Swerve Strickland signed a new contract with All Elite Wrestling earlier this year, and he recently spoke with Denise Salcedo for Instinct Culture to discuss AEW President Tony Khan offering him a new contract.
The former Hit Row member said, “For me, it wasn’t about, ‘Will it ever happen?’ It was, it’s going to happen. I have to have the faith that it’s going to happen. Now, I just have to justify why it’s happening with what I do as my work, why does that happen. It took me making history for that kind of contract to happen. It wasn’t just an overnight thing, like money’s just handed to his person. No, this was earned. It goes back to that American story, just hard work, consistency. Not everything was perfect, but I still persevered through that. Then it was just, what does AEW need? What does Tony Khan need for me to deliver for AEW, and truly tapping into those things, and being the guy to go to, and being like, I’ll deliver exactly what you need and more. I think having that mindset to just be like, I have to give my best, but I also have to give a little bit more, in addition to. There always has to be an addition to.”
He continued, “In this day and age in wrestling and media, there always has to be something a little bit more that you offer. On media days, I’ll be here, talking, making it look good. If I need to take the belt and put it in a music video, I can do that. Having Tony Khan have the trust in me to do that the right way and make sure everything, T’s and crossed, I’s are dotted so there’s no backfire on the company, making it look bad, all those things to make sure you know what, Swerve is good, we trust him enough to make the company look good and not besmirch the name or make anything look bad. So it was that trust as well, and I think that’s where truly the contract was like, Tony was like, ‘Nope, I’m giving it to him, there’s no doubt in my mind that this is the right investment.’ So it’s more than just performing well in the ring. It’s everything, everything that you gotta do, and the person that you are.”
Bryan Danielson’s last match came at AEW WrestleDream 2024, where he lost the AEW World Title to Jon Moxley in the main event.
As many of you are well aware, Danielson has been battling a neck injury throughout the year and had previously indicated that he’ll need to undergo surgery at some point in the future.
While speaking to Denise Salcedo of Instinct Culture, Danielson commented on how his neck is holding up these days. He said,
“My neck is not great. It’s causing me to not sleep good and some other things. At the end of the day, I’m happy. At first, it was a little tough. For parents out there, the first three weeks of having a child where you’re not sleeping at all, but then you get used to not sleeping very well. I’ve just become used to not sleeping. I’m happy and I’ve had an incredible time being with my family and kids.”
Danielson added that he’s trying to avoid surgery.
When asked if he truly believes he can avoid surgery, the American Dragon said, “Maybe? I’d like to avoid it as much as possible. The idea to me is that surgery is a last resort, not a first resort. I’m trying some other things. I’m a little goofy. I’m going to try some other things first before undergoing the knife. That’s my plan now.”
He added, “If I had to guess right now, I’d say it’s 50/50 if I’ll ever (wrestle again). I’m okay with that. I loved the time I got to spend doing this, but I also love what I’m doing now.”
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