"I'm going to really laugh at you" - Swerve Strickland on proving doubters wrong in AEW
AEW star Swerve Strickland has outlined the goals that he wants to achieve in the company. He hopes to main event pay-per-views, win championships and have the same level of crossover appeal as NFL star Odell Beckham Jr..
Swerve made his first AEW appearance at the Revolution pay-per-view on March 6th, where he signed his contract in front of the live audience. Since then, he has been prominently featured on AEW Rampage.
Outside of AEW, he has spread his wings across various promotions, including New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Ring of Honor and DEFY Wrestling.
God, @swerveconfident is truly the best #DEFYWildOnes https://t.co/DiKx7kurCd
But what are his goals for his AEW career? Speaking with former AEW World Champion Chris Jericho on the "Talk is Jericho" podcast, Swerve stated his main goal is to disprove any doubts that fans have about him. He also described how he wants to show everyone that he's here to win.
"I look at Twitter I listen to this I listen to that listen to that, once again I filter it and I build that Kevlar to be like 'oh okay.' Like if you’re doubting me three months in I’m like 'okay I’m gonna really laugh at you.' I always like making people look stupid at the end of these things because I’ve always just like-I’ve always just had to overcome the doubt because they don’t see it," said Swerve Strickland. [58:19-58:48]
Swerve went on to note that he seems himself becoming a major player in All Elite Wrestling, with many targets both in and out of the ring high on his agenda.
"I want to main event anything, the pay-per-views, TV, I want to win championships and I also want to be that bridging gap between entertainment and [wrestling]. I wanna be like the Odell Beckham [Jr.] of this. you don’t just same on football you see him like hanging out with like J. Cole and Trey Songz and all these other guys on boats and stuff and you see him doing a little commercials here and there, you see him doing this. I don’t want the only place to see me is Dynamite and Rampage, you can see me everywhere," said Swerve Strickland. [59:30-1:00:00]
Swerve Strickland recently failed to qualify for the Owen Hart Cup Tournament
While he might see himself as a future champion, it hasn't been smooth sailing for Swerve Strickland in AEW so far. In his most recent match, he came up short against Darby Allin in an Owen Hart Foundation Tournament qualifying match.
The two men have history together, as they come from the same area in Washington, and it was clear they would do anything to each other in this match. However, Allin emerged victorious at the end of a very physical contest.
Swerve Strickland just hit Darby Allin with a devastating vertical suplex off the apron. That was brutal. #AEWRampage https://t.co/tSpHaGhifR
How successful do you think Swerve Strickland will be in AEW? Let us know in the comments section down below!
Please credit "Talk is Jericho" and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling when using quotes from this article.