AEW Star Swerve Strickland Opens Up About When Things Clicked For Him

Swerve Strickland has established himself as a top star in AEW, but that might not have happened without the experience he gained elsewhere. During a recent interview with "Busted Open Radio," the Mogul Embassy leader spoke about his career thus far, revealing how he worked on his craft to hone his style.

"It was trying all those different things like brawling, trying flying, trying lucha, trying British, trying all these grappling things, and compiling all those things together. I was like, 'Okay, I got those down, now what works best for me?'"

Strickland also recalled how his experience in "WWE NXT" shaped him as a performer. He said that working with coach Terry Taylor was an eye-opening experience as it helped him learn how to connect with the fans and expand his skill set. 

"He said something along the lines of like, 'How do you make people feel about what you're doing in the ring?' It's not about the competitor; it's about the person.' Right there, it opened another side of my brain that I haven't walked through yet, that I haven't discovered. I thought I was in an apartment this whole time; now I'm in a condominium with multiple floors."

This inspired him to start thinking about how people react in conflicts instead of applying it from a competitor's mindset, and he took it from there. The advice paid off, too, as Strickland has only evolved since then, and he is set to challenge for Samoa Joe's AEW World Championship at the upcoming Revolution pay-per-view.