters to show occasional weakness instead of always being portrayed as indestructible. In AEW, that’s helped build a culture of unpredictability where each main eventer has had an opponent they can’t get past.
“I feel like right now, everybody in wrestling in general [is] like, ‘We gotta make this character strong, we gotta make this character look strong, we gotta make this character look strong.’ Sometimes they need to be weak,” Strickland said. “Sometimes people get beat. Sometimes, like, there’s a character, there’s somebody on the show that just has your number and you can’t get past them.
“That’s why I think at AEW, the element of unpredictability is so good for us. Because Andrade beat me and Kenny [Omega]. He has our number right now, but then he loses to Hangman. But I beat Hangman twice. Or Samoa Joe, he had MJF’s number for the longest time. He beat him. But I beat Samoa Joe for the World Championship. So there’s all of these elements of guys — Darby [Allin] beat me four times. Like, I have one victory over Darby. That’s just that guy who has your number that knows you too well.”
With the depth of the AEW roster, Strickland told 107.7 The Bone that he believes ROH moving toward standalone TV tapings will help some talent get opportunities. Even if you’re not on Dynamite or Collision right now, working ROH or even taking indie dates gives you the chance to develop ideas and eventually bring them to television.
“If you have the chance to do it in Ring of Honor, do it and then expand that and grow a fanbase and then build it up into Dynamite,” Strickland said. “Just because it’s not happening now doesn’t mean it’s not happening.”
Strickland’s appearance on 107.7 The Bone was to help promote AEW’s Revolution pay-per-view that’s taking place in Los Angeles this Sunday. Strickland vs. Brody King is among the matches set for the show.
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.