Swerve Strickland Talks Performing At WaleMania On WWE WrestleMania Weekend

2023 has been a mixed bag for AEW's Swerve Strickland, who has seen his two Mogul Affiliates, Parker Boudreaux and Trench, taken out by Keith Lee and Dustin Rhodes. But Strickland's search for revenge and a new affiliate is on the back burner for now, as he prepares to perform at WaleMania this Thursday.

This isn't Stickland's first WaleMania as he has performed there before with long-time friend Monteasy. This year, however, he's looking to go it alone, which he revealed to "The Athletic."

"I shared the stage with Monteasy last year in Dallas and played four or five songs and had a great time opening for them," Strickland said. "This year, I'm going to be going solo a little bit."

Going away from his WaleMania performance, Strickland talked about the recent movement of rappers appearing on AEW programming since he signed with the promotion last March. Strickland feels this is a crossover that is important for both wrestling and hip-hop.

"It's huge for wrestlers to see there's a movement on that side, too," Strickland said. "The fanbase of wrestling is very timid when it comes to that, when it comes to hip-hop ... [They] don't understand the music, how big the artist is, or [why] the music is aggressive. The WaleManias and stuff like that brings them in and they get a little more comfortable with it."

One of the most notable rappers to appear in AEW is Rick Ross, who was involved in creating Strickland's Mogul Affiliates group. According to Strickland, Ross' influence hasn't ended there. 

"He is a passionate fan of wrestling, always has been," Strickland said. "He's so gung-ho about getting involved in a lot of things; he pitches ideas. He's all about maximizing the most out of it."