AEW's Swerve Strickland Details Impact WWE's Bray Wyatt Had On Him & Wrestling

AEW's Swerve Strickland has detailed the impact the late WWE star Bray Wyatt had on him and the wrestling business.

Strickland recently spoke to "Wrestling Figure News," where he was asked about his Fiend-inspired ring gear from his match at Full Gear 2023. He discussed the captivating nature of Wyatt's character, and how what he portrayed on screen will be remembered for a long time.

"Like, to me, Bray Wyatt changed wrestling television, and I don't think it's going to be realized for another, like, some more time how impactful he was. And, it's like, 'Wow, man, this is so unique and different.' It's actually so much more captivating than people understood or realized. Even for me, I didn't realize how big of a deal it was until I got put in this position to make interesting television. So I took so much nuance from what he was doing and put my little spin on it, because he was metaphysical and very, fourth-wall breaking ... literally speaking to the people and stuff."

The former AEW World Champion highlighted the nuances of Wyatt's character and how he tried to tell a story using subtle details.

"He was doing so much, like leaving little nuggets here and there, little trinkets. This represented his past, this was depression, this meant anxiety, and all the puppets meant so many different things from past moments in his life. It was so cool. And I was like, 'Okay, I'm going to take pieces of that and try.'  Even if I can get 10% of that type of creativity to make it my own thing."

Strickland said that he spent a little time sharing the locker room with Wyatt, recalling how he was coming up on 205 Live when Wyatt was doing his Fiend gimmick. The AEW star remembered fondly the funny things that Wyatt would do backstage, stating that the late star made a big impression on him during the time he spent with him.