Swerve Strickland wants to face another one of his mentors.
On Sunday, October 1, 2023, Sami Callihan became a free agent, thus ending his long-standing tenure with IMPACT Wrestling. While speaking with Grapsody (full interview above), Swerve shared that he hopes to see Sami in AEW, but if not, just wants him to prosper wherever he goes.
"Of course, I want to go after that guy. That's my mentor, man. I faced a lot of my mentors in the past in my career. Rey Mysterio was a big mentor to me back in Lucha Underground. Sami Callihan, when I had a really hot run on the indies and stuff. Sami was a big part of that. He's a free agent out there, I hope to see him in AEW or wherever you want to go. I just want him to prosper in this business for a long time. He deserves that, brilliant mind," Swerve said.
Fightful recently spoke with Sami Callihan. That interview can be found here.
While Sami remains a free agent, one man who didn't last long on the open market was Adam Copeland, who made his AEW debut on October 1 at WrestleDream. According to Swerve, a conversation with Copeland is in order.
"Edge is that next year of brilliant minds that I want to test myself -- I don't know if I want to say test myself. I don't feel like I need testing anymore. I'm a big boy now. If anything, I need to text him at this point. Adam Copeland, you're in AEW now. This is the first time ever seeing him on a nationally televised [program] outside of where he just came from. I need to talk to you and see, 'Hey, this is all the stuff that you gave me. I'm giving it back," Swerve said.
On the Dynamite following WrestleDream, Copeland explained why he joined AEW and asked Christian Cage to join forces with him one more time. Cage, the reigning TNT Champion, responded with a harsh "Go f*ck yourself!"
Copeland is set to have his first match in AEW on October 10 when he takes on Luchasaurus.
Swerve recently reflected on his time teaming with Keith Lee. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
He also spoke about some frustrating times he endured in NXT. Click here to learn more.
