Triple H and Tony Khan have at least one thing in common, and that is they trust the creative mind of the former NXT North American and AEW World Tag-Team Champion Swerve Strickland.
Strickland joined Fightful's The Wrestling Perspective Podcast with Lars Frederiksen and Dennis Farrell, and discussed various topics. One of the topics that came up was regarding the creative freedom he had in the WWE. Strickland would explain what was different about him compared to others.
"No, there's still a lot of creative freedom, because nobody could talk like us, nobody could write our material, so they kind of gave us like guidelines. When we kind of put our own little spin on it. However, the time would fit even doing small short promos with the New Day. We just came up with that right then and there, or doing something with Sami Zayn. We just came up with it with those guys there." Strickland said.
"What I figured out is that I was trying to create something that nobody else can tell you how to do it. Because it's your’s and that's where if you're confident with it, people believe in it. That's where a lot of my confidence came from. I know this will work, I believe in it because I am the one that can pull this off. I'm the only one who knows and sees three steps ahead how this can form and flow into what the culmination will be." Strickland said
Welcome to Swerve's house. @TonyNese is probably not welcome. @swerveconfident makes his @AEW in-ring debut Friday on #AEWRampage pic.twitter.com/xJKqIv7150
— AEW on TV (@AEWonTV) March 11, 2022
Strickland said, "What I figured out is that I was trying to create something that nobody else can tell you how to do it. Because it's your’s and that's where if you're confident with it, people believe in it. That's where a lot of my confidence came from. I know this will work, I believe in it because I'm the one that can pull this off. I'm the only one who knows and sees three steps ahead how this can form and flow into what the culmination will be."
The current Defy World Champion talked about how his confidence led to Triple H's confidence in him. Swerve also discussed how that confidence moved to Tony Khan after Strickland signed with AEW in March 2022, after being released by the WWE due to budget cuts in 2021.
So you can't take this and put it with them, you can take this and put it with her, and I have to do it. I'm confident, I know I can do it, and being able to stand up to Triple H and say, “I know I can do this, I need you to believe in me.” You can't help but be confident in yourself, and I think he and I knew he felt that, and therefore he put it out there for me. He just was like, “alright go, because you believe in it, I believe in it.” Now, Tony Khan is the same way with all of 2022, like even me taking pliers to Billy Gunn's hands. I believe in this, and then he believed in me. He believed this would work, even bringing Kevin Gates and Rick Ross, all these things they do work. Because I believed in it and I have to be confident with it." Strickland said.
This whole IG would've been mine if it wasn't for......@TripleH #WWENXT @WWENXT pic.twitter.com/RpaIBMJGGF
— The Realest Swerve Strickland (@swerveconfident) February 11, 2021
Swerve Strickland also talked about why he is currently targeting Dustin Rhodes in his interview with The Wrestling Perspective Podcast. You can view that article by clicking here.
