Hit Row (Ashante "Thee" Adonis, Isaiah "Swerve" Scott, Top Dolla, & B-Fab) were one of the hottest acts in NXT in 2021 with "Swerve" winning the NXT North American Championship and the group performing a cypher at NXT Great American Bash.
They were eventually drafted to WWE SmackDown, but didn't get much of a chance as B-Fab was released on November 4 with the other three being released 15 days later.
During a K&S WrestleFest signing, "Swerve" said he would have sacrificed himself if it meant the others would remain in WWE.
"If it was a case of myself getting released and they were still there, I would feel better about that because I know I can go anywhere and be pretty okay and do my own thing. I felt bad for my team and I'm always going to feel like that. For Ashante the most, because that's all he ever wanted to be, is a WWE wrestler. He went through a lot in his military life, like being bombed overseas and getting shot at and getting concussions from bombs going off and going through true war time and that trauma. All he ever wanted to do when he came back was push hard and be in WWE. That's where my heart went to, was him primarily in our group. If I could sacrifice myself being released for them staying there and doing their thing, I would," he said.
Swerve has already appeared for NJPW STRONG and PROGRESS, with future dates for TERMINUS and DEFY lined up.
Speaking about his future, and the future of Hit Row, Swerve said, "The group going to another promotion together is always an option, but right now I'm focused on myself and what I have to do. I'm at an older age. My persona with the pro wrestling business and being on screen is always maturing. I'm glad I had fun in my time with Hit Row and doing something that has never been in done in NXT, we rapped and cyphered on NXT on national TV, that's never been done before. That was a fun time and going into this realm of this character was really cool, but I'm maturing and moving on to something greater. I have to grow every part of that persona. You see me come out to DEFY in a suit and glasses, 'Oh, this is not the same Swerve like when he came in.' I want to keep going and never come back the same. I'm always evolving."
Swerve praised B-Fab, Top Dolla, and Adonis for their talents outside of wrestling, noting their success in music, modeling, hosting, and more.
"They are so multi-talented that they don't actually need wrestling either. They can do it if they choose to, that's the beauty about them. They got to where they are because wrestling was a skill that they had and B-Fab was still developing, AJ and [Ashante] were still developing more as a talent. They got there because of other ventures. I feel like that can do anything in the entertainment business, not just wrestling. Wrestling is a choice for all of us. I truly love and enjoy it and spent my entire adult life doing it, so I want to continue to do it for as long as I can do it at a high level. These guys, they can do it as a choice because they built their lives doing other things. Their possibilities are just endless in the entertainment aspect," he said. "For what they can offer, with the landscape of Independent wrestling, what they can offer is something that nobody else can, that's where they have their value; as a group, together. There not many other groups that have that size, look, talking ability, crossover appeal, all put together in one and African-American culture."
While it is unknown if Hit Row will have a reunion in a major promotion, they will get back together for MCW on March 19.
"If we can separate and both grow in our individual acts as far as Hit Row without myself and me growing myself and doing my own thing on a national, worldwide, international (level) that I'm going to take off on, when we come back together, isn't it going to feel more special rather than just seeing us, the first time we appear? It's going to feel more special when we come back in that moment, that reunion. That's the bigger deal," he said.
During his media tour, Swerve opened up about his WWE release, saying there was never an issue brought up to him or Hit Row about where they fit in WWE. You can view his full comments by clicking here.
Swerve challenged for the PROGRESS World Title at PROGRESS Chapter 129. You can find results from the event by clicking here.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.
