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When WWE announced that they were releasing Hit Row and its leader, now known as Swerve Strickland, back in November of 2021, it left more than a few fans of professional wrestling – Swerve included – wondering why WWE was so quick to pull the plug on such a popular NXT act, especially right after they were called up to SmackDown save their valet B-Fab.
While the release worked out alright for all parties involved, as B-Fab, Top Dolla, and Ashante “Thee” Adonis have all been re-signed to WWE – even if they've become nothing but an occasional on-screen joke – Strickland decided to swerve with his future plans and go it solo, signing with AEW in addition to a very healthy workload on the indies. Fast forward roughly 18 months and an AEW Tag Team Championship reign later, and suddenly, Strickland looks like one of the brightest heels on the AEW roster, with a match already secured for All In against Sting and Darby Allin.
Asked about WWE's decision to release him just when it looked like the promotion was about to give him a big push, Strickland admitted it put a big chip on his shoulder he's since used to become one of the top performers in AEW.
“That left a big chip on my shoulder to prove it was one of the biggest mistakes you could have made,” Swerve Strickland tells Uproxx Sports. “And now, winning the tag titles with Keith Lee and doing a co-main event in pay-per-views with said tag titles, doing all these big arenas and being featured in a lot of different, very unique ways and being able to do the music crossover and show them that was one of the biggest mistakes you made, but you can’t have it back now. You can’t make up for that now, and I’m creating something that’s even bigger than what you expected of me over there. I’m really blessed in that department. I want to not just give back to them, but I want to showcase, I want to exceed the expectations of me here at AEW as well.”
Asked what it's like to go from a WWE castoff to a featured performer at All In, Swerve noted that, despite the winding road, he's proved that anything is possible for fans and professional wrestlers alike and hopes that it forces WWE to treat their employees a bit better in the process too.
“It makes people see that there’s a possibility. It makes people believe again,” Strickland says. “We know WWE is doing their thing. Their business is higher than it’s ever been, and congrats to them. But that made us raise their game. Wembley is going to make them have to make changes. They’re not sitting as comfortable in there anymore. And that’s not a bad thing, that’s a good thing, we want them to. If AEW can make the people who run WWE treat my friends and talent better and get them better opportunities and stuff, that’s a win for pro wrestling, and that’s all we need.”
Will WWE make any changes after All In? Eh, probably not; they've already reportedly turned down an opportunity to re-sign Edge, and will likely continue to make moves that madden fans from time to time. Luckily for Strickland and his peers, there's now a viable alternative.
Swerve Strickland wants to do his best to represent for the culture.
Elsewhere in his conversation with Uproxx, Swerve Strickland discussed his desire to represent for the culture and prove that there's a spot for people like him in professional wrestling.
“I always felt like whether I intend to or don’t intend to, the culture is always watching. African American culture, the Black pro wrestling fan base, the hip hop culture, all that has influenced me so heavy. It’s helped create the Swerve character,” Swerve Strickland noted. “People really have caught onto that, and they’re influenced, and some are even inspired by that. So just the fact that I am the representation on the Wembley card right now at this moment, because there’s still more matches to be announced, that’s big. And to be going against an icon like Sting and somebody that I’ve gone to wars with for years on the independents with Darby Allin. And somebody that I’ve had one of the greatest matches with A.R. Fox, that’s a really wild crew of people to be around that I never would’ve thought of six, seven years ago.”
While there have been plenty of successful professional wrestlers of all different ages, genders, colors, and creeds, it is incredibly cool to see just how far Strickland has come doing things his way. All things considered, Strickland has proven himself one of the top performers in the world, and he has WWE, in a weird backward way, to thank for it.
