AEW's Swerve Strickland Reflects On Lucha Underground Past As Killshot

In the present day, wrestling fans know Swerve Strickland as a former AEW World Champion and the self-proclaimed "most dangerous man." From 2015 until 2018, though, he performed as a masked wrestler named Killshot for Lucha Underground.

During an interview with the "Battleground Podcast," Strickland looked back on his former persona, which he says laid the groundwork for his bigger and current success in AEW.

"I feel like at the time I learned all that I could at that level with Lucha Underground and that's what gave me the confidence to become Swerve," Strickland said. "I needed to take the Killshot, not the name, but the education, the skillset, the knowledge and that instinct, the confidence that I grew becoming Killshot in The Temple of Lucha Underground. I had to take that confidence and put that towards Swerve and make Swerve that performer that Killshot was. And then that grew immensely when I got into AEW. The confidence grew again."

At the start of his Lucha Underground stint, Strickland simply aimed to become an "entity" on it. Following his famous Hell of War match with AR Fox, also known as Dante Fox, Strickland then felt like a top performer — an attitude he now applies to his television work with AEW.

Across his four-season run with Lucha Underground, Strickland enjoyed a lengthy run with the Trios Championships. Under the AEW banner, he's so far earned one reign as AEW Tag Team Champion alongside Keith Lee, then one as AEW World Champion in 2024.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Battleground Podcast" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.